Everyone interprets things differently. I think you have to see movies yourself before you can draw any conclusions. Some people love certain movies and others hate them. But yes I agree it doesn’t sound great on paper.
I enjoyed it.
I don't think Lada Gaga was all that impressive. She's going to get accolades because the industry's "Pink Mafia" are out in full force behind her. This is a film like Ad Astra, that will resonate more based on the viewer's personal experiences. The more someone has had to live through or had an extended tour of duty with someone they loved who was battered by mental illness, I think this movie rings different. IMHO, this film will resonate more strongly in foreign markets and in Asia. ( There's more systemic decay weaponized against men out there)
There's an open unsettling theme that fame is a more than effective proxy for actual respect. I appreciate that Todd Phillips would go that far in a mainstream film, to cover the mercenary nature of other people in almost all circumstances without trying to hide it as slapstick humor as most other films would ( i.e. Oscar winning American Fiction) . The irony is that Arthur Fleck is more accepted, but also more alone and isolated than ever before. It's unapologetic, the marketing be damned. I can give Phillips credit for that much. Phoenix navigated through some tough scenes and tough sections of the script. This was not an easy role to play a second time by any stretch.
Better than the first? No ( Joker 2 has compelling sections, but there are clear structural flaws that corner it's narrative)
Worth seeing in the theater? No ( I set a very high bar for that though)
Do I think there will be a third installment eventually? Yes
Is it worth seeing? I think most people will see it anyway. And that's why some media outlets are furious. They can attempt to spike some reviews but they can't fight the tide. The IP and momentum is too big to stop.
Something I've said before is I just don't find a point in letting "professional movie reviews" , before release, sway you in any direction at all. If someone has a monetized pathway to make that review, they are compromised. Even Chris Gore of Film Threat or Critical Drinker, even though I agree with them more often than not, are compromised too. I wouldn't pay much attention to marketing interviews as well. All the major media outlets now are completely bought or leveraged. They don't respect you enough to let you come to your own conclusions, they've decided you need to agree or that something is clearly wrong with you. By reacting at all, you are justifying their paper thin crybaby activism. If you think something looks interesting, give it a chance, or don't. What you can bank on is simple word of mouth. Your friends. People you've known for a while. Maybe a coworker you think is a cool person and shares many of your viewpoints or tastes.
Do you know why some major media outlets and power players hate the Todd Phillips' Joker series? Because if you look at the world around Fleck, and then you look at the real world around all of us, that Arthur might not seem so completely insane after all. That his choices and response, in some brutal honest way, is completely logical for the farce he has to live in, even if he was completely sane. And when the definiation of "sanity" is held against a full measure purity test of total compliance, then who is really the broken one after all?
Todd Phillips is no endless film genius. He's not a revolutionary. He just committed the unforgiveable crime of holding up a mirror and asking the audience some questions that the system no longer wants anyone to talk about. This isn't a great film. But it's a completely honest one the deeper you look.
