Batman, The Killing Joke

Batman is one of the most beloved superheroes in the world there’s no doubt about it, and when one of it’s most iconic stories are brought to film fans from all over the world are thrilled with the idea of seeing this stories turned into movies.

Stories like Year One, Knight Fall, Death in the Family and the Return of the Dark Knight have served as inspiration for animated and live action films, but The Killing Joke one of the most beloved and debated graphic novels was never brought to film.

The killing joke tells the origin story of Batman’s archenemy The Joker. Like many other Batman’s super villains, The Joker is created by Batman himself, not intentionally, though, when a struggling comedian tries to bring some income to his family gets involved with some criminals and surviving a chemical accident, while losing his mind in the process becoming the legendary super villain we all know.

The film has a mix of animation and drawing style between the current and somewhat realistic styles from contemporary from the WB animation studios with a dash of what Batman: The Animated series was.This probably this has to do with Bruce Timm being an executive producer and Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy as voices for The Joker and Batman. The coloring is great, and the animations are a little bit wonky at times but with Hamill and Conroy as Batman and the Joker, the whole package comes afloat.

But there’s one major flaw with The Killing Joke, and that is the first 30 minutes; the film starts with the case of some random thug becoming obsessed with Batgirl, and the whole preamble tells the story of how Batman and Batgirl catch the criminal and end up having a fling. Then, the Killing Joke story begins, but that’s the problem, this prologue adds nothing to the story, and what originally was a story about the introspection of Batman regarding his relationship with the Joker and how eventually one of them will end up killing the other, this extra 30 minutes make it believe like it’s some sort of vendetta from Batman.

One thing that will keep fans talking and discussing is the ending, which I’m not going to spoiler to you, fueling those long debates about the ways of the dark knight and adding some of the Joker’s perspective on how he and Batman are not so different.

In the end, excluding the 30-minute prologue, The Killing Joke is a faithful adaptation of Alan Moore’s comic that with the voices of Kevin Conroy, and Mark Hamill make the film more enjoyable, satisfying longtime Batman fans satisfied and introducing to new fans to one of the most iconic stories of the caped crusader.