This is what happens when you make a sequel to a movie that nobody wants. You get a movie about nothing. 

“Joker” was a competently made film. It did have huge inspiration from films like “Taxi Driver” and “The King of Comedy,” but for what it is, Director Todd Phillips and co. did a decent job on delivering their own vision of the iconic comic villain.

 When the sequel, “Joker:Folie à Deux,” came out, I was surprised to see that the reviews were incredibly negative. The word of mouth from the internet and friends convinced me not to see this film. The first movie, while a tad bit overrated, was a well made film that did what it needed to do. So I went into the sequel thinking, “It can’t be that bad, right?”

I hate being wrong.

To start, this is an aspiring musical. Unlike its predecessor, this sequel tries to tie together its plot points using big music numbers and near-theatrical presentation. I do not mind musicals, and I think this genre is another great way to tell a story, but on its own two feet, “Joker:Folie à Deux” fails at being a true musical. 

A decent chunk of the songs just feel like filler and do not flow with the plot. There are also some pieces that are separated from the movie that feel like a “Family Guy” cutaway gag, which took me completely out of the movie and killed any and all momentum. The scene would have a decent flow, then you are met with a song out of nowhere, no build up of anything. It made me put my hands in my face. 

The plot is almost nonexistent. It almost feels like a movie that was intentionally made to waste your time and money.  The journey throughout the film is incredibly boring and the ending felt very tacky and pointless. Furthermore, the plot of the sequel was also predictable.

 I blame this on the writing, as it seems the writing team is actively trying to undo every significant plot point that the first movie sets up. It is really confusing as to why though. This entire sequel felt like downloadable content for a video game. Even worse, this felt like an end credits scene or a five-minute deleted scene that was expanded into two hours, as most of the time we are constantly reminded about what happens in the first movie. 

I wonder, did Todd Phillips hate the first movie that much? Did he take a huge bag of money and say, “I’ll make the movie, but I won’t be happy about it”? That’s what this movie feels like. There was almost no passion, direction or mindset behind it. Sure, there were some decent moments and songs. The cast performed like their rent was due. There was a powerful moment that made me reflect on its characters a bit more, but that was one moment in a two-hour movie. 

Overall, “Joker: Folie a Deux” felt like a massive waste of time. It’s like the corporate higher-ups at Warner Bros. felt like they needed a sequel because the first was so successful. The only valuable lesson that I took from this is that Phillips should not direct sequels anymore.

Do not spend your twenty dollars on this movie like I did. Go watch “Transformers One,” go on a hike, spend time with your family, or do literally anything else…