Joker: Folie À Deux [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Todd Phillips

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Release Date: December 17, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 5/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis:

Joker: Folie À Deux finds Arthur Fleck institutionalized at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that’s always been inside him.

‘Joker: Folie À Deux’ rejoins failed comedian Arthur Fleck following his reign of chaos; now institutionalized at Arkham as he awaits trial for the murders he committed. As he attempts to find a semblance of peace with his circumstances and slowly steps away from the Joker personality, he happens upon a woman named Lee who he finds a unique bond with. As Lee encourages him to embrace the darkness inside, he begins to find hope and purpose, while also discovering the music inside of himself, just in time to head into his trial and hopefully give the world another taste of his unique brand of entertainment and humor, only now he’s no longer alone.

Directed once again by Todd Phillips (Joker, The Hangover) from a screenplay that he additionally co-wrote with Scott Silver (The Fighter), Phillips does a commendable job at the helm of ‘Joker: Folie À Deux’ guiding along the film with heart and style, yet the glaring differences from its predecessor and curious choices are difficult to disregard. The cast of the sequel includes various new and returning cast members including Joaquin Phoenix (Napoleon), Lady Gaga (House of Gucci), Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin), Catherine Keener (TV’s Kidding), Zazie Beetz (TV’s Atlanta) and more who each offer solid performances in their respective roles that help to keep the film from falling off the rails entirely.

‘Joker: Folie À Deux’ is a curious type of sequel that while continuing the story and ideas introduced in its predecessor almost seems to go out of its way to distance itself from the previous film in many other ways, transforming into part courtroom thriller, part twisted romance and part jukebox musical; something I must admit that I never would have fathomed prior to the announcement. While there may be some beauty in the music and even some decent dreamlike scenarios for it all to play out, it causes the tone and formula to feel jarring and confused along the way. As one ongoing scene tends to transition into a musical number at a different location out of nowhere more and more frequently throughout its duration, it begins to drag the story down and almost feels like a way to extend the runtime more than something to complement the story; too often feeling forced and unnatural, not to mention drastically out of place.

‘Joker: Folie À Deux’ isn’t all bad and it does have its strong points including a unique course of events that take it down a different path and some memorable performances from leads Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga who both shine and give their all to the roles, not to mention how truly gorgeous and intricate the film looks at every turn. Yet it’s still nearly impossible to disregard the chaotic and unbalanced formula that it delves fully into and the end result is an inferior sequel. While ‘Joker: Folie À Deux’ certainly deserves to be commended for its unique style and a few daring moves made along the way, it unfortunately becomes more of a chore to get through than a pleasure by the time it nears its conclusion; more often causing it to feel almost like an inside joke as opposed to a true, faithful continuation of the first film.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Joker: Folie À Deux’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original varying Aspect Ratio of 2.20:1 with 1.90:1 for the IMAX sequences. The video presentation looks outstanding as a whole and delivers a clean, sharp and gorgeously detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any unexpected issues or faults to be uncovered throughout. Detail is marvelous on everything from character faces, clothing and more, in addition to the surroundings both interior and exterior which all look flawless. Much of it is greatly complemented by the Dolby Vision HDR which contributes some more lifelike and precise coloring noticeable on clothing, backgrounds and more, while black levels are deep, clean and magnificent. Overall, this is a phenomenal Ultra High Definition presentation that impresses at every turn and shouldn’t elicit any complaints whatsoever.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is magnificent in its own right and it provides a clean, crisp and frequently immersive audio presentation throughout that never disappoints. It consistently utilizes all seven available channels in order to send music, crowd chatter and nature effects, plus plenty more repeatedly moving throughout the various speakers whenever appropriate, while never allowing any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously to become negatively affected in the process. Overall, this is a wonderful Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that holds up splendidly at all times and should thrill fans as well as newcomers.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Joker: Folie À Deux’ offers a nice helping of bonus content that includes the multi-part Making of ‘Everything Must Go’ (running approximately 44 minutes in length), along with some additional behind the scenes Featurettes including ‘The Character of Music’ (running approximately 8 minutes), ‘Crafted with Class’ (approximately 7 minutes), ‘Colors of Madness’ (6 minutes) and ‘Live! with Joker’ (5 minutes).

*Please note: The above images were provided by Warner Bros. and are not reflective of the actual 4K Ultra HD release or its quality. A standard Blu-ray copy of the film was not included in the release that could be used for screenshots therefore the above publicity stills were utilized. They are all the property of Warner Bros. Discovery and any other respective owners.

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Film Rating: 5/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

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‘Joker: Folie À Deux’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from DC & Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘Joker: Folie À Deux’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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