The first trailer for Todd Phillip's Joker Folie A Deux has been released online,
and it gives us a great first look at the new film. The trailer focuses on the twisted love
of both Joker and harley Quinn, how the musical elements are going to be used in this film,
some grogeous imagery and teases of a few big crucial moments in the narrauve. It's the kind
of trailer that makes you leave your doubts at the door and look forward to what a new story
in this world may bring. So in this video, I'm going to be giving you my reaction and breakdown
for the Joker 2 trailer, discussing why it looks like a promising new instalment in this seperated
Joker saga. The trailer will be linked in the description of this video if you haven't seen
it already. Before I get into my breakdown of the trailer though, if you want to see much more
videos on Joker 2 leading up to it's release date, then don't forget to support this video
by giving it a like rating and subscribing to the channel. But without further a do,
lets dive into the first trailer for Joker 2. So Joker Folie A Deux looks to be building on
everything got with the first film, with the trailer showing that through music and a new love,
Arthur Fleck isn't alone anymore. As the first film wrapped up with Arthur embracing his Joker
persona and being taken to Arkham state hospital, the trailer begins by showing us that he remains
there. Whether he manages to break out at some point is left uncertain, but we do get multiple
moments that point towards both an influence of both reality and halicinations. It's a trailer
that doesn't show too much, but gives us just enough to sell the tone, the approach they are
taking with the musical aspects and the expansion of Arthur's story too. And speaking of expansion,
the biggest aspect of this that is adding to the journey of Arthur is the introduction of Lady
Gaga's Harley Quinn. She is introduced quite early on and it's evident that the film will be taking a
fresh approach to that beloved character's backstory. In the comic book narrative,
Harley starts off as a compassionate psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum and it's there that she crosses
paths with the Joker, becoming captivated by the enigmatic villain. Eventually, she aids him in his
escape and becomes his partner in crime, though their relationship is often just as toxic as it
is affectionate. Joker 2 deviates from this as it seems that Harley may not be a psychiatrist.
And while it's possible that she was one in the past before joining Arthur in the asylum,
the trailer portrays her as a fellow patient alongside him. She appears to be well-acquainted
with Joker's actions, which as we know, gave a voice to a lot of people in Gotham by the end of
film one. And instead of being repulsed by those actions, she seems to admire them. So already,
this kind of change promises a fresh and captivating take on the character of Harley Quinn,
and you would expect that after the swings they took with Joker in the first film. As the trailer
progresses, we begin to see the transformation of Gaga's Quinn as she emulates Joker's actions
from that original movie, imitating a gunshot with her fingers before playfully pretending to shoot,
walking up the stairs in the same depressing manner as arthur did before, performing a fresh
take of the famous stair dance with Joker, and it actually looks like shes pregnant here, and
then there's also the shot where she mimicks what Joker did during the conclusion of the first film
by painting a violent, bright red smile using blood. It really looks like she's thriving in
this role alongside Joaquin Pheonix and I can't wait to see how her arc changes or differs from
Arthurs when we finally see the film. And this now brings me to the aspect that a
lot of people were worried about with this Joker sequel, and that is the musical numbers that it
appears to be using as a storytelling tool. In the early moments of the trailer, a voice can be
heard saying, "We use music to heal ourselves, to mend the broken pieces within." So right from the
outset, this suggests that music is being used as a form of therapy for the patients in the asylum,
and it sets the stage for the twisted Joker-like take on it too. Feeling like a weird cross-over
between La La Land and Singing in the Rain, the trailer showcases vibrant sequences with both
Joker and Harley performing against stunning backdrops. It becomes clear that these moments
are figments of their imagination rather than reality and one scene depicts this quite well,
as we see both of them dancing down the steps of a courthouse, and someone alongside them holds
a newspaper that reads Free The Joker. While this looks like a product of Joker's unreliable
narration, it's sequences like this which can add an intriguing layer to the character's
perspective. Another great moment that highlights this is when we cut from a rooftop where Joker and
Harley are dancing to a chaotic version of it in reality when they fall in love. It just shows how
these moments are really building on what we got in the first film with the halicinations,
in a more expansive way. We get a few other shots of what appears to be the Joker and Harley show,
being Arthur's imagination of aspiring to have his own show with her, once they do fall in
love. We saw how he looked up to Murray in the first movie and then how that turned south when
he actually went on that show. But now we've got a twisted live musical show ran by Arthur and Quinn,
and a somewhat visualisation of both the love and madness they share. You'd presume most of this is
in Arthur's head and that a lot of the movie would take place either in Arkham or in the
courtroom where he's being tried. Still, there is also that moment where Joker appears to be on the
run from imitators, and we don't know if this is real or not. Regardless, you'd expect it to
line up with that character theme from the end of Joker where his figure has inpired madness within
others. And I think it looks like he's on this fine line between embracing it or rejecting it.
We'll have to see, but it's clear that Folie A Deux is going to be a deeper exploration
of that story idea and I'm interested to see what message it leaves us with.
Moving on, as the trailer reaches its final moments we see that Joker is presumably being
taken to a courtroom. The reason I say this is because the behind the scenes footage from
the set showed that a court would be present in multiple scenes. At this location in the trailer,
there's a crowd of followers around his car showing their support with a few of them holding
up signs and demanding that Joker be freed. This is where Gaga's Quinn shows up in her red costume
shortly after too. And I think the culminating events of the film might go down at this
courtroom because the explosions we see towards the end of the trailer appear to be in some kind
of courtroom with a TV Camera. So I wouldn't be surprised if after Harley's transformation over
the course of the movie, she shows up in costume at Arthur Fleck's trial, and plans an explosion
there to break him out. We see what looks to be Arthur launched by that same explosion and maybe
it's a case of even he didn't epect that Harley would go this far for him. We'll have to see,
but based on the early glimpses we've had, it looks like a lot of the movie will take place
either in arkham asylum or that trial at the courtroom, and then the musical sequences go
beyond those 2 locations as we explore the madness of both fleck and Quinn. The trailer also ends
with quite a masterful shot of Arthur Fleck back behind bars, and with a stroke of her lipstick,
Harley paints a smile on the glass, and Arthur's head aligns perfectly within the frame to create
a powerful symbolic image. For me, it's a visual like this which implies that Todd
Phillips Joker sequel is aiming to be meaningful, than it is a money making comic book sequel.
So with my breakdown out the way, this brings me to my overall thoughts on the first trailer for
Joker Folie A Deux. Well, I thought the trailer was artistically stunning and I have to be honest,
I was completely sold on a lot of the elements they showed off. I know a lot of people were
skeptical over the musical apsects and that they were even making a sequel to a film that
felt like a one and done, but if you can bring something different to the comic book genre,
execute that well and then present a reason why a sequel would be neccessary, than it can work. And
while this trailer is only a tease of what's to come, it definitely sold me on the approach they
are going in. The musical moments were actually some of my favourite moments from the trailer,
acting as a kind of therapy for the main characters in a more artistic way that still
stayed true to some of the musical scenes from that the first film. Todd Phillips did come out
on stage at cinemacon last night and said that he doesn't see the movie as a straight up musical,
and instead, the musical moments play a role that is similar to what we've seen, just expanded. And
that is promising to hear, because if these scenes do have a purpose and extend on the psychology of
the joker in an effective way, than how is that a bad thing. The cinematography on show during all
of this has to be praised, and what we saw is both a potent mix of the grim and colourful landscape
of the leading character. Think a twisted version of La La Land or Chicago with massive sets that
use both wide and intimate camera angles. I can't praise enough how genius that final shot was too
and I'm sure Joker 2 will have plenty of iconic shots that rival the great ones we saw in that
original film. Another aspect that people were skeptical of going into this was the use of many
song covers and while we don't have a full idea of how that will be applied and whether we'll get new
and old songs as reports suggested, the use of the song here did have meaning. The song that plays
throughout the trailer is a cover of What The World Needs Is Love, a 1965 song first recorded
by Jackie DeShannon. Even though Joker is set in the 1980s and includes music from that time,
some scenes had music from other eras like the use of That’s Life or White Room. So a blend
of musical eras and genres can be applied in Folie a Deux and really emphasise on the tonal
shifts of plot and the mindset and relationship between Joker and Harley. So from an artistic
perspective this trailer gave me exactly what I expected and it builds a lot of promise for
the presentation of the film as a whole. From a performance and storytelling side of things,
while that is quite light, it's still promising when you see the expansion upon Arthur's journey,
the decend of Harley Quinn and how their shared madness is beginning to form. You can tell in the
backdrop of all this that the film is definitely going to have a prominent message about society or
madness as a whole, and while this could always end up being a weak aspect if it's repeated,
I have faith that Todd Phillips will deliver based on the footage that was shown. Gaga's
Harley Quinn looks great in the role as well, and I love the looks we got of her in multiple
costumes and evolution of her character. Having a multi-talented performer like this who can act,
has an icredible voice and supreme skill with music is such an added bonus. My only worry
with Gaga's character is that she might follow a similar path to Arthur from the first movie,
but since this is only a teaser, we can't really gather whether that will change or not. So we'll
just have to see in the next trailers and footage whether her arc is one that might have a different
kind of ending. Overall though, I'm expecting a really great adaptation that embodies the chaos,
the character descendancy, the art, the emotion and the darkness that a Joker
film should have. And while Joker 2 does have a big essense of music at its core,
Todd Phillips and everyone involved appear to be using these elements to their advantage.
But that was my video discussing my thoughts and breaking down the official trailer for
Joker Folie A Deux. I will be doing much more videos during the build up to the film,
including any new footage, images or updates from Todd Phillip's Joker sequel. But if you've already
seen the teaser trailer for Joker 2, let me know down below in the comments section what you
thought of the first footage, alongside whether it gets you even more excited for what's in store.
For more videos surrounding Todd Phillips Joker 2 leading up to it's release date, then subscribe
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I hope you guys enjoyed it, I've been Cortex and as always make some noise.