METAL GEAR SOLID Creator Hideo Kojima Reveals His Surprising JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX Review

METAL GEAR SOLID Creator Hideo Kojima Reveals His Surprising JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX Review

Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima has finally weighed in with his review for Joker: Folie à Deux and, while most fans agree that the sequel was a let-down, he has a very different take on the movie.

By JoshWilding - Nov 03, 2024 06:11 AM EST
Filed Under: Joker

Joker: Folie à Deux has divided opinions, though the consensus on the DC Comics sequel is largely negative. Filmmaker Todd Phillips arguably dropped the ball with his musical follow-up to the 2019 hit, delivering a movie rejected by fans and non-fans alike. 

However, Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima has now weighed in and appears to believe the movie will eventually be viewed in a very different light. 

That's up for debate, though we'd be lying to say Kojima doesn't make a good case for giving Joker: Folie à Deux a second chance.

"I watched 'Joker: Folie à Deux.' The beginning of the film is an animation sequence, reminiscent of the nostalgic 'Looney Tunes,' depicting a story of Joker and Joker’s shadow. In the trial that follows, the question of his multiple personality is argued from beginning to end. Is the Joker Arthur? Is the Joker another personality (his shadow)? Who exactly is Arthur? This revelation eventually transforms into a meta-perspective."

"In the previous film, 'Joker,' was it really Joker who captivated audiences around the world? Or was it Arthur? This question is constantly raised to Lee and even to the people of Gotham City within the film. We live in an age of mass production of 'poetic justice' heroes, a battle between good and evil. Lately, many spin-off films with a focus on the villains have been made. Can villains be superheroes too?"

Is this question posed on the big screen as a DC movie, too avant-garde? Was it the Joker that audiences around the world loved? Was it Arthur? This is where the reviews have diverged. Over the next 10 or 20 years, this film's reputation will likely change along with the permeation of hero movies to come. It may take some time for it to become a true 'folie à deux.' But there is no doubt that everyone in the audience loved Joaquin and Gaga in this film"

The Japanese video game creator is widely considered a visionary and frequently shares movie reviews on social media; however, they're either very detailed or simply an acknowledgement that he's seen something...and the latter is typically an indication he didn't like it.

That's something we recently saw with his Venom: The Last Dance verdict. He had much more to say about this movie, though, and you can read Kojima's thoughts (along with a reminder of our own Joker: Folie À Deux review) below.

In our review of the movie, we concluded by saying, "Lady Gaga shines and Joaquin Phoenix brings more of the same to Joker: Folie à Deux, a wholly unnecessary sequel with no new ideas and nothing to say. It doesn’t work as a movie or a musical. What a waste of $200 million."

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.

Joker: Folie À Deux is now playing in theaters. 

JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX Finishes Theatrical Run With Just $206 Million Worldwide Ahead Of Max Debut
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JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX Finishes Theatrical Run With Just $206 Million Worldwide Ahead Of Max Debut

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harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 11/3/2024, 6:32 AM
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MaximusTheMad
MaximusTheMad - 11/3/2024, 6:54 AM
I agree with Kojima. The story was great. Joker's followers in the movies turned Arthur/Joker into something he wasn't.

He's just a dude who had it rough and ruined his life a lot more. This doesn't make him cool or worthy of praise, but it does make him honest when he admits it at the end.

And in the end, everyone left him when he admitted the Joker doesn't really exist.

Again, the story and message was great. Murdering people isn't cool or praiseworthy, even if you paint your face and make jokes and had a shitty life.

I just hated that I fell asleep 4 times during those stupid songs and dances.
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 11/3/2024, 11:14 AM
@MaximusTheMad - if you’re falling asleep during the film how great can the story be??
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 11/3/2024, 3:41 PM
@MaximusTheMad - besides the falling asleep part, I completely agree with you and Kojima. just give it time. Just like Shawshank Redemption, Office Space, and It's a Wonderful life completely tanked at the cinemas, JOKER 2 could possibly create a cult following in 10 years or so....
LibraMatter
LibraMatter - 11/3/2024, 8:48 PM
@MaximusTheMad - exactly!!! Perfectly put. It’s a somewhat complex story and Arthur’s story ended in such an unpredictable and non-glorified manner. They could have continued to make Arthur the Joker and for him to fill those shoes. Instead the Joker was more of the idea that grew from his followers through sensational cult-like beliefs. He was a depressed guy who tripped into the limelight.
MarvelZombie616
MarvelZombie616 - 11/3/2024, 7:20 AM
The movie was not entertaining.

People didn't buy tickets to see a disturbed individual that died at the end.
People wanted to escape reality and be entertained.

That is something the 1st movie acomplished.
The 2nd fallen horribly and hat no satisfying payoff.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 11/3/2024, 3:42 PM
@MarvelZombie616 - i'm sorry you didn't enjoy it.
Franshu
Franshu - 11/3/2024, 3:42 PM
@MarvelZombie616 - Films can be something other than escapism.
Lem1
Lem1 - 11/3/2024, 7:24 AM
Yup. Saw it a couple days ago, and felt it was a natural progression of the 1st film - except it was a musical, which the filmakers had stated well b4 its release. Very well done film, super tragic, too
Himura
Himura - 11/3/2024, 6:51 PM
@Lem1 - It also makes sense that a guy who felt most like himself, dancing around, would naturally progress into dancing and singing.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/3/2024, 7:59 AM
One of these days you're all gonna re-evaluate Batman & Robin too! And Madame Webb! Mark the words of the man who created Solid Snake Plissken once!
TCronson
TCronson - 11/3/2024, 9:40 AM
@ObserverIO - no, we won't. They are both bad badly made movies with the exception of Gotham production design in Batman & Robin.
BillyBatson1000
BillyBatson1000 - 11/3/2024, 10:08 AM
@ObserverIO - I think you're on to something. I've always seen 'Batman and Robin' as Schumacher's Wizard of Oz. Arnie as the Tin Man. Poison Ivy as the Wicked Witch. Bane - the Cowardly Lion. Batgirl or Robin as Dorothy - over-entitled, bratty, potential witch-killers. Batman is kind of superfluous to the entire plot, maybe The Wizard. So they sneaked a big, camp, movie into the DC canon. Bruce and Dick!
PartyKiller
PartyKiller - 11/3/2024, 10:09 AM
@TCronson - Thor Ragnarok was self parodying trash. As were the GOTG movies, but people loved them. Those same people should really love Batman and Robin. All those movies are like SNL movies.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/3/2024, 2:14 PM
@BillyBatson1000 - I love that interpretation!

I'd say that Batgirl is Dorothy and Robin is Toto. Her Uncle Alfred is Dorothy's Aunty Em.

That's awesome, lmao, I love that.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/3/2024, 2:24 PM
@TCronson - Barbara Ling was pretty good. She did better work on Batman Forever though.

Very similar to Joker 2 in that the director was given too much power after the first movie was such a breakout success.

But Todd Phillips shouldn't feel so bad, he joins a litany of directors that thought they were bigger than the beastly monster that is DC (and cbms in general really) and was then chewed up and spat out due to their underestimation of the beast.

I think the only directors that came out of DC unscathed has been Tim Burton and Chris Nolan.

Joel Schumacher, Bryan Singer, Zack Snyder, David Ayer, James Wan, Patty Jenkins, David Sandberg and on and on....
(and again, this is just DC)

James Gunn will be next, don't worry.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/3/2024, 2:27 PM
Oh and Joss Whedon, god bless him. Only came in to help out and had his whole life destroyed.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 11/3/2024, 3:46 PM
@ObserverIO - no, this film will be re-evaluated as compared to Shawshank Redemption, Office Space, It's a Wonderful Life, Fight Club, Citizen Kane, Idiocracy (all bombed in the theater)....and so on. I could see this film having legs many years later like those above....
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 11/3/2024, 3:49 PM
@ObserverIO - yeah, as Joss tried to keep up his bullying on the film-professional side that he got away with working TV. Actors in big films don't like being humiliated and treated like sh1t. Joss deserves a destroyed career.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/3/2024, 4:31 PM
@lazlodaytona - Every director deserves a destroyed career. You can find dirt on anyone. Most of them have way more dirt than Joss, which was vey mild by comparison. It was a hit job from Zack.
BillyBatson1000
BillyBatson1000 - 11/3/2024, 5:29 PM
@ObserverIO - Robin as Toto? I should have seen that! Damn.
RegularPoochie
RegularPoochie - 11/4/2024, 8:25 AM
@BillyBatson1000 - Nailed it!
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 11/4/2024, 9:42 AM
@ObserverIO - I can mostly agree with that.
SheepishOne
SheepishOne - 11/3/2024, 8:18 AM
I didn’t particularly love the first one, but that last 10 minutes with Joker and Murray is fantastic. I’ve never really seen another movie get the audience to side with a murder in the same way. You really want to see him shoot Murray.

That said, I thought this second one had more interesting things to say that you don’t really see explored much in comic book movies. It’s fascinating to see fans of the first one turn on this one and the same way Lee and the others in the film abandon Arthur after he renounces the Joker and states his regret. It’s the same kind of meta connect the first one had where people were championing the Joker. Say what you will about the film’s merits, but it’s fascinating nonetheless.

I don’t think Philips is a master director by any means, but he has an interesting ability to bring an audience into his movie as a character themselves. He did it in the first one during the Murray scene, and he’s clearly done it again here. People really hate Arthur Fleck and are even going as far as reevaluating their opinion of the first film after seeing this. It’s wild.

There’s plenty I didn’t care for in this one, but I felt the same about the first Joker. The takeaway from both films I think is the cultural impact. The resonating sentiments. I don’t know what Philips did or how intentional, but he’s tapped into something unique with these movies.
feedonatreefrog
feedonatreefrog - 11/3/2024, 8:32 AM
The movie was a grating watch because of the poor handling of the musical elements (which sounded great on paper), but the story was solid.

The interplay between the man and idea of Joker (both in universe and to the audience) was perhaps the most interesting aspect of these films, the entire reason to do them in the first place, and the way the movie inverses the plight of the nobody (via the oppression of the privileged/neurotypical) with that of the spotlight (and the oppression of the victimised) felt appropriate.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/3/2024, 2:16 PM
@feedonatreefrog - there wasn't a story. There was a recounting of the first film while he's on trial a nd a shoehorned romantic element with no real substance and then he's killed.
Slotherin
Slotherin - 11/3/2024, 9:33 AM
This seems very neutral
TCronson
TCronson - 11/3/2024, 9:44 AM
Anyone who claims the movie has nothing to say is a liar or missed the point entirely, no matter how much you hated the movie. It's so obvious and the entire movies builds to it, in fact reaction to this movie validates its message. I don't really understand how you can even miss it.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 11/3/2024, 3:52 PM
@TCronson - good for you sir! agreed
PartyKiller
PartyKiller - 11/3/2024, 10:06 AM
There are some like idiot comic book artist Ethan Van Sciver and Mark Millar who act like loving Joker 2 makes you better than those who don't. Like they can see a quality normal people can't. Millar also loves Superman IV The Quest For Peace. HAHAHAHA!
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 11/3/2024, 3:53 PM
@PartyKiller - HEY. Never rip on Superman IV. One of the greatest bad movies ever!
MR
MR - 11/3/2024, 12:39 PM
I’m glad there is love for this film on here. Finally. There should be a super cut made of both films back to back so that it’s seen as one continuous story or film.

There’s just way too much pearl clutching around here. And incredibly bad, just plain terrible, writing from the writing staff.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/3/2024, 2:30 PM
@MR - The supercut is basically just the first movie with the post credits scene where he's killed from the end of the second movie.
marvel72
marvel72 - 11/3/2024, 2:20 PM
Tarantino liked the movie as well.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/3/2024, 2:31 PM
@marvel72 - Tarantino prefers dirty feet to boobs.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 11/3/2024, 3:54 PM
@marvel72 - I always like Tarantion's opinion.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 11/3/2024, 4:01 PM
@ObserverIO - dude. what is your hang-up on spreading more and more hate about this film?
Do you think you'll actually stop people from liking it or seeing it?

We get it. You hated it. So, go find another film you can enjoy.... geez


marvel72
marvel72 - 11/3/2024, 4:13 PM
@ObserverIO - I hate feet, mine or anyone else's

But boobs

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marvel72
marvel72 - 11/3/2024, 4:14 PM
@lazlodaytona - I agree with most of the things he says but I haven't seen Joker 2.
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