Joker: Folie à Deux First Reviews Praise 'Real Spark' Between Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga

The first reactions to Joker: Folie à Deux are here!

The anticipated musical follow-up to Todd Phillips' 2019 blockbuster Joker premiered at Venice Film Festival on Wednesday, Sept. 4, and now critics are weighing in on the film starring Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck/Joker and Lady Gaga as Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn.

"There’s a real spark when Joker and Harley meet-uncute in the joint," The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw wrote. "But the whole movie finally turns out to be oppressively, claustrophobically and repetitively becalmed in that oddly unreal Gotham-universe jail with Phoenix and Gaga kept apart for long periods – and Phoenix’s own performance is as single-note as before, though certainly as forceful and his screen presence is potent."

Writing for The Wrap, William Bibbiani opined that Phoenix "is incredibly talented, and brings new insights to Arthur Fleck that Arthur himself didn’t seem to understand until now."

"He’s matched by Lady Gaga, whose interpretation of Harley Quinn runs counter to pretty much every other portrayal," Bibbiani added.

The Irish Times' Tara Brady gave the movie three stars out of five and wrote that Phoenix, 49, remains "a sight to behold" as Arthur Fleck / Joker, while Gaga, 38, "gives everything to an underwritten role."

"There are interesting notes on the intersection between love, mental illness, obsession, performance, and fandom," Brady wrote. "If only the movie were a little better."

The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney wrote in his review that Folie à Deux "will likely be embraced or dismissed for some of the same reasons" audiences either loved or hated the 2019 original. "In blocking the Joker from his maniacal dissemination of mayhem on the Gotham City streets, the movie all but neutralizes him," Rooney wrote. "Not to get too spoiler-y, but even more than its predecessor, the sequel reduces the archvillain to a hollowed-out product of childhood trauma and mental illness. Which means there’s little we didn’t learn last time. Even the dance interludes are carried over from Joker."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories

IndieWire's David Ehrlich wrote in a negative review of the film that Phillips has made an "excruciatingly — perhaps even deliberately — boring sequel that does everything in its power not to amuse you," and particularly criticized the director's use of Gaga, 38. "Phillips’ decision to cast a generational superstar in a role that seems designed to maximize both her supreme talents as a singer and her all-consuming screen presence as an actress just so he can sit her in the background of a courtroom whenever he’s not cutting her musical numbers off at the knees… well, it’s a lot more criminal than anything Arthur Fleck ever does in this movie," he wrote.

Joker: Folie à Deux was officially confirmed in June 2022, after the success of Phillips' original film that saw Phoenix, 49, take home the Oscar for Best Actor. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards total, and also won the prize for Best Original Score. Phoenix reprises his role as Joker alongside Zazie Beetz as Sophie Dumond. PEOPLE confirmed that Gaga was in talks to play Harley Quinn in June 2022.

The Hollywood Reporter was the first to share the news, reporting that the actress and singer's Harley would exist "in a different DC universe" than the one played by Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad (2016), Birds of Prey (2020) and The Suicide Squad (2020).

Other cast members for the film, which is co-written by Phillips, 53, and Scott Silver, include Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland and Harry Lawtey.

Joker: Folie à Deux is in theaters Oct. 4.