LateToCult 39,674 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 Second and final viewing done. Really, it’s not the worst movie to come out this year. The drastically negative critical response is a bit exaggerated but ultimately this film is not good enough to bother defending. Shame on Warner Bros for pressuring a man that didn’t want to make a sequel into working on this project and shame on Todd Phillips for doing such a disservice to the audience and his cast. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Economy 47,027 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 (edited) Spill it. Was it a good movie? Was it well done? Are the critic reviews being harsh? PS: without spoiling the movie plz Edited October 5 by Economy Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Economy 47,027 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 Edited tag to question. Dunno why I wrote "opinion" To add an additional question to my OP... would you say Gagas screen time is sufficient and decent? Is 50 minutes (roughly 1/3 of movie screen time) an accurate report? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrawberryBlond 14,087 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 (edited) Spoiler free review (no actual plot revealed, I do mention the ending but only my view in whether I liked it or not) As someone who loved the first one, I was so ready for this sequel. Well, I'm sad to say that it was somewhat of a let down. The cast did a fine job (Steve Coogan did really well in a very short cameo) and Gaga was the best part of it. But the film didn't take all its ideas to the max. Lots of good ideas but none of them really fleshed out well with whole plot points not fully realised or finalised. The scenes seemed to pivot from one to the next without seamless transition and it was like it was all pieced together haphazardly with a very thin plot. The musical numbers were tragically cut short and good scenes from the trailers had been cut completely. The ending I flat-out did not like, major misfire there. I'd forgotten how long I'd been watching it and it felt like there was still far more movie to go and was shocked that it was over so fast. Focusing on Gaga specifically, her role is definitely best categorised as supporting, she clearly had a much bigger part originally but had screen-time reduced, potentially because there were fears she was taking over what was meant to be a Joker movie. Her singing was top notch, especially Gonna Build A Mountain. I got literal chills watching her perform, her take on such a cold and psychotic character was unlike any acting I'd seen her do, so believable I forgot I was watching Gaga, which is major considering disconnecting herself from her real life persona has always been hard for her. I hold no bias in saying she was fantastic and if it weren't for her, I'd say this movie would have been lucky to get a halfway good response from me. On the whole, Todd really fell away from the pack with this. After creating such a masterpiece with the original, this was a fall from grace. I can only hope that Gaga's acting will be enough to secure an Oscar nomination at the very least but it's the only thing here that deserved any praise. 3.5 stars out of 5. Spoilered extended review focusing on specific moments (for those who have seen it) Spoiler I felt the film took a helluva long time to really get going and for the most part was focused more on talking, could've done with more focus on the music side of things. The chemistry between Gaga and Joaquin was really good and I love the scene of them in the cell where she's applying the make up and I'm so glad they kept the sex scene very simple and tasteful and it's good that we finally see her in a lead role where she isn't in a state of partial undress or fully naked (maybe we can graduate to a movie one day where she doesn't do either, not that I'm against that, but it seems that she is getting defined by her body and sexuality in movies a lot). If there's one thing I'm happy about, it's the low graphic violence compared to the first. I didn't have to hide my eyes once this time, looked like it got that rating for language above all else. I would've loved to see the guards get their comeuppance but I guess the whole point of the film is to show that the world is dark and bad people get away with bad deeds. Really annoyed at all the scenes that were cut from the trailer, the scenes of them dancing on the court steps would have looked amazing if realised and that fan-shot footage of Gaga singing on the steps outside Arthur's apartment that leaked very early on clearly annoyed WB so much that they cut it. That scene would've been so much better if it were longer but the full potential of it all got ripped away from undercooked scenes. The whole car bomb thing suggested it was Harley that did it but when it was revealed to be some of Joker's fans and that plot point was never completed, that was bad directing. The whole film felt smaller this time as there was no large mob crowds with clown masks like the first one, they'd all but disappeared, like that was something the movie just wanted to move on from as it encouraged right wing radicalism or something. And as for that ending, it was unsatisfying and insulting to the audience. I thought there was still more film to go and nearly said "that can't be it, don't you dare stop now." For Arthur to be killed by a guy who we'd barely seen whose name we didn't even know and die having lost absolutely everything, now such a pathetic character as opposed to the triumphant one the previous film had left us on was just a slap in the face for fans of the original. Overall, a very damp squib follow up. I knew it was going to be hard to better the original but this had so much more potential to not be this meh but it was like the creators just weren't trying hard enough. Edited October 5 by StrawberryBlond 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
salty like sodium 1,036 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 @Economy haven't seen it but if you look at the tracklist the soundtrack is about 40 minutes long and she's featured on about 23 minutes of that music so it seems she's in it quite a bit imo. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
G U C C I 5,388 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 (edited) I was someone who was incredibly hyped for this film and have been looking forward to it since it was announced. I have seen it twice now and honestly, I have never been more frustrated by a project she has been apart of as I was this. She is radiant in her scenes. Truly the most captivating she has been in a film to date and the script/plot let her down so badly. She has ok screen time for a supporting role, but it was marketed as co-leads which they are not. When she is on film and she has lines, they are cut short by singing. Which is an interesting way to include music as dialogue but it doesn’t add value to movie. It just seems like filler. The big fantasy numbers are beautiful and well done but again she is just singing and not really offering anything to the story. Which ultimately goes nowhere because it seems that Todd decided to double down on Arthur and his mental health vs sensationalism. Edited October 5 by G U C C I 4 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Economy 47,027 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 1 minute ago, salty like sodium said: @Economy haven't seen it but if you look at the tracklist the soundtrack is about 40 minutes long and she's featured on about 23 minutes of that music so it seems she's in it quite a bit imo. Thats promising cuz obviously shes not gonna be singing the entire time so it must mean shes in quite a bit Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
salty like sodium 1,036 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 1 minute ago, Economy said: Thats promising cuz obviously shes not gonna be singing the entire time so it must mean shes in quite a bit that's what i thought but according to @G U C C I all she does is sing so now idk but i did read good things about her in the movie overall. it seems she was in it long enough to make a good impression. but also a lot of people hated her character (not her acting, just the character). Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrawberryBlond 14,087 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 1. It was not a great movie. Not the worst, but if Gaga wasn't in it, it would be mediocre at best. 2. No, the critics are not being too harsh, they're being very reasonable and realistic and I had the same issues. 3. 50 minutes sounds about right. She's in it enough to get considered for best supporting actress but she deserved way more screen-time and you can tell she had shot more scenes that got cut. On the upside, we know she won't be committing category fraud by trying out for best supporting and that race isn't competitive so she might stand a chance. 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
G U C C I 5,388 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 @salty like sodium Singing isn’t all she does but it’s almost like that’s what all of her scenes ultimately culminate in. She will be having a conversation and then just start singing even outside of the fantasy scenes. 3 1 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Oak 6,998 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 Gaga has enough screen time but her character doesn't do much during that time. Even when she's got no lines to contribute we still get many shots of her, she's there throughout. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ew from Judas 395 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 Just got out of the movie lol i understand the mixed reviews, it’s not gonna be for everyone. The scenes with Gaga are the best part by far-(and that’s coming from a longtime DC fan, not just a Gaga fan) I think the marketing put her in it more than she was-banked on her quite a bit tbh, I wish she were there more, she isn’t the lead but she is the co-lead for sure. Not sure how the Gaga fanbase is gonna react to this, wish I could be more helpful there lol. But she looked so good and she sounded so good, best part for sure Ew 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Economy 47,027 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 5 minutes ago, G U C C I said: @salty like sodium Singing isn’t all she does but it’s almost like that’s what all of her scenes ultimately culminate in. She will be having a conversation and then just start singing even outside of the fantasy scenes. Seems kinda frustrating to whatch tbh Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meredith Grey 3,113 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 This is genuinely the worst movie I’ve ever seen. I think the critics were too nice on this movie. I’m on the AMC subscription thing so I see like 30-50 movies a year and review them all with a 1-10 rating. I gave this movie a 0 and I’ve never given a film a 0 before. It’s also my lowest ranked movie of the year. Let me list some of the things that make this movie awful. 1. Gaga actually steals the show as the best actor in this, but her character is reduced to NOTHING. Her last scene is so abrupt and bland. In fact, I give her props for taking such a poorly developed character and making it seem realistic. Any characteristic they give her, they like flip flop on. 2. It was ashamed to be a musical. Gaga couldn’t give it her all and neither did Joaquin. I’m a huge musical fan and found myself dreading the musical numbers because they weren’t particularly nice to listen to and they didn’t add to the plot. In fact, the musical numbers were so random they felt like they were there to distract from the fact this movie had no plot. At one point, Joker sings a song while on the phone with Gaga and it’s seemingly pointless. 3. In over two hours, nothing happens. Nothing is explained. The ending is so out of left field. I don’t understand any choice made by any character here. They start random plots and then don’t finish them. It’s written like in riverdale where plots just disappear without any mention again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Economy 47,027 Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 8 minutes ago, StrawberryBlond said: 1. It was not a great movie. Not the worst, but if Gaga wasn't in it, it would be mediocre at best. 2. No, the critics are not being too harsh, they're being very reasonable and realistic and I had the same issues. 3. 50 minutes sounds about right. She's in it enough to get considered for best supporting actress but she deserved way more screen-time and you can tell she had shot more scenes that got cut. On the upside, we know she won't be committing category fraud by trying out for best supporting and that race isn't competitive so she might stand a chance. How unfortunate. A movie like this had so much potential and it sounds like they really screwed up the script Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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