“Joker: Folie à Deux” is one of the most anticipated films of the year but I, along with many others, would recommend saving your money.

I went into the early screening of “Joker: Folie à Deux” with high hopes and an open mind but I came out of the theatre with mixed emotions. I loved the film’s exquisite visuals and how they took us from reality into Arthur (Joaquin Phoenix) and Lee’s (Lady Gaga) fantasy land, however, I had a hard time enjoying the various musical numbers.

The film begins with a cartoon titled “Me and My Shadow,” a reference to Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr’s song and a foreshadowing of Arthur Fleck’s defense in his upcoming trial. His lawyer, Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener), claims Fleck is innocent by reason of insanity, arguing that Joker is a separate personality within him. The film explores the idea of everyone having a “shadow self,” — the parts of ourselves that we consider unacceptable and suppress — but it all felt kind of surface-level.

This can be said about the overall film. Every time I felt like the film was finally going to take a drastic turn and give me the action I was so desperately craving; I was shoved back into the same boring storyline.

The film’s plot centered around two main locations, the prison ward where Fleck was serving time and the courtroom where he was standing trial. And because of this, the film felt extremely long and at times quite a bit boring. There were moments where I wished I was watching it on my computer rather than in the theater so I could skip over the scenes that felt like they were just there to take up space.

To be completely honest, I left the theatre yearning for a new version of the film where Lady Gaga was allowed to reach her full potential as the new Harley Quinn. Even as a diehard Margot Robbie fan, I was excited to see Gaga’s take of Harley Quinn, especially with the newly added musical element, but I was disappointed to say the least.

Despite her amazing vocals, it felt like Gaga’s character was cast aside and that her talent was severely underutilized. Throughout the film, I was waiting for her transformation from Harleen “Lee” Quinzel into Harley Quinn, but all that Phillips offered was a few bold makeup looks. I understood that the focus was on Joker’s storyline, but it would have been nice to see more depth in Harley Quinn’s character.

My overall rating of the film would be three out of five stars. The musical aspect of the film could have been a nice touch if done correctly but it just felt unnecessary and like they didn’t add anything to the overall plot. While there were elements that kept me entertained, in the end, the storyline was just plain boring.