- S: The film gets away with a lot by having an unreliable narrator, but there are just too many "how did she get past the guards" moments. The blend of reality and the metaphor of Arthur's experience
leaves some open questions, which are all shut down by a let-down ending. Arthur's extreme freedom in Arkham and throughout the courtroom are serious plot holes.
- C: Some beautiful shots. Some of the musical sequences feel out of place and there's a jarring editing mistake/transition during a court room testimony.
- E: First half is gripping but the miscues with excessive musical bits and a dragging story leaves the ending messy and missing the emotional punch that was intended.
- N: The first half is excellent with great exposition and musicality that is artistic and makes sense. The musical bits become a bit pointless/tangential to the narrative after the halfway mark and even
become a bit of a nuisance by the end. The end sequence is so messy that it makes the climactic finale disappointing.
- T: The film received two bonus points: one for a great shot with a well-lit cell turning into a window-lit cell highlighting a sillhouette with a cigarette and one for a great scene where
Arthur is practicing smiling during a car-ride.
The first half of this film is excellent, with great cinematography, great exposition, and well-timed musical bits. Even on second watch, I think the movie is excellent up until the trial actually begins. However, the musical bits became a bit over-done about three-quarters of the way through
and the ending falls flat due to some poor narrative structure. It's missing the nuanced magic of the first Joker, but it's certainly not as bad as everyone is making it out to be.
Number of Watches: 2
