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Joker: Folie À Deux – the long-awaited follow-up to 2019’s Joker, again with Joaquin Phoenix (Napoleon) as psychologically-unbalanced lunatic Arthur Fleck, but while the first film took over a billion dollars at the box office, as we get into the second week of release, this sequel is finding that you could enter any auditorium, throw a paper plane and you’d be lucky to land on anyone.
Yes, what do you get when you cross a director who takes the piss out of his audience, with an audience that abandons him and treats him like trash? You get a major flop.
But, before I get into that, there was one fantastic thing to witness beforehand, a trailer for Danny Dyer’s forthcoming movie, Marching Powder, but while that does look very entertaining, it wasn’t the content of the film that stunned me, but was what came before and after it, which I’ll describe below, but will put behind a spoiler header, in case you want to witness it for yourself…
Joker: Folie À Deux takes place two years on, with Arthur in Arkham Asylum, eventually awaiting his trial, one day chancing upon not ‘Harley Quinn’, but Harleen ‘Lee’ Quinzel (Lady Gaga) in a singing group, and wants to join, confessing to her that he’s not in the clink because he bumped off the 5 people that was known about, but it’s 6 in total, including his mother.
This is the jumping-off point for when, occasionally, the film breaks into singing, acting out as if it’s a fantasy moment, after which everything is back to normal. This would be tolerable if they’d left it at just the one song, when Arthur’s amongst other prisoners while blasting out For Once In My Life, but after that, it feels like Joker was remade by Baz Luhrmann, and inbetween the songs, the plotless nature of this sequel feels like we’re watching all the outtakes for over two hours stuck together.
Well, I do also like If You Go Away, my favourite version coming from Terry Jacks, below, but beyond that, no more.
When arsonist Lee sets fire to the cinema room, where they’re watching That’s Entertainment, sadly, while they get to escape, the doors to the auditorium were locked*, and we were forced to endure the movie in full. That said, I thought Joker’s world was meant to be set some time in the ’60s, yet that musical was released in 1974.
(*for legal clarification, we weren’t locked in!)
Also throw in an interview with journalist Steve Coogan (Despicable Me 4 3D) putting on a bad American accent, and when it finally comes to the trial, which will be broadcast on live TV, Arthur yawns during this. He must’ve seen me, since it’s catching!
Oh, and if you’re wondering, the subtitle of “Joker: Folie À Deux” translates as “Madness For Two”.
However, where was the $200m spent in Joker: Folie À Deux? The courtroom is a basic set, and even the ‘Joker & Harley Quinn’ music show pastiche looks like it was made from cardboard, bought from Poundland.
2019’s Joker was overhyped. It was a good film, but far from a great one. This? it’s just tedious. The plot never gets started and never goes anywhere other than eventually getting to his trial, which is just an excuse for more singing.
It’s absolutely bombing in cinemas, and given that October 11th saw the release of Transformers One, potentially in IMAX 3D, that’s been taken away because Warner Bros already bought out the premium screens for Joker: Folie À Deux for a full two weeks, and I’ve already described how empty these are.
As Wikipedia states:
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“Critics noted that the film was a work of metafiction designed to intentionally antagonize audiences who were fans of the first film. Rather than capitulating to expectations of the predecessor’s fanbase that Arthur would fully embrace his Joker persona and go on to become Batman’s archenemy, the film serves to rebuke those who idolized the character of the Joker after the original movie. As a deliberate anti-audience effort, the film pushes against the notion of fan service, instead creating a self-aware narrative that is a commentary on its own existence…
Ultimately the metafiction reflects Arthur’s characterisation; just as his society only cares for him for what he represents as the Joker and rejects him when he renounces that persona, so too does the audience reject Arthur. As a result, many felt the film to be a “very expensive punch line” for the same audiences who saw the first film.”
Now about the aspect ratio of this film, or the multiple ones. I generally saw a 1.85:1 trailer in cinemas, until I went to see Interstellar at Vue Printworks Manchester on Septmber 20th – which was incorrectly shown in 1.90:1 (not the advertised 1.43:1, hence I obtained a refund). The entire trailer was in 1.43:1, but just cropped the sides from the film to fill the screen! I figured if that’s how it is throughout, that’s a massive con.
I read several versions have been created. All of them open with a 4:3 segment, before, on 2.39:1 (Scope) screens, it cuts straight to 2.20:1, with slight black bars on the left and right sides, as with Oppenheimer.
The 1.85:1 (Flat) version was due to also include a segment in 1.90:1 before it changed to 2.20:1, while the IMAX 1.90:1 version has some additional footage opened up to 1.90:1, for the musical numbers.
So, I emailed Odeon last week, prior to the release, hoping to get an answer, since it appeared the film was being issued in BOTH Flat and Scope versions to the cinema, depending on which screen it was being showed, and I referred to aspect ratios as a ‘dreaded’ topic, because they rarely know what one actually is.
Me:
- “Hi, I have a question about this forthcoming film, but while it is about the dreaded topic of aspect ratios, it is hopefully information that will have gone out to all cinemas, compared to what I’ve seen issued to US cinemas.
While I’m sure we’d all prefer filmmakers just to stick to the two main aspect ratios of 1.85:1 (aka Flat) and 2.39:1 (Scope), it appears Joker 2 has 2 or 3 aspect ratios used, depending on the shape of the screen, i.e. Flat or Scope. Plus, Warner Bros are reportedly sending out specific masters to cinemas for the non-IMAX screens so that they are shown on the respective screen shape. I believe 2009’s Avatar did a similar thing, although I didn’t see that in the cinema until the 2022 IMAX remaster came out.
I won’t go into too much detail about the aspect ratio changes, but this email was mainly to ask if Odeon have had such specific instructions with relation to Joker 2 in terms of specific masters for Flat and Scope screens, or if you can find that out for me, please. I know in its first week, it’s showing on a variety of different screens, so I’m working out which one to see it on.”
Guest Services:
- “Hi Dom, Thank you for your email.
I am enquiring about this with the cinema team at ODEON Trafford Centre and will get back to you.”
And then the next morning:
Guest Services:
- “Hi Dom, Good morning.
The cinema team at Trafford Centre has confirmed that they will be showing the Flat Version for the screening of Joker 2.
I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us and we’ll be more than happy to help.”
Me:
- “Hi, thanks very much for your reply.
Do you know if Odeon/Trafford Centre were also offered the Scope version of the film for Scope screens, please? I ask, since if they only show the Flat version on Scope screens, then when it comes to the Scope sections of the film (which I understand is most of it), those are going to look very awkward and windowboxed on a Scope screen, such as (from the opening week’s screenings) screens 6, 7 and 13.
If you could also clarify that, that would be much appreciated.”
Guest Services:
- “I have enquired about this with the cinema again and I will be attaching their response below for you.
“All of our screens are capable of showing flat and scope content. Our screens use an electronic masking system so if the film is mastered in flat then the masking will move inwards to fill the spaces at the side of the screen. If the film is mastered in scope, then the masking will move outwards to allow the film to stretch out and fill the screen. As Joker has been mastered in flat, we will only be showing it as it is intended.”
I hope this helps!”
And then this week:
Me:
- “Hi, thanks for your reply, but by the sound of their reply, they’d only been sent the Flat 1.85:1 for non-IMAX screens, but when I went to see this there, quite the opposite had happened.
I saw it in screen 14 (a 1.85:1 screen) and it was the Scope version on that, and the same version is showing on screen 7. Not sure about the Dolby screen, but as that’s a Scope screen, I would expect it to be the same.
Can you ask them why they gave that reply, when clearly they’ve only been sent the Scope version, please?”
Guest Services:
- “Hi Dom,
Thank you for your email.
The cinema team has confirmed that the film will be shown as intended with the film mastered in flat. If there are any discrepancies whilst viewing the film, I would suggest raising the concern with the cinema team as they are best placed to address such concerns.”
Me:
- “Hi, the film *wasn’t* mastered in flat. It was mastered in Scope. You were told the wrong thing.
Hence, please can you ask them why they gave that reply, when clearly they’ve only been sent the Scope version, please?
Here, I have the conversation noted down, and since I’ve no idea who you spoke to, and that most people in general have no idea what an aspect ratio is, if I was to ask them in person, that’s why I’ve come back to you to ask whoever you heard back from originally.”
So, unless someone can tell me who I can email – since a query about aspect ratios is not something I’m going to try and discuss in person given its complexity, and especially since I don’t know who I’d need to speak to. If I get any further update, I’ll add it in here.
There is no mid- or post-credit scene.
Joker: Folie À Deux is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD, ahead of its release date TBA.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 138 minutes
Release date: October 4th 2024
Studio: Warner Bros
Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1, 1.43:1 (some scenes) (IMAX GT Laser & IMAX 70MM), 1.90:1 (some scenes) (IMAX)
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 1/10
Director: Todd Phillips
Producers: Joseph Garner, Todd Phillips, Emma Tillinger Koskoff
Screenplay: Scott Silver, Todd Phillips
Music: Hildur Guðnadóttir
Cast:
Arthur Fleck: Joaquin Phoenix
Lee Quinzel: Lady Gaga
Jackie Sullivan: Brendan Gleeson
Maryanne Stewart: Catherine Keener
Sophie Dumond: Zazie Beetz
Paddy Meyers: Steve Coogan
Harvey Dent: Harry Lawtey
Gary Puddles: Leigh Gill
Dr. Victor Liu: Ken Leung
Ricky Meline: Jacob Lofland
Judge Herman Rothwax: Bill Smitrovich
Debra Kane: Sharon Washington
Ernie Bullock: Alfred Rubin Thompson
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.