When they announced this would be a musical, I was super excited. "They actually have a bold and fresh idea for the sequel!" I thought. Instead, it feels like an absolute waste of a musical and my time. The pacing is atrocious; the film honestly goes nowhere. The story meanders, focusing too much on the events of the first film rather than crafting an interesting narrative of its own. It tries hard to reframe the Joker character from the first film and course correct audience’s view as a popular hero figure—an intriguing concept—but it fails to explore this in an engaging way. Aside from one compelling cross-examination featuring some great acting, the character writing is weak throughout. The music often detracts from deeper character exploration, which undermines its effectiveness as a musical. Except for one song that somewhat fits and advances the story, most musical numbers lack creativity, either featuring characters singing plainly to the camera or imaginary musical sequences that feel way too disconnected from the story. Visually, the movie looks great, featuring nicely done lighting and memorable framing. When it finally embraces its musical identity, the scenes do exhibit energy and visual flair, but these moments are few and far between. Most of the time, the music brings the story to a standstill. There are too many scenes with music and, at the same time, not enough musical flair that makes the genre so special. I feel bad for musical lovers and those who aren’t exposed to the genre being exposed to probably the worst musical I’ve seen in a hot minute. Lady Gaga's character is underwritten and largely reduced to being a boring Joker fanboy. While she sings well, her duets with the sometimes flat voice of Joaquin Phoenix drag down the overall quality of the film. The story feels extremely limited in scope. Arthur/Joker is mostly confined to a depressing prison, highlighting his bleak existence—territory we've already covered in the first film. The courthouse scenes, aside from that one moment, are written in the most tedious way possible. The entire case lacked any twists or revelations. Joker's character feels like a regression from the first film; he essentially reverts to being Arthur Fleck for most of the runtime. While we get a glimpse into his backstory, it’s presented in an uninteresting exposition dump during the courthouse scenes, and the backstory itself feels clichéd.  The ending is bold in its absolute lack of satisfying payoff. The world building is so lacking that the ideas the film puts forth have very little impact. The film could have done much more to critique fan culture and idolization, but we barely explore why people love the Joker in the first place. Harley could have provided insight into this perspective, but the minimal screen time dedicated to her backstory and character motivation renders her inclusion frustrating and the Joker/Harley partnership. Watch this if you want a film that has clear disdain for the first film and its fans with little entertainment value.