The review embargo for Joker: Folie À Deux lifted yesterday and it was clear that critics were mixed on the DC sequel. Several hours later, a Rotten Tomatoes score was generated: 59%.
That put the movie in "Rotten" territory and left it with a dreaded green splat. It's not as if 2019's Joker was a critical darling at 69%, but this still came as a blow given the hype surrounding this musical follow-up starring Lady Gaga (as you can see below, much has been said about its 12-minute standing ovation in Venice).
Now, though, there's been a small change as, with a total of 43 reviews counted, it's risen to a "Fresh" 60%. How long it will be able to maintain that is unclear as we expect at least a couple hundred more verdicts to be added to the current total in the weeks ahead.
On Metacritic, the movie has 54/100 based on 23 critic reviews.
Despite Joker's mixed reviews, it still received mainstream award attention and won Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar; it also grossed over $1 billion at the box office, though that was pre-pandemic.
"One of the fun things [about Joker: Folie à Deux] I think for audiences is that it answers a lot of questions," director Todd Phillips recently told IGN. "A lot of people say to me, 'What was real, what wasn't? He had a lot of fantasies in the first movie.' This movie really finds Arthur answers everything as far as, well, that movie really happened. All that stuff really happened."
"He really killed Murray Franklin, Robert De Niro. He really killed those kids on the subway. And here he is, ready to face the music, for lack of a better word, and sort of pay for the crimes that he committed. So it's a very logical two years later in movie world where we find Arthur."
The filmmaker added, "It's Arthur who's lived through the first movie, so he can't be the same guy. But he's become this unintentional icon in Gotham to a certain subset of people, to other people he's this horrible villain."
Are you excited to watch Joker: Folie À Deux next month?
Joker: Folie À Deux finds Arthur Fleck institutionalized at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that's always been inside him.
The sequel stars Joaquin Phoenix once again in his Oscar-winning dual role as Arthur Fleck/Joker, opposite Oscar-winner Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born). The movie also features Oscar nominees Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin) and Catherine Keener (Get Out), alongside Zazie Beetz, reprising her role from Joker.
Phillips, who was nominated for Oscars for directing, writing and producing Joker, directed Joker: Folie À Deux from a screenplay by fellow Oscar nominee Scott Silver & Phillips, based on characters from DC. This follow-up was produced by Phillips, Oscar nominee Emma Tillinger Koskoff and Joseph Garner. Lady Gaga served as music consultant.
Joker: Folie À Deux arrives in theaters on October 4.