When a movie fails to make you laugh or cry or even make you think, you start wondering is it even a movie? If it doesn’t provide the escapism and entertainment we’ve come to expect from cinema, and it hasn’t evolved enough to make you consider some of its points, is it even worth watching, let alone a sequel? give? The film Joker directed by Todd Phillips, for which lead actor Joaquin Phoenix received the prestigious Oscar, is exactly the same. That’s a lot of emptiness crammed together into a two-hour movie that survives by trying to feel self-important.

Yes, there are some questions to be considered about how we continue to fail as a society. We fail people and it creates negativity and insecurity in them, and the result is someone like Arthur Fleck, the Joker’s alter ego – who is damaged beyond repair. To demonstrate the emotional turmoil of the human Joker over time, we see the filth and basements of Joker’s Gotham. We see his madness, and we see his maniacal laughter. We see him having a crush on his neighbor, played by the beautiful Zazie Beetz. And we see him lose control on a talk show hosted by Robert De Niro.

But none of the things listed above are given enough time and space to breathe, and when they do, it becomes too indulgent. The director is unable to hold his breath.

One of the major reasons why Joker became popular among the people was the excellent performance of the eccentric Phoenix. Balancing the extremes of the character’s hollowness and madness with grace, the actor was able to bring out the nuances of the challenging role that had previously been portrayed by acclaimed actors like Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson.

Somehow, almost miraculously, Joaquin Phoenix managed to rise above all the entanglements and pretensions of the Joker, especially in the moments when Arthur felt unworthy of love (just that sequence), and when he embraced some of his anarchy. Took, expressing weakness, such as in the fragments on the stairs or when she told her therapist with apparent coldness, “I have only negative thoughts.”

One sequence that stood out from the rest of the self-indulgence was when the Joker shot talk show host Murray, played by De Niro, right after speaking candidly about being misunderstood and mistreated. The compassion and suppressed anger that Phoenix exudes during that five-minute scene is a brilliant piece of acting. If Phoenix had pulled away even just a little bit during those five minutes, the entire scene could have gone awry.

Summary: Joker was worth it (thanks to the main star), but did we really need a sequel? I don’t think so.

Starring a cast including Glenn Fleshler, Francis Conroy and Josh Pace, Joker is available to stream on Netflix and Prime Video.