Batman: The Killing Joke

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.

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.

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.

Batman goes on the hunt for The Joker who is kidnapping and torturing Commissioner Gordon and his family in a similar way to his own descent into madness.

One thing that immediately stands out about this film is how much it seems to want to be like the graphic novel that it is adapted from. This is because the dialogue seems like it has literally been taken from the novel itself and copied word for word, this is accompanied by animation that looks like it's just a moving version of panels from the original comics/ Killing Joke graphic novel. It basically seems to be a direct literal adaptation of Alan Moore's famous, classic novel. This might majorly stand out at the start of this film adaptation because the first 30 minutes of the film seem to be a bit slow and just a long build up and introduction to the lives of Batman and Batgirl/ Barbara Gordon and so later plot details are further understood or emotional pain for certain characters is deepened because of this connection with the characters. In fact the connection with the characters in this film isn't really that strong and at times they just seem to be there ,even Batman has this feeling when he is present in some scenes, this can also be said for the character of the Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill) he might be one of the best things about the film but he doesn't seem very understandable in his actions and motives until later in the film when his backstory ,if it is even his real one due to the character previously making up many different backstories making him more mysterious and in some cases creepy, is revealed and we see what his life was previously like and what drew him into the state of madness that has made him one of the most famous and iconic on-screen and comic book villains ever. As this is done the character of The Joker gets better and better and more enjoyable and the same can be said for the rest of the film as more is revealed and as more events unravel/ occur the pace gets quicker and the film gets better and more entertaining pulling the audience in and providing a more detective style superhero film which at times feels fresh, new and different.

If you ignore the first 30 minutes then Batman: The Killing Joke is a fresh animated superhero film that not only shows a new side to the character of The Joker but puts him centre stage as the star of the show. Overall it might have a dodgy script and seem like a literal direct lazy adaptation at times but it's an enjoyable film with some highly entertaining moments.

*** <-- Three Stars (Out of Five)

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.