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joker: Folie à Deuxthe sequel to the 2019 Joaquin Phoenix film, has received an unwanted Rotten Tomatoes score as more critics release their reviews of the film.

Initial reactions to its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September were mixed: some called it “brilliant” or “beguiling,” others called it “boring” and “tedious.”

Among the critics who praised the film was The Independent‘s Geoffrey Macnab, who gave a four-star review and wrote: “The darkness at the film’s core is underlined by its very brutal ending, which rejects comic book conventions in favor of psychological depth.”

“Phoenix’s performance also remains powerful and thrilling. The genius of this is that we can’t help but care for Arthur, despite his neediness and confusion.”

The film, which is a musical, also stars Lady Gaga as the Joker’s sidekick and love interest, Harley Quinn. As reported by , it initially had a modest score of 61 percent on Rotten Tomatoes Forbesgiving it the same score as the widely derided one Black Adam.

This proportion has now fallen to just 39 percent, as the majority of critics put the story, the songs and the much-discussed ending into the background.

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The consensus review on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing reads: “Joaquin Phoenix’s eponymous Joker takes a stand in a sequel that dances around while the story remains calm despite giving in to Lady Gaga’s wildcard energy.” Folie a Deux some momentum.”

New York Times Critic Manohia Dargis writes: “The big non-news about Slide for two is that it’s a half-hearted, half-hearted musical, with one star who can sing, Lady Gaga as Lee Quinzel aka Harley Quinn, and another (Phoenix) who can’t or won’t sing.”

Audrey Fox for Looper said: “Even fans of joker It’s unlikely they’ll find much to fix this chaotic, profoundly stupid mess.”

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Richard Roeper from the Chicago Sun Times said in his review: “There’s always a joker, there’s always a clown – but when he doesn’t transform into something bigger, bolder and more terrifying, it feels like we’ve seen this show before, just without the musical numbers.” .” .”

Kevin Maher for The times called the film “chaotic, lifeless, derivative and exactly what you would expect from a film that simply doesn’t want or need to exist.”

Danny Leigh provided further positive reviews The Financial Times call it less “unlikable than its predecessor”, while Ireland’s RTE said: “The film is effortlessly claustrophobic, dreamily undramatic and all the better for it.”

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The film is said to be the last for Phoenix’s Joker. After the premiere, a journalist asked Phoenix about his weight loss for the film, which he said was “more complicated” than the 2019 original.

In the first Joker, Phoenix lost 52 pounds to achieve the main character’s gaunt appearance, and achieved this through a diet consisting primarily of steamed vegetables and salad.

This time, Phoenix was hesitant to reveal details about his diet, telling reporters, “I’m not going to go into details of his diet.”

However, he said that losing weight for the sequel “felt a little more complicated” because “we were doing so much dance rehearsal, which I didn’t have last time.”