TWO BIG FAT THUMBS DOWN

Last week on Sunday, I decided to watch this movie on Max in light of the fact that the first Joker was a really good movie that didn't need sequel baiting. The reason why is because I thought the whole concept of acknowledging what happened in the last film is good in general as long as we continue to sympathize with Arthur Fleck (Joker). But upon watching the whole thing, it left me cold... and not in a good way.

The only things that were savable were the decent cinematography and the acting from everyone involved (mostly Lady Gaga, but I'll explain why in just a moment), but this movie has so many problems I wanna point out.

First: The execution completely ruined this whole film for me. I mean, I'm on board for anything that's new, but only if it's done right. Take a good look at Transformers One, Wicked, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 for example. Those movies have done new things while at the same time giving fans what they wanted which resulted in critical acclaim (though it was sad that Transformers One flopped due to the terrible marketing Paramount did, but I digress). Some of you are wondering what does that have to do with this movie? Well, to set the record straight, this whole movie completely ruined what was established in the previous film by setting the new side characters in a negative light, which results in being so unpleasant and dreary. And then there's the tone which is so confusing that I couldn't even comprehend. For one thing, it's trying to be a black comedy drama and yet at the same time, it tries to be a jukebox musical at certain scenes, I was like, "movie, pick a genre and stick with it!" because if you try to do both, you'll end up making a mess! Because of that, the musical numbers leave a lot to be desired (I know it's diegetic music, but that doesn't change anything), which is a shame, because Lady Gaga's singing is quite good but then again she's been a good singer for decades which is more than I can say for Joaquin Phoenix's singing which is just so hilariously bad to listen to. And the less said about the terrible pacing the better.

Second: The writing is abysmal as it went against everything that the first movie established. First off, the whole idea of Arthur Fleck being a sympathetic character is a good concept because you understood his motivations as to why he killed those three dudes who beat him up and not only that. His views on why society as a terrible place made me root for him which is exactly why the scene between Arthur Fleck (Joker) and Murray played a pivotal part in that aspect which led to him killing Murray out of rage. In this movie, the producers went: I know. Let's have some more hateable side characters that nobody can root for and while we're at it, let's have them beat up Arthur Fleck with any chance they get. Not to mention the trial scenes managed to add fuel to the fire by alienating those who had rooted for Arthur in the last film by stating that if he can't embrace his persona as Joker, one of Batman's greatest enemies, then everyone would reject him. Even by that standard, it's just stupid and pretentious.

And third: What ruined this movie even further is the ending where Arthur Fleck gets killed off. *sighs* Ok, let me make this as perfectly clear as possible. Subverting expectations is not the right tool for good storytelling, because you'll end up creating a certain modern Hollywood audience that would gas light those don't like your product, resulting in a toxic fanbase. You see, it goes to show that the director of this movie, Todd Phillips, has no talent or any respect to the glory days of Hollywood. I'm bringing this up because when your only option is to kill off a main character, a sympathetic main character, mind you, that we, as an audience have rooted for, in your second film of a franchise, ensuring that no future movies would get made, you need to retire. PAST TIME!!!!!

*calms down* Sorry if I've been ranting for a while. It's just that... this movie took a huge toll on me not only emotionally, but spiritually. It gave me this hollow feeling that I don't even know how to describe. The fact that a sequel that nobody wanted would insult the audience this badly, the fact that anyone would find this even remotely entertaining, makes me sick to my stomach. I'm a little worried that this might be my controversial post I ever had to write because many of you out there on this website might hate me for this. But I'm sorry. This is a representation of everything that's wrong with Modern Hollywood.