Batman: The Killing Joke

Goddamn it.

I really wanted The Killing Joke to be DC Animation's return to greatness.

The parts that are actually The Killing Joke are great, but I just can't ignore the first 30 minutes. It felt like a random episode of a completely unrelated Batman TV show. I get that they wanted to make Batgirl more sympathetic and an actual character in the movie, rather than just a plot point, but honestly, who cares? Who gives a crap about Batgirl? She doesn't matter, she's irrelevant to the story. The Killing Joke is supposed to be about Batman's relationship with The Joker. Instead, it felt almost as If Barbara Gordon was the main character. If they didn't want to just do a direct adaptation of the novel because it'd be too short, I get it, but find another way to expand it.

But still, like I said, as soon as the actual movie starts, it's great. Hamill and Conroy were obviously great. They stole the show, specially Hamill. I didn't like Commissioner Gordon's voice though, it sounded weird.

Overall, good movie, but it should have been great.

OK... I'll be honest: I was waiting something great and I didn't get it. Maybe because of the very high expectations that the movie just couldn't reach. There was a couple of things that bothered me. I think the important part was too short (about 45 minutes), they gave too much emphasis to the Batgirl prologue, I mean, the Joker appeared 30 minutes after the movie initiated, for God sake! Yes, there was some things from that part that I thought were interesting, I'm sure some people will hate them though. I was very uncomfortable with the inconsistency of the art style, sometimes The Joker looked amazing, sometimes... not very good; besides, the animation was very weak in several scenes, I mean like 10 fps and that's unacceptable Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy's work was the best of the movie, I can't complain about that. It was OK. But they could do it a lot better.

This movie is awful. As a stand alone movie, it's weak and ineffective. As an adaptation, it's a travesty.

What should be a deep, poignant movie that reflects on the nature of good and evil, why we become what we become, whether free will exists and other fascinating themes, becomes a lame action movie full of fan service, bad writing, bad characterization and terrible pacing.

This movie is doomed by a complete misunderstanding of what made the comic great, a bad writer and total lack of respect for its characters (especially Barbara Gordon).

Everything great about the comic was done poorly or taken out. And all the additions are awful.

A fan of the comic will hate it and a newcomer will just wonder why the hell the comic is considered a masterpiece, if this is the story people raved about for 30 years.

Animation is decent and voice acting is good, so I gave it a 4/10 out of respect for those things.

But this one of the worst things ever produced by DC.

When "The Killing Joke" is actually about the source material, it's a decent adaptation. It's dialogue-faithful, the tone is good, and really, if they've gotten Conroy and Hamill as the two leads, you know they're taking this seriously. And that infamous scene is incredibly effective.

But it's that first half-hour that doesn't work. It's tacked-on and certainly doesn't do Batgirl or Batman any favors (the latter of whom just seems a tad creepy). This is (for better or worse) the Joker's origin story, incendiary though it is, and I can understand why they'd want to flesh out Barbara's character; but it still doesn't work because Batman doesn't recall her horrific fate later on in the movie. She's no longer relevant beyond the shock value. The intentions were there, but it could've been done better.

Within this running time, there are 45 minutes of good movie. Skip the first 30 and you don't miss a thing.

6/10

Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)

*** (out of 4)

An already bad situation for Batman turns even worse when he realizes that the Joker has escaped and is on the streets again.

BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE pretty much came out of nowhere and become a huge hit to fans and critics. I guess it's easy to see why so many positive vibes would go towards this animated film and especially since so many people were unhappy with BATMAN VS SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE. With that said, as good as this film is I still think it has been overrated by some who are calling it a masterpiece.

Still, there's no question that this is a highly entertaining movie that manages to keep you glued to the personal drama effecting Batman and there's also the great rivalry with the Joker. These aspects is what keeps the film moving at such a good pace and I really thought the Joker character was highly entertaining and sinister just the way he should be. Mark Hamill does a very good job with the vocal work on the Joker and I thought Tara Strong was also very good with Batgirl.

The animation is top notch as you'd expect and the screenplay allowed the darkness of the city to blend in with the characters. This darker approach is something that "some" people don't like but I thought it was perfectly suited for the animation. BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE is a darn good film and one that more people should check out.