Whenever there is a discussion about the Mount Rushmore of villains there is only two constants with Dark Vader and The Joker. Batman’s nemesis since appearing in Batman #1 in 1940 has appeared in films, animated series, TV series, LEGO and of course oh so many comics since but with 2019 standalone film. Now with a sequel hitting cinemas does it still manage to match the original.
For those not familiar with one of the most famous and most evil characters ever created for Comics, the Joker is both the most famous rogue and the polar opposite of Batman. The ‘Clown Prince’ of crime has had a lot of interpretations from LEGO to Luke Skywalker with a personality to match, often being portrayed on a sliding scale of comedic themed bad guy to a homicidal mentally ill criminal genius. While films like the original Batman and what most would call the best Joker representation in The Dark Knight had possibly a much lighter tone than some comic appearances, it was not until the 2019 film that the Joker had his own standalone film without a Batman to be seen.
In the 2019 film we meet Arthur Fleck, a clown (literally, he is a Party Clown) and failed comedian with a past that led him to develop a series of mental disorders including one that manifested as involuntary laughing. Inspired by films like Taxi Driver or Falling Down, the first Joker film is the spiral for Arthur Fleck who experienced his One Bad Day that ended with him already committing multiple homicides, calling himself the Joker as he executing a late-night talk show host live on TV.
Not totally devoid of references to his comic book counterpart the film did take place in 1980s Gotham City but where Thomas and Martha Wayne were still alive and kicking with their son. The first Joker film was both somewhat of an adaption of The Killing Joke while being completely different which, honestly is correct for the Joker being a character whose origin changes every time it is told (intentionally).
Before we go too far we should probably clarify a few things with the 2019 Todd Phillips film and the new film in cinemas not being part of any existing Batman or DCU continuity including the upcoming James Gunn universe or the Matt Reeves The Batman. It is set and has continued to be stated that the first Joker film and its sequel are an standalone extended universe or Elseworlds story that has no impact or crossover.
While the first film was absolutely a story about someone with mental illness and doing bad things, the new film is well effectively the aftermath of the first film like a long epilogue chapter. We would not be understating that the first film has a deep dive on opinions of it with a lot either loving or not liking it at all with it’s story about mental illness in the pre-Batman universe.
Regardless of preference there was a lot of depth to the first film with it requiring more than one viewing to pick up on representations of Arthur’s mental illness showing up on the screen making it not clear when something was really happening or just in Arthur’s imagination. And this does happen in the sequel but in a much more obvious way because whenever there is a break from reality happening it’s not just a clock not moving, it is a full-blown musical.
The film at it’s core is Arthur now in prison for the murders in the first film and having received notoriety from his acts on live TV including a tv movie being made about it. Still detached from reality Arthur meets Lady Gala/Harley (Lee) Quinn who is much more interested in the Joker than Arthur as Arthur’s lawyers prepare him for a to be televised trial. Now imagine all of that and add in more than a dozen 1950’s musical movies sequences representing breaks from reality.
Yes, there is a LOT of musical sequences ranging from 1970s TV show appearance backgrounds to what if Fred Astaire was a mental patient pending trial for 5 (no 6) homicides. We were not able to be exact but of the film’s 2 hour and 19 minute runtime we feel like nearly half of that may have been on screen performances of the 36 songs within the soundtrack (including a performance of the same song that was the theme song for the Australian TV show – Kath and Kim).
So should you go see it? Look, if you did not enjoy the first film you are not going to enjoy this one – that should be a given. While this is still a film that is adjacent to the Batman Universe with characters like Harvey Dent appearing (and another one that is a very telegraphed spoiler you bet is going to be a topic of conversation for social media spoilers no matter how much it is said this is a disconnected story) it is not a Batman film. There is still excellent film making here and a story, it is something that is very much made for hardcore supporters of the first film, or possibly Lady Gaga fans. In the meantime, if you need a Batman/Joker themed cleanser, there is always the LEGO Batman Movie.
Joker: Folie à Deux is in cinemas across Australia from October 3rd
