Joker: Folie à Deux is the second installment of the Joker series directed by Todd Phillips (The Hangover, Road Trip). The film follows Arthur Fleck, played by Joaquin Phoenix, and Harley Quinn, played by Lady Gaga, through their quest of love. The movie takes place shortly after the first film, which was released in 2019. Even with its great visuals and other features, the picture falls short in some areas.

Unlike Joker, Joker: Folie à Deux is a musical, with a number of musical numbers throughout. However, the story is mediocre, and difficult to comprehend. In some scenarios, scenes end rather quickly, and there are many plot holes, making the film hard to understand.

Despite this, the movie is developed through Phillips’ directing as well as the pictures’ beautiful cinematography choices. Similar to the first movie, Folie à Deux is set in the fictional city of Gotham. The grittiness and gloominess of the city is prevalent, doing a great job to set and capture the atmosphere.

As far as the acting goes, both leads give stellar performances. Like his Oscar-winning role in the previous movie, Phoenix delivers again as Arthur Fleck. His theatrics tremendously help and provide a significant amount of emotion to the story. Likewise, Gaga knocks it out of the park with her performance, during her musical numbers.

Overall, the film is loosely held together by Phillip’s directorial genius and creative vision through the movie’s cinematography. The introduction of musicals in this sequel along with the brilliant acting couldn’t save Joker: Folie à Deux’s weak story.