Step right up, folks. ‘Joker‘ (2019) earned over a billion dollars at the box office; whether it’s a good decision to make a sequel or not is irrelevant – those figures ain’t clowning around. It certainly has big (clown) shoes to fill. This follow up, set two years later, more or less fills them – but throws us an almighty curveball; it’s (partly) a musical. Lightning seemingly never strikes twice so recapturing everything that made the first film brilliant was always going to be a mission. So why not do something radical with the previous concept?

It’s a juggling act of genres; aforementioned musical segments (comprised of show tunes from yesteryear), bleak prison drama and courtroom thriller. While it retains the gritty realness of the original, the songs feel out of place somewhat. They aren’t thrown in for the sake of it, it makes sense narratively as they’re portrayed as Arthur Fleck / Joker’s flights of fancy whilst withering away in jail awaiting trial for murder. It’s the way they’re used I had an issue with. “Why so serious?” Heath Ledger’s incarnation of the Joker would ask. Director/screenwriter Todd Phillips has clearly taken this mentality to heart because… after a bout of dramatic acting… *bang* we have a whimsical all-singing, all-dancing number in Fleck’s head. I’m not sure I could really take the movie seriously as I felt like they sanded down the sharp edges these tense scenes had created.

Send in the clowns.

That said, the show tunes and their retro setting serve as a pop of colour to contrast with the grimy palette of the prison corridors. Phoenix gives as intense a performance as his Oscar-winning turn in the first film and Lady Gaga, playing his love interest Harleen ‘Lee’ Quinzel, surprised me – I’ve never rated her as an actress (not least her bizarre Russian accent in ‘House of Gucci‘), but perhaps it’s because it involved singing in some capacity that she fits in well here. In terms of the vocals, Gaga easily outperforms Phoenix, her voice lends itself to the jazzy/gospel soundtrack naturally.

Although enthralling, the court scenes did drag on just a smidge. But it’s Phoenix’s moment and, as the song goes, there’s always a joker in the pack.

My rating: 7 / 10