Tarantino RAVES About Flop Joker 2! What Did HE See That Critics MISSED?!

Tarantino Loves It, Critics Hate It: Unpacking the Polarizing Joker: Folie à Deux

Quentin Tarantino's Shocking Defense of Joker: Folie à Deux

Hold onto your hats, folks! Quentin Tarantino, that legendary director, just threw a major curveball. He LOVES Joker: Folie à Deux, that much-maligned, box-office-bombing sequel! He raved about it on Bret Easton Ellis's podcast; defying those overwhelmingly negative reviews; the consensus has deemed this sequel as another big-budget disappointment in a string of similar releases. With a 32% Rotten Tomatoes score, and grossing under $60 million domestically ($201 million worldwide – a far cry from the original's billion-dollar gross!), many might expect even Tarantino to strongly oppose this film and might only appreciate some of its aspects; it was, after all, a huge financial failure for Warner Bros.

But Tarantino completely bucked expectations; calling it "tremendously impressive" and getting totally "caught up" in the story. He went on record praising those questionable and heavily criticized plot aspects, from the musical numbers ("the more banal, the better!") to Joaquin Phoenix's performance ("one of the best I've ever seen").

Even the much-maligned plot received his defense; his key assessment about this relates to its creative merit: “The Joker directed the movie,” he said, noting how "Todd Phillips is the Joker," emphasizing his rebellious and chaotic approach to this project which made this polarizing movie truly compelling from Tarantino's own unique perspective and his own deeply unique assessment of creative value.

Tarantino's Unique Perspective: Embracing the "Giant Mess"

Quentin Tarantino praises flop Joker sequel: ‘I really, really liked it’ Image

Tarantino’s approach in this specific situation might appear unorthodox: His take isn’t typical for some viewers, suggesting this shows that it appeals to some who are deeply engaged in the narrative, and not in need of plot resolutions. It’s clearly important to fully appreciate what those individual characteristics are in order to understand Tarantino's positive assessment; he found a great deal of value through it's rebellious nature and that total lack of conventional movie making; creating that truly "giant mess." It totally makes the unconventional brilliance which this seemingly odd approach generated from the story itself. He admitted he expected it to be purely intellectual, appreciating it just for technical skill. But instead? He got deeply engaged!

He loved its unexpected, provocative choices; and was truly drawn to Phoenix's insane portrayal which truly made Phoenix the stand-out player from the story, noting Phoenix’s character and his insane portrayal: His commitment earned him his Oscar (in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood which many felt Leonardo DiCaprio deserves)! It's hard to find any consensus among professional critics: While Tarantino praised everything around this aspect in great detail; and defended the often-criticized unconventional performance with some passionate reasoning and argument, some found this performance lacking; demonstrating just how deeply varied interpretations are.

Comparisons to Natural Born Killers: A Tarantino Touch?

Quentin Tarantino Praises ‘Joker: Folie À Deux’ & Todd Phillips, Calls Film A “F*** You” To Hollywood & Comic Book Fans Image

Tarantino sees echoes of his own Natural Born Killers script! He considers Joker: Folie à Deux to have a "folie à deux" relationship between Arthur Fleck and Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga), noting the significant similarity with those other troubled pairs that feature in other well-known stories! This comparison shows just how far he fully understands how much impact this entire storyline had and has. This is important, since Tarantino was famously unhappy with Oliver Stone's adaptation of his Natural Born Killers script – he felt this project performed significantly better! His admiration and appreciation isn't some random appreciation of this specific film; there is intent.

The "F--- You" Movie: Phillips' Rebellious Vision

Quentin Tarantino Praises ‘Joker 2’ and Says Joaquin Phoenix Gives ‘One of the Best Performances I’ve Ever Seen in My Life’: It’s a ‘F— You’ to ‘Comic Book Geeks’ and Hollywood Image

Tarantino doesn't just praise the movie itself – it is far deeper! It is this intensely anti-establishment perspective, viewing Todd Phillips as having created a “F--- You” film intended as direct rejection to mainstream expectations and standards; this act in itself truly demonstrates the movie's intended effect and brilliance as found and highlighted by Tarantino himself! He noted this direct message was entirely clear for every person watching – it’s intended to confront fan expectations of superhero narratives, those criticisms regarding movie-making in Hollywood – he noted this intended impact on the studio itself, explicitly highlighting and describing its direct antagonism toward any “studio making money”. It demonstrates a true revolutionary spirit which made this extremely unconventional storytelling incredibly compelling. This could possibly explain how Tarantino felt the specific artistic approach actually paid off.

Conclusion: A Masterful Disaster? A "Giant Mess" That Works?

Quentin Tarantino praises 'Joker: Folie à Deux' as a 'f--- you' Image

Joker: Folie à Deux is a major box-office flop; it really underwhelmed everyone in general with overwhelmingly bad reviews from almost every major outlet – generating huge amounts of dislike among audiences. But Tarantino loved it; his explanation, however controversial and not completely fitting with most general audiences might seem extremely valid considering how he saw this entirely – focusing less on it’s overall quality and box office failure – as many have emphasized instead – and placing this into a far bigger, and even more nuanced contextual meaning. This movie is unlike any other.

This Film presents plenty to discuss; provoking plenty of additional debates, creating polarizing opinions from critics and fans and even directors! Is it actually “masterful”, despite being “a giant mess”? You decide. The unique, even somewhat questionable assessment made here only goes to emphasize just how differently everyone experiences things and should not matter.