Joker 2: Folie à Deux was probably one of the most anticipated films of the current cinema year. Numerous fans of Todd Phillips’ acclaimed first part were all the more disappointed when they finally saw the result on the big screen. With an underground score of 32 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences and press agree that the DC sequel cannot keep up with Part 1 by a long shot. So far, Joker 2 has only brought disappointing amounts into the box office for Warner Bros.
However, while Francis Ford Coppola recently sang the praises of the controversial supervillain flick, another master director has now joined this opinion: Quentin Tarantino.
Quentin Tarantino is excited about Joaquin Phoenix in Joker 2
As the Pulp Fiction maker recently explained on the Bret Easton Ellis Podcast (via World of Reel). Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as the Joker “one of the best performances”that he “ever seen in a movie” would have. He further explained that Joker 2 even exceeded his expectations:
I would like [Joker 2] really, really happy. I expected to be impressed by the production. But I also thought that it could be an intellectual exercise that doesn’t quite work as a film, but that I could appreciate for what it is. And I’m nihilistic enough to have fun with a movie that doesn’t quite work as a movie. Which is, to a degree, a complete mess. And I didn’t think it was an intellectual exercise. He really carried me away. I really liked the musical sequences. The more banal the songs were, the better I liked them.
Tarantino told the story of Arthur Fleck and Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga). reminiscent of the serial killer couple from Natural Born Killersfor which Tarantino once wrote the screenplay. As much as Todd Phillips used Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver with the first Joker film, Tarantino now sees strong references to his own film in the second part – which he celebrates: “The film was like a Mickey Knox fever dream [aus Natural Born Killers].”
Check out a trailer for Joker 2 here:
Joker: Folie à Deux – Trailer (German) HD
For Quentin Tarantino, Todd Phillips lived out the Joker role himself in his film
In addition, Tarantino expressed his deepest respect to director Todd Phillips for completely overturning the expectations of all fans with Joker 2, making him a Joker character himself:
Todd Phillips is the Joker. The Joker made this film. The whole concept that he spent the studio’s money – he spent it the way the Joker would have, right? And then comes the surprise gift when he shakes your hand and you get a 10,000 volt electric shock. He says ‘f*ck you’ to all comic book geeks. He says ‘f*ck you’ to the audience. He says f*ck you to Hollywood. He says ‘f*ck you’ to everyone who owns a share of DC and Warner Bros.
You can watch Joker 2: Folie à Deux in your local cinema since October 3, 2024.