JDK_999’s review published on Letterboxd:
This isn't really a sequel, so much as an extended coda that is trying to understand both its predecessor and the response to it. I have to respect it on that level. Todd Phillips is clearly trying to process something here. It doesn't always work. But there is something interesting in its messiness.
And it is messiness. Much like Arthur's hair, this film is in dire need of a good trim. Especially some of the courtroom scenes that do little more than re-litigate the events of the first film. And the raspy, softly mumbled "musical numbers" don't help (though a couple of the bigger sequences hint at what might have been if this had fully committed to the musical premise).
But there is a core here which resonates deeply: a desire to strip away the artifice, the discourse, and the fantasy to present the consequences the first film never fully explored. It does so in a way that will alienate fans, but that ended up winning me over more than I ever thought it would.
JDK_999 liked this review
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