The plot: Struggling with his dual identity, failed comedian Arthur Fleck meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn, while incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital.
I was looking forward to this sequel because I liked the first one.
This sequel was horrible.
Pros: I did enjoy the looney tunes animated sequence. Seeing Lady Gaga sing was a beauty. The chemistry between both Joaquin Phoenix & Lady Gaga did work for the most part and the film ended early.
Cons: A lot of musical songs sucks a lot of drama & excitement. This version of Harley Quinn didn’t have a chance to really been Harley Quinn. Harry Lawtey was miscast as Harvey Dent in my opinion. I lost sight what story it’s trying to tell & that ending was terrible & diffusing.
Directed by Todd Phillips
Produced by Todd Phillips, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Joseph Garner
Written by Scott Silver, Todd Phillips
Based on Characters by DC Comics
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener & Zazie Beetz.
Cinematography: Lawrence Sher
Edited by Jeff Groth
Music by Hildur Guðnadóttir
Production companies: Domain Entertainment, DC Studios, Joint Effort
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
The Casts:
- Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck / Joker, a mentally ill nihilistic criminal with a clown-inspired persona, formerly an impoverished party clown and aspiring stand-up comedian. Director Todd Phillips said that while the film would venture further into Fleck’s psyche, he would not become the “Clown Prince of Crime”, as his Joker persona is an unwilling symbol to people who give him the love he always wanted.
- Lady Gaga as Harleen “Lee” Quinzel, a patient at Arkham State Hospital who becomes obsessed with Arthur and forms a deadly romantic relationship with him. Describing Quinzel, Phillips noted how this version of the character is manipulative, amoral and “more grounded”, with the film deliberately ignoring much of the character’s classic mannerisms and style to fit into the world created in Joker (2019).
- Brendan Gleeson as Jackie Sullivan, an abusive guard at Arkham State Hospital.
- Catherine Keener as Maryanne Stewart, Arthur’s lawyer.
- Zazie Beetz as Sophie Dumond, a single mother and Arthur’s former neighbor, whom Arthur imagined being in a romantic relationship with.
- Steve Coogan as Paddy Meyers, a popular TV personality who interviews Arthur in Arkham.
- Harry Lawtey as Harvey Dent, the newly elected assistant district attorney who plans to bring Arthur to justice for his crimes. Lawtey developed his own backstory for the character in order to accurately play the role, with Phillips instilling in him the idea that, in the dawn of televised trials, Dent has his eyes on the prize and is cynically willing to put Arthur on trial for his own gain. To prepare for the role, Lawtey avoided watching the versions of Harvey Dent in Batman (1989), Batman Forever (1995), The Dark Knight (2008) and Batman vs. Two-Face (2017) portrayed by Billy Dee Williams, Tommy Lee Jones, Aaron Eckhart and William Shatner respectively. Despite his character being a courtroom showman, Lawtey never sings in the film, being grateful for not singing in front of Gaga.
- Leigh Gill as Gary Puddles, Arthur’s former clown co-worker whose life he spared.
- Ken Leung as Dr. Victor Liu, a psychologist who gives his testimony diagnosing Arthur at the trial.
- Jacob Lofland as Ricky Meline, an inmate at Arkham who admires Arthur.
- Bill Smitrovich as Judge Herman Rothwax, who presides over Arthur’s trial.
- Sharon Washington as Debra Kane, Arthur’s former social worker.
Marc Maron‘s likeness as Gene Ufland was used for a book written by his character that Arthur is asked to sign. Connor Storrie appears as the young Arkham inmate in the final scene.
I worse skip this movie save your money.
Rating: 1 out of 5 Stars
Ryan Balkwill:
Resident film reviewer,
Level Best Art Cafe