Batman: The Killing Joke (2016) Reviews

• A bland retelling of a powerful novel

  Rendanlovell2016-07-25

  One of the most acclaimed graphic novels of all time has now come to the big screen. Not only is this one of the most acclaimed novels ever but it's one of the most controversial. The story is basically an origin tale for the infamous Batman villain, The Joker. When this movie was initially announced back at the beginning of 2016 there was some serious hype surrounding it. Especially when it received an R rating. One thing that really made me nervous though was how quickly this actually released. Obviously, it could've been in production long before it was announced back at the beginning of the year, but after seeing the film, I don't think that's the case. The first thirty minutes of the film is a kind of prelude involving, mostly, Batgirl. It talks about how she came to quit being said superhero and draws a thread between her and Batman. Now, this story is controversial for a reason. Not only does it explore tough themes but it shows the details of these horrible things. The story in the graphic novel is brutal, uncompromising, and pretty tough to get through. However the film is just the opposite. It tries hard to retell the story seen in the novel, yet any emotional drama is all but lost. This mainly has to do with the length of the film itself. Being only 80 minutes, it's rather short. As I said, the first thirty minutes revolves around Batgirl. And this segment of time is absolutely the worst to sit through. It's tedious, overly long, and so cliché and predictable that there's nothing remotely enjoyable. While, this part of the film is undoubtedly the worst from a storytelling standpoint, there are a number of things that remained consistently bad throughout. Most notably was the animation. From a studio like Warner Bros you'd expect some decent art work, but not here. The back drops nor art design is well put together. It's clunky, with no style to be found. It looks like they took the animation from a rough draft of the animated series and colored it in. This issue becomes even more clear whenever it attempts 3D animation. The other blaring issue that continues through the film is the music. Which is completely contrived and formulated to the point of it being so cliché that is, in fact not cliché. As the film ended, a crowd that once cheered for the lights dimming, was left in stunned silence. Not a good stunned silence like you get after watching 'Gone Girl', this type of silence is the kind where people don't know what they just saw. For me, this had to do with the complete lack of any emotional resonance. When it attempts to recreate the power of the novel it fails. It doesn't commit enough to the drama of the story. Even with its R rating it doesn't draw the same toughness the novel does. It lacks the rawness that the novel has to make it's audience queasy. It's not graphic enough to be disturbing and it's not lighthearted enough to be fun. It just bounces from scene to scene with little connecting one to another. The best way to describe it is that it goes from this scene to that scene and than it ends. That's about it. ​This is one film that should have been great. All the pieces are there. It has a great studio behind it, an excellent voice team, and a brilliant story. But it lacks the emotional power that the novel has. Even though it has its R rating it doesn't fully commit to it, or anything for that matter. Without coherent direction and the overall first draft vibe of the film it's hardly the experience we've been lead to believe it is.

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• One of DC's worst blunders.

  Hellspawn922017-04-15

  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.

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• Rehashed Work

  straightace2016-07-26

  I'm not sure how to approach this movie. I wanted to like this movie I really did. I wanted to like everything about it. From its revival of the good old' Batman TAS to the voice actors to the sweeping soundtrack, the polished animation reflecting a dark Art Deco Gothic – whatever the hell you call it – STYLE. Maybe I was asking for too much but perhaps a little story on the side too. Pretty please? That being said, I also slapped a big 'REALISTIC Expectations' sticker over my eyes before watching the screen come alive. I knew this wasn't going to be as good as Batman: The Animated Series. But I was glad to have something reminiscent of that monolith of 1990's animation and storytelling. Boy was I in for a surprise. The core issue of this movie is not the A) story it chose to tell or B) how it told said story but rather C) the juxtaposition of a classic show's established world (including its location, characters and story) with a modern flavor. Telling a new story that kind of breaks the older established world we all fell in love with on the TV screen. Then yes we have the story itself, a dark telling of how the joker became to be, without Warner Bros. censorship. This complicates things a bit. So without further ado, let's go down the list! Issue #1: Old World with new rules that break it. Really jarring, adds a new dimension of sex that was apparently very crucial to the story (or not). Enter strong powerful female figure defined by her sexuality, hit on by every hot criminal she meets, then making kinky love to Batman on rooftops with creepy goblins looking over ("it's only sex!") Definitely not a shallow character, no shortage of hot gay library friends and definitely loads of problems like deciding which guy she wants to be with. Let's see what's behind door number one – BATMAN. Who is Batman? In this movie, he's pretty much a Zoltar of lazy story exposition. Says the most obvious things. Has no inner conflict. Has no fears. Has no emotions no feelings yet in the end we are supposed to feel his turmoil in fighting the Joker. Batman ladies and gents, is purely a device in this film. Batgirl was fan-service. And the movie spent a good 40 minutes setting up her love story to Batman when all of this information could've been relayed in a few key scenes! Why didn't this happen? Because the real star of the show got pushed out – the Joker! Wasn't the story about the Joker more than anything? He isn't a witty clever funny man anymore. Now he's just misunderstood and 10x darker than Nolan's version. Although voiced by Hamill, he doesn't even compare to the TAS Joker who lit up the screen. Going to credit this to mediocre writing. Obvious things (90% Batman lines), dumb things (35% Batgirl lines) and unfunny things (75% Joker lines) should not exist. Make your dialogue interesting and worth quoting! These flat characters, the story's misplaced focus on character and conflict arise from the core issues – the new Batman, complete with its sexy fan-service, empty brooding heroes and second-rate comic relief – just cannot exist in this world. A Killing Joke is a story of its own and if it takes time trying to break the Batman TAS, then it should've been in its own world. Dear Mr. Liu, please do not use Batman TAS for anything if you're going to give us something new. Just give us something new. This story could've been its own thing and it could've been great. Issue #2: Show don't tell. Pretty much a copy of the graphic novel panel by panel. Come on spice it up a bit give us different angles, close-ups and MOVEMENT. Show us what animation can do even if it's on a tight budget. Show us the wonder and essence of the world. Make us feel the DESIRE Batgirl has to work with Batman, let us hear the thunder and rain crashing down on everything show us the details that move us emotionally. When we see the Joker from afar talking to the police about his wife, give us those strong visuals that tell the story on their own instead of him flatly saying his wife is dead. Show his loss and his madness. Don't deliver lines at dramatic points. Don't make Batman aware and comment on his meta-role as a foil to the Joker – that's obvious and doesn't need to be in focus (even if in the original). Issue #3: Same story no insights. The Killing Joke is a very dark story and sometimes less is more. The Joker on his tirade fails to truly shock the audience. What he chose to do should've been the true horror of the story and presented as such so it sneaks up slowly on the audience. This could've been accomplished in so many creative ways. It was literally just given to the audience and rather quickly. In closing, it makes me think twice when an older 1993 movie like Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (highly underrated btw) outdoes The Killing Joke as a serious film with some substance to pack and scenes that tell a story on their own. I can't believe I'm saying this but the Joker was downright chilling in Phantasm and I watched that movie as an adult. It's not the inner fanboy leaking but a respect for the art. Watch Phantasm or Batman TAS if you're looking for a mature story that knows what it's doing. They may not have the newest animation or fan-service but it does have characters you'll care about and a story that will touch your soul.

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• An imperfect joke

  Mr-Fusion2016-11-17

  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

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• They wasted good material and awesome actors...on this?

  kronoase2017-03-28

  I was a fan of the graphic novel, so I will admit that already set a high bar to please me. I would never have considered watching it but for the voice talents of Hamill and Conroy. So I got comfortable and watched, hoping to be 'disturbed.' I was...but not in the manner which I had been expecting. It was FLAT. Like a soda you enjoy left open in a warm room allowed to lose every bubble of carbonation as well as achieve a temperature of lukewarm tepid. My mind wished I could somehow spit it out now. But no... It is there now. Any fond memories of the graphic novel...gone. Replaced with this. Keeping this "spoiler free" was extraordinarily easy as it is already a spoiled mire of good talent and incredible source material wasted.

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