Batman The Killing Joke is alright but not as good as I had hoped it would be
I am a huge Batman fan. To this day I love Batman: The Animated series which introduced a new generation to Gotham City, its villains and a hero who did everything he could to save its citizens. I am also a fan of Batman Beyond which takes a look at an older Bruce Wayne in a future where Gotham has fallen apart, and only new protege Terry McGinnis can do something to save the city. I am a big fan of Gotham even though it had a rough start, slowly it is getting better. One of my favorite Batman villains has to be the Joker. He has had many different versions but all of them share the same thing, a hatred for Batman. One of the most famous tales involving the Joker is Batman The Killing Joke. For years fans have wanted to see this story become an animated film. Mark Hamill in 2011, at a time when he was getting tired of voicing the Joker, said if Batman The Killing Joke was ever made he would gladly come back to voice the character. He also asked his fans to petition to make this happen. Thanks to all of this the graphic novel has finally been made into an animated movie and premiered at this years San Diego Comic Con. For those who were unable to attend Fathom Events set up a two night event to see Batman The Killing Joke in theaters. I was able to see it on Monday and here is my thoughts on it.
You can read the plot for Batman The Killing Joke here:
Batman (Kevin Conroy) must save Commissioner Gordon (Ray Wise) from the Joker’s (Mark Hamill) twisted quest to drive him insane.
When I walked into the theater to see Batman The Killing Joke I was beyond excited. Sadly once the film ended and I left the theater new feelings had taken over, disappointment and confusion. There were good and bad things about this animated film. Let’s begin with the good stuff first. I really loved the cast. It was great to see many of them come back to bring this graphic novel to life, especially Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. These two actors have a natural chemistry and in my eyes are the best people to voice Batman and the Joker. This is a very dark story and the whole cast does their best to tell it as true to the graphic novel as they possibly can. I also really liked the animation that was dark and gloomy yet there were plenty of scenes full of color and amazing scenery. It doesn’t matter if there were bright colors or dark and gloomy skies the tone of the story never changed. There were more reasons I didn’t hate this film but these are the ones that stand out to me the most.
The worst part of Batman The Killing Joke has to be the Batgirl prologue. I like this character but this side story felt entirely out of place in the greater narrative. I know why they did it, to help make the movie longer, but I wish they had come up with something else instead. There is also a peculiar scene between Batman and Batgirl that I won’t spoil for you, but let’s say it was unnecessary and did nothing to help Batman The Killing Joke. I also found myself underwhelmed with many scenes in this film. There are many scenes that try to shock people but came off as tame to me, especially for an R rated film. What really angered me though had to be the ending. Not only is it out of character for someone in this universe, but it was very anti-climatic. Why they chose to end the movie this way I will never understand, it was definitely a bad idea. Overall Batman The Killing Joke is an alright animated film but frankly Warner Bros really dropped the ball on this one. With so many good things going for it not sure why this happened. Yet most of the people I spoke to afterwards liked it, some even loved it.
Batman The Killing Joke gets 6/10. It was not a bad movie but I had hoped it would be so much better. With a great cast, wonderful director and producers this film should have been a home run for DC entertainment. For an R rated film it sure was tame, with some blood and a few violent situations but nothing too extreme in my opinion. I am glad to have seen it in theaters yet I really wish I liked it more. It felt like this whole movie was being reigned in which is a real shame. For supposedly such a grim tale this was not that bad, there have been plenty of Batman stories harsher than this. Some fans will enjoy it, but most should just wait to see this on Netflix or just avoid it altogether.
Fans of Batman and the Joker may want to see this film, there is plenty them to enjoy. People who like Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill should see this movie, it is one of their best performances playing these characters to date. Yet those who have read the graphic novel many times would do best to miss this one, it just doesn’t do it much justice. Batman The Killing Joke is available for digital download now, and will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray August 2. You can follow Batman The Killing Joke on Facebook and Instagram.
See the novel come to life in this dark trailer below:
The end is like in the comic, you’ve to read it, it’s beautiful.
I heard there were two endings for the graphic novel, but they changed it shortly after the first one was made
You havent read the book, have you….
Sadly I have not, but I heard the book was much better