ultroks

The story begins two years after the events of the first film, with Arthur Fleck in Arkham Asylum awaiting trial for murder. However, instead of a direct continuation of his transformation into the Joker, we see that institutionalization has killed that chaotic identity or at least suppressed it until he meets Harley Quinn, who serves as a catalyst to reignite it.

Thematically, there is still a strong critique of society and the system that neglects and abuses individuals with mental health issues, but it now focuses much more on the cultural context of the Joker himself and the problematic tendency to glorify such individuals. The film aims to deliver a clear message that everything has consequences, and there is nothing romantic about madness, as it may have seemed at the end of the first part.

In theory, these are not bad ideas; however, whenever the film tries to gain momentum and resonate it with some truly strong and deep scene, it immediately gets diminished by constant musical sequences.

The very decision to make the film a musical is strange and kinda absurd, but that in itself isn't necessarily a problem; rather, it's the fact that Todd Phillips evidently lacks the feel and knowledge to film it. Musicals often use a technique called "vamp," where a part of the music or song starts playing in the background before the characters begin singing. This allows for a more natural transition and better emotional build-up. Folie à Deux has almost none of that, making all transitions to musical sequences forced. Perhaps this was done intentionally to thematically fit into the protagonist's psyche, but the end result is so chaotic that it completely disrupts the narrative flow, making the film at times nearly unwatchable.

What definitely does not disappoint is the acting. Joaquin Phoenix is phenomenal, just as in the first part, and at times even surpasses himself. In a better film, he might even win an Oscar. Even Lady Gaga is fundamentally not bad and fits into this version of Harley.

Positives

Joaquin Phoenix performance Meaningful story, character development, and ending Several good scenes and moments

Negatives

Terrible pacing Poor editing of musical sequences Overcrowding of songs Bad balance of two different tones Rushed and cluttered ending

Overall, Joker: Folie à Deux is full of good and bold ideas, but fails to realize them properly due to the excessive push of musical segments. Phillips clearly tried to outdo himself and prove he could be experimental in his craft, but the end result is so poorly executed and disjointed that it feels like the entire film is having an identity crisis, not just the main character.

Deadpool and Wolverine Review (NO SPOILERS)

Disney promised to respect Logan movie and its perfect conclusion to Wolverine's story, and of course, they didnt do that, instead they literally desecrate it in the first 2 minutes of this film.

There is a good analogy that Max Landis drew with what happened in the world of American Wrestling when WWF bought WCW and forced all their wrestlers to constantly lose and be embarrassed. The same treatment is felt here with Disney's attitude towards Fox and their characters. Most of those cameo characters are not only nerfed, but mostly serve for mockery and only to invoke nostalgia and then be put aside and forgotten.

The acting in the movie is generally good and easily the best part. Emma Corrin was such pleasant surprise with her acting and passion, even the character was for the most parts interesting. Hugh Jackman of course shines again and gives his best, even though his character is not as well-written as in Logan. His chemistry with Reynolds easily carries the whole movie.

Reynolds is Reynolds, for some reason, he shows his face almost in every scene. Also, if I'm not mistaken, Deadpools faces is not as ugly as in the previous parts.

The direction isn't bad , there are some nice shots and camera movements but the pacing and editing could have been better. The scenes jump too quickly to reach next joke or action, not giving enough time to connect with the events and characters in the story. Those jokes do feel a bit forced and cringy, mostly relying on mockery while even repeating some old jokes from previous ones. The action on the other hand is actually quite good and fun to watch, although it suffers a bit from The Last Jedi choreography syndrome, where we see villains swinging and hitting the air, waiting for their turn to be struck by main characters.

As for the story itself, the basis is serviceable , but with some flaws, mistakes and naivety, I've always advocated that the main villains shouldn't always be defeated just by heroes punching them until they fall and its welcome here but the issue is that it felt way too rushed and anticlimatic. They've aslo copied the same idea from an older MCU film.

The biggest problem of the movie is its characterization. Both Deadpool and Wolverine suffer from some heavy flanderization. Although the writers tried to fill them with some emotional depth, it is immediately choked by forced humor, fan service and action in almost every scene. Only true emotion ends up being evoked by nostalgia can evoke and some of the musical sequences (of which there may be too many) remain. I would especially point out one of the villains who is terribly written and poses no threat or danger to the main characters; in fact, none of the villains are the threat except Cassandra Nova. She is perhaps the most interesting character and also the most powerful mutant we've seen (and maybe even the most powerful villain in the entire MCU).

Another thing to mention they announced that this film doesn't require watching/knowing anything from before, but that's not entirely the case. Although I believe people won't have much trouble following the story, it still relies a lot on elements that not everyone will fully understand and catch unless they seen some previous shows and movies, especially the cameos and fan service.

Talking about them, movie is almost everything fans wanted Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to be. Unfortunately, Marvel returns to the formula where fans know exactly what they're watching by spoiling all the important parts through the trailers, making this a very predictable film.

Overall, the movie on itself is fun and entertaining, but far beyond the league of first Deadpool and Logan. If you have no problem turning off your brain and watch another typical MCU comedy, full of action and fanservice, only now with the addition of an R-Rating, you'll enjoy it.

There is so much heart and soul in this episode... from references and love for prequels and CW to just pure joy of watching characters interact and do simple things.

Bryce Dallas Howard is a really talented director and it shows. The pace of episode is near perfect, lor of it had to do with the dialogue, thats delivered with more energy.

Its only... it didnt felt like Book of Boba Fett episode at all more like pretty important part of Mandalorian sequel.