Critics reviews

Regardless of its non-fatal flaws, this is far more entertaining of a film than the first, but with Joaquin Phoenix reprising a role he won an Oscar for and Lady Gaga belting show tunes in gorgeous costumes, how could you ever think this film would be one to miss?

Throughout, the music choices reflect the story points rather than just existing as an obligatory moment to break out into song and the stars make them almost like dialogue.

[T]hough it ends up as strident, laborious and often flat-out tedious as the first film, there’s an improvement. It’s a musical, of sorts... This gives it structure and flavour that the first film didn’t have.

Folie à Deux feels narratively a little thin and at times dull. Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver in the first Joker had the sturdy bones of not one but two Martin Scorsese films, Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, on which to hang their story and set their tone. This one is built on more of a conceit than a solid story foundation.

“Joker: Folie à Deux” may be ambitious and superficially outrageous, but at heart it’s an overly cautious sequel.

Against the odds, this ingenious and deeply unsettling film even turns into a bit of a weepie by the final reel.

“Folie à Deux” does not give the people what they want... His film is bold enough to deny expectations (and smug enough to savor the growing dissatisfaction that it creates in return), but not remotely thoughtful enough to offer something more interesting in their place.

[I]nstead of moving the story along, as songs in musicals should, they slow it down. You're left with the feeling that Phillips simply didn't have enough of a plot to fill another two hours without them.