A famous video game creator defended Joker 2: Folie à Deuxsuggesting that Todd Phillips’ film could be rehabilitated as a classic in the future.
Joker 2 is one of the big fiascos of the year 2024. Between a monstrous budget ($200 million) that the box office will never be able to compensate for and a failed Harley Quinn, the reasons for this predictable failure are numerous. Warner has also decided to sacrifice Joker 2 on the altar of VOD to limit the bleeding. However, despite very bad press and an audience absent from cinemas, the film can count on great support.
Although Paul Schrader left the theater after 25 minutes of Todd Phillips’ film, recently it was Quentin Tarantino who defended Joker 2. Francis Ford Coppola also explained how much he liked this Joker 2. One of the people considered to be one of the greatest contemporary video game directors also took the side of the film Joker: Folie à Deuxgoing so far as to qualify Joker 2 future classic.
The ideals of Joker 2
It is in a long post posted online on November 3, 2024 on X/Twitter that Hideo Kojima gave his impressions concerning Joker 2. A sometimes respected, sometimes criticized figure in the video game world, Kojima took sides by praising the film. He expressed his conviction that, although misunderstood today, this second part of the saga Joker could become, over time, an emblematic and essential work of cinema. The poor people in the public simply did not understand the genius of Joker 2.
« Over the next 10 or 20 years, this film’s reputation will likely evolve along with upcoming superhero films. It may take time for it to become a true “folie a deux”. But there is no doubt that all the viewers loved Joaquin and Gaga in this film.«
All my Hideos: words… Damaged…
In his analysis, Kojima describes Joker: Folie à Deux as an introspective and provocative work. It welcomes a bold opening in animation, recalling the retro aesthetic of Looney Tunesand notes the complexity of a story built around the split personality of the Joker.
The film, according to Kojima, delves into a deep reflection: is the Joker really Arthur, or another facet of his psyche? This question is not limited to the characters, but extends to questioning the very perception of the public: who is really the character with whom they identify – the Joker or Arthur?
« In the trial that follows, the question of his multiple personality is debated from start to finish. Is the Joker Arthur? Is the Joker another personality (his shadow)? Who is Arthur exactly? This revelation ultimately turns into a metaperspective. In the previous film, “Joker,” was it really the Joker who captivated audiences around the world? Or was it Arthur? This question is constantly asked of Lee and even the residents of Gotham City in the film. »
Hideo Kojima continues his argument by explaining that the cinematic landscape is full of stories of “ hero of poetic justice ». Joker: Folie à Deux would then be a confusing counterpoint. By exploring the contradictions of an ambiguous character, the film questions the current tendency to glorify heroic figures. For Kojima, this approach could well be considered visionary, and mark a turning point for superhero films, which would evolve towards more complex narratives, questioning the very nature of good and evil.
« We live in the era of mass production of heroes of “poetic justice”, of a battle between good and evil. Recently, many spin-off films have been made with a focus on villains. Can villains also be superheroes? Is this question asked on the big screen in a DC movie too avant-garde? Is this the Joker that audiences around the world loved? Was it Arthur? This is where opinions differ.«
Evil tongues will say that once again, Kojima is doing Kojima, and that he is overinterpreting Joker 2. Where he sees a film as deeply introspective and subversive, others see it as a huge artistic fraud. We don’t know if the truth is elsewhere, but in the United States it is already on the small screens, since Joker 2 has been available on VOD across the Atlantic since October 29, 2024.
