Hideo Kojima, the man who created and directed cinematic games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and Death Stranding, has taken to Twitter to do what so many film nerds love to do: Write about 200-ish words on social media about a movie they recently saw. According to the acclaimed director, people are going to reevaluate the box office dud that is Joker: Folie à Deux over the next few decades.
On November 4, Kojima posted that he had recently watched the Joker sequel, which is already available to stream at home after a horrific opening weekend at the box office following negative reviews, which generally called the movie a boring courtroom drama. According to Kojima’s post, he liked the film’s animated opening segment and seemed to enjoy the sequel’s “meta-perspective.”
“In the [film’s] trial that follows, the question of his multiple [personalities] is argued from beginning to end. Is the Joker Arthur? Is the Joker another personality (his shadow)? Who exactly is Arthur? This revelation eventually transforms into a meta-perspective,” he said on Twitter.
“In the previous film, Joker, was it really Joker who captivated audiences around the world? Or was it Arthur? This question is constantly raised to Lee and even to the people of Gotham City within the film. We live in an age of mass production of ‘poetic justice’ heroes, a battle between good and evil. Lately, many spin-off films with a focus on the villains have been made. Can villains be superheroes too? Is this question posed on the big screen as a DC movie, too avant-garde? Was it the Joker that audiences around the world loved? Was it Arthur? This is where the reviews have diverged.”
Kojima suggests that over the next “10 or 20 years” the Joker 2‘s “reputation” will change as well as future superhero flicks.
“It may take some time for it to become a true ‘folie à deux.’ But there is no doubt that everyone in the audience loved Joaquin and Gaga in this film,” concluded Kojima. Will someone check back in on this post in 10 years and ping me to see if people love Joker 2 by then? Cool, thanks!
.
