Joker 2 Folie à Deux reviews are in, and it's a mixed bag

The first reviews are for Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga’s Joker: Folie à Deux and it’s fair to say that it’s received a mixed reception so far.

The first Joker was released in 2019 and personally, it was a movie that I liked a lot and it reminded me of the famous DC graphic novel, Batman: The Killing Joke. However, the Joker felt very much like its own entity, and other than briefly featuring a young Bruce Wayne and being set in Gotham City, there wasn't much of a connection with the Caped Crusader.

Check out the Joker: Folie à Deux trailer below!

"Joker: Folie à Deux finds Arthur Fleck institutionalised at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker,” reads the sequel's synopsis. “While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love but also finds the music that's always been inside him.”

Perhaps Joker being very much its own thing was a reason why many viewed the movie favourably. That said, just like the sequel, Joker was also met with a mixed reception.

On the aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, Joker scored 69% (nice) from critics and 89% from fans. Whereas following the premiere at the Venice International Film Festival this week, the early critic reviews for Joker: Folie à Deux scored 61% at the time of writing.

“Of all the things Phillips does better in Joker: Folie à Deux than he did in Joker, the best is by far his course correction in catering to radical misogynists,” said Rafaela Sales Ross of The Playlist.

“One thing that Joker: Folie à Deux really does get right is how this version of The Joker is not really a bad guy - he's a mirror for society,” First Showing’s Alex Billington wrote.

On the flip side, Rory Doherty of Flicks said: “It is not that this version of the Joker is inherently wrong, but it is uninteresting. Please let us be done with this.”

“Where the original Joker remains a stunning exception — that rare blockbuster with emotional shading, grownup themes and a genuine sense of grandeur — this sequel fails to stay on the beat,” exclaimed Screen International’s Tim Grierson.

It’s important to note that there will be more reviews coming in as we edge closer to the cinema release date of Joker: Folie à Deux next month, so the current score is likely to change on either end of the spectrum. What’s more, user reviews cannot be published until after the release date.

Joker: Folie à Deux releases in cinemas on 4 October 2024.