The Joker 2 (formally referred to as Joker: Folie à Deux) is out and it’s not doing very nicely. Critics don’t appear to love it, audiences don’t get pleasure from it, and it’s not making practically as a lot cash as its 2019 blockbuster predecessor. And if you’re an enormous fan of the primary Joker and determined to nonetheless go see the film after all of the unfavorable press and evaluations, nicely, you may not have loved how director Todd Phillips determined to finish his courtroom/supervillain/musical drama.
SPOILER WARNING: We’re going to completely spoil the ending of Joker: Folie à Deux. In the event you don’t need to know what occurs on the finish of the film, nicely, uh…I’d cease studying this text proper now! Significantly.
So right here’s how Joker 2 wraps up. After witnessing the brutal dying of a younger inmate and confronting a traumatized sufferer from his rampage in 2019’s Joker, Joaquin Phoneix’s Arthur Fleck realizes that this complete rebellious crime clown routine isn’t working. He then admits in courtroom that he’s simply Arthur Fleck, that the Joker persona was by no means actual, and that he dedicated these horrible crimes. He’s discovered responsible, however a bomb erupts. He’s saved by his followers and brought to Woman Gaga’s Harley Quinn, who has totally embraced her supervillain standing and promptly dumps lonely, boring Arthur Fleck.
Following this, Fleck is recaptured and introduced again to Arkham the place one other laughing inmate tells him a joke. He then stabs Arthur and leaves him to die as this younger inmate cuts a smile into his face, implying that this man is the “actual” Joker who will go on to commit crimes and mayhem in Gotham as Batman’s arch-rival.
Yeah! Form of wild. And this isn’t my or another person’s interpretation, that is instantly from director Todd Philips by way of a brand new interview with Leisure Weekly the place he defined why he went with this ending and likewise confirmed it’s not all a dream.
When requested why Arthur would confess his guilt and quit the Joker persona, Phillips stated that “He realized that the whole lot is so corrupt, it’s by no means going to vary, and the one solution to repair it’s to burn all of it down.” He continued:
“When these guards kill that child within the [Arkham] he realizes that dressing up in make-up, placing on this factor, it’s not altering something. In some methods, he’s accepted the truth that he’s at all times been Arthur Fleck; he’s by no means been this factor that’s been put upon him, this concept that Gotham individuals placed on him, that he represents. He’s an unwitting icon. This factor was positioned on him, and he doesn’t need to dwell as a faux anymore — he desires to be who he’s.”
I wasn’t an enormous fan of the unique Joker, I believe it was largely positive and carried by some strong performances, so I can’t think about how superfans should have felt watching Fleck die as the brand new, actual Joker rises. These individuals believed this story was the origin of the Joker after which on the final minute, Philips pulls the rug out from underneath them and saus “lol. Nah.”
It’s a wild alternative, one which isn’t audacious sufficient to make Joker 2 a great film, however one which will likely be remembered. Folie à Deux looks like The Hangover trilogy director was in a position to trick Warner Bros. into funding a film that principally serves as a large center finger to followers and a defiant act of trolling that the Joker himself would most likely respect. And contemplating reviews that Phillips had full inventive management and there have been no check screenings, the entire “tricking the studio into making a ‘fuck you’ film” may not be that far off…
Chatting with Leisure Weekly, Phillips additionally stated “The unhappy factor is, he’s Arthur, and no person cares about Arthur.” I’d beg to vary. I believe lots of people care about Arthur Fleck, sufficient to assist that first movie attain $1 billion on the field workplace. However with this wild ending, unhealthy musical numbers, and boring dialogue, it’s unlikely the sequel will attain those self same heights. No less than we are able to relaxation assured that Fleck and Philips’ lackluster DC movie universe ain’t coming again. Most likely.
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