I was extremely lucky (and very excited) to attend an early screening of Joker: Folie à Deux in IMAX on Monday, September 30th. Easily the film I was most anticipating this year – for obvious reasons. A new, live-action iteration of Harley, and one that seemed to fall into a much darker story line than we have been seeing her in. Count me in.

First things first – the cinematography for Joker: Folie à Deux is absolutely stunning. These are just some trailer shots, but there are some scenes in the movie itself that were so simple but are still burned into my skull because they looked so, so beautiful. So, for that, 10/10.

The musical parts were, for the most part, pretty interesting and worked well with the “shared delusion” aspect of the film. It was a creative way to represent Arthur’s descent into his Joker mindset, and how Lee fit into that situation. While I did enjoy it, there were just a few parts that I wasn’t sure were necessary compared to the rest. However, still enjoyable. 8/10 on that aspect.

Now, as far as the story: a good portion of the film, I was absolutely on board with what was happening, and what felt like it had been building up to. However, especially toward the end, I think we needed more of Lee, and from set photos and trailer scenes, I know things were cut out that I think may have added another level to the story itself. However, as I said, I was giddy in my seat ready to devour the story the entire time. Let’s only dock a point for that: 9/10

Overall, on a personal score, I loved it and gave it 10/10. However, my personal opinion is very biased because, ya know, Harley Quinn. So, I thought it over, and decided a more fair score for general fans may be around 8/10. I do recommend the movie, but keep in mind that it is definitely for a certain taste, and you need to be ready and willing to go on a journey into the Folie à Deux.