Joker 2 (Joker: Folie à Deux) is a musical revolving around courtroom drama, jail life and a romance between Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn and Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker. There is so much music, in fact, by the end you’ll be bracing yourself for a song to start during almost any scene. Besides that, the movie turns into a courtroom drama where the focus is whether or not Arthur Fleck truly has a split personality as the Joker.

It’s compelling at times between a lot of recanting of the first film and a look into some intimate details about the Joker’s personal life, but at other times you might find yourself waiting for more action.

This is also a film that starts and ends in jail, so besides the courtroom scenes, there aren’t many interesting places for the eye to go. I would have liked a little more screen time dedicated to settings that either weren’t indoors or away from the court or jail since it gets tiring and dreary to stay in two settings the entire movie. The jail life scenes open up once Arthur Fleck finds himself with Lady Gaga in a recreation room and their romance begins. The movie might have been more interesting if we learned more about Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn character rather than spending so much time in jail with Joaquin Phoenix.

Although there are some unexpected twists and turns, I found the film a little too tame and at times sort of boring. The musical aspect is fun sometimes and feels like filler at others. Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix both put on great performances but with too much courtroom time and a flat plot the movie feels like it never takes off.

As an eternal movie optimist, I still have to say this wasn’t one of my favorites although I think Lady Gaga fans might be in for a pleasant surprise.