By Michael Lopez Zaragoza, Writer | October 25, 2024
Photo courtesy of Instagram (@joker.folieadeux)
Out of all the sequels being forced down our throats like large pills, this one was the one we thought would taste like grape or cherry on the inside but was instead orange flavored. It was the aftertaste of drinking orange juice directly after brushing your teeth.
The film was unveiled on June 22, 2022, and when it was revealed that it would be a musical, people were worried about the quality. A valid concern as lately there have been mishaps with films morphing into musicals including the likes of Mean Girls, Lion King, and The Color Purple.
Now, it is important to remember that all of these films are decent on their own, but they lose their merit as a good film when music is peppered in each and every section of it, butchering it in the process.
The potential was great, but the stakes were high, plus its predecessor was meant to be a standalone film so tensions were brewing. But, the pacing of the film was decent and the camera work was brilliant.
The music itself was good but too redundant, especially for a musical. In films with similar genres, the only reason there should be songs would be to progress the plot and to keep the audience from nodding off. In this case, people could hardly take the grimness and gritty mood of the film seriously when every time they opened their jaw was to belt out some random lyrics.
The singing trivialized the integrity of mental health as the film focused particularly on Arthur Fleck’s, aka Joker’s, DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder); one thing that you can appreciate about this version is that Joker did not change aside from gaining a sudden proclivity for singing.
The acting is phenomenal; Lady Gaga's acting acumen is always a pleasure to witness and Joaquin Phoenix equally so with his impressive acting chops and inability to break character, but the script did not flow as well as some might’ve expected and crucial elements of the genre were missing.
“I expected it to be more scary. I didn't think it was going to be a full musical,” said Carson High School freshman Riyah Andersen, “[I] thought it was going to be like the first Joker movie..[it] shouldn’t be a musical, he’s [Joker] a villain.”
It’s a fair point. Villains outside of Disney are ruthless savages whose very existence doesn't reinforce the nuances of musicals. It truly undermines the effectiveness of their presence.
There were not many glowing recommendations even if some believed the film was somewhat satisfactory.
“The musical… was okay…people exaggerated...” said CHS senior Anaiah Griffin. “If they really like Joker, I wouldn’t recommend it, but if you’re trying something new then yeah.”
It could simply be that the brilliance of the first installment simply overshadowed the efforts of this one.
CHS sophomore Andrew Ahumada said, “Lowkey I expected it to be a little bit better. The first one was a bit hard to beat, but second movies aren’t always better.”
This is a common phenomenon that happens with sequels either due to poor directing or pacing and sometimes even colossal expectations.
The film is not bad if you know what to expect. High hopes shouldn’t be kept so high; instead, just be realistic, leaving your preferences at the door.
Comments