I have very mixed feelings about this movie. I heard that it was getting some bad reviews, but I always try to go into things with an open mind. (I have some unpopular opinions about movies and TV, so I can’t always trust the critics.) The parts I liked I loved, but the rest felt underwhelming. All that being said, let’s get into it.

My main issue: I believe that there was a vision for this film that was not fully realized in the final product. I think that there is a 3.5 hour version of this film out there somewhere that is an epic piece of cinema, but had to be cut down for commercial purposes. There were multiple parts of the story that felt under-developed, and I think that was what made this film feel incomplete. There were also several questions that were left unanswered by the end of the film, and not in a “wow, this really makes me think” kind of way, but in a “the writers forgot some loose ends” kind of way. The Joker is a great example of an unreliable narrator, but I feel like the writers were unreliable narrators at times as well.

Joaquin Phoenix is absolutely phenomenal in his role, and similarly, Lady Gaga was a fantastic choice for Harley Quinn. Individually, I think that they were great. However, their chemistry together in the film seemed very rushed. And I get it, two people meeting in an asylum aren’t going to have your typical structure for romance, but this was one of the cases where I felt like there were missing scenes. The influence that she had over him felt more like a plot device than something that would have actually occurred between the characters. Again, if they had taken more time to develop the story between them, this would have felt more believable.

The musical aspect was interesting to say the least. You know how when you’re watching a musical, you think, “people would have to be crazy to act like this in real life”? Well, that’s exactly how they applied it to this movie. Almost all of the “performances” were used as a window into the chaos and conflict inside his mind. I enjoyed the music, but I do think that there were some scenes where it just didn’t fit.

From the perspective of cinematic elements, the movie was fantastic. Just like the first Joker movie, it had a distinct color palate and unique shots, making it a visual piece of artwork. The score was award-worthy, and so was the rest of the audio. The usage of sound synced with visuals is something that I always pay attention to, and it was very noticeable in this movie. They also did one of my all-time favorite things– utilizing silence. This is such an important element that is often overlooked, but always has me in a chokehold. From an artistic standpoint, the film was excellent.

There were some pacing issues with the plot. It was strong in the first half, but the second half with the courtroom drama felt a little drawn out. (I don’t typically have issues with courtroom drama. I enjoyed it very much in movies like 12 Angry Men and Oppenheimer.) Since this review is spoiler free, I won’t get into the details of it, but the ending felt abrupt and somewhat hollow.

Overall I think this movie falls around 3.5 stars out of five. The acting, the filming, and the score met and exceeded expectations, but the plot felt unfinished. It was a conceptually deep and heart wrenching film, but the holes in the writing took away from its impact. This was my most anticipated movie this year, but after seeing it, I think that Dune: Part Two will most likely be Movie of the Year for me.