Reviews WesternAnimation / Batman The Killing Joke

A Fun Movie Adaptation Dragged Down By A Flawed Prologue

Title says it all, really. When I first heard they were finally making an animated adaptation of The Killing Joke, I was stoked. I mean, really: An animated adaptation of one of the most famous comics in the Batman franchise with the talented voice work of Kevin Conroy, Tara Strong, and Mark Hamil?! That's practically a Batman fan's wet dream. And now that I've finally gotten around to watching it, I can say that it is definitely entertaining, but has more than a few flaws.

Pros:

• As always, Kevin Conroy, Tara Strong, and Mark Hamil are at the top of their game. Kevin Conroy does a great portrayal of Batman and likewise Tara Strong does a great job as Batgirl, but Mark Hamil is the one who truly steals the show with his incredible portrayal as The Joker. He truly nails the Joker's famous monologues and gives an emotional performance as the man who'd eventually become the Joker, showing everyone that Mark hasn't lost his touch.
• Aside from the prologue, The movie stays true to the comic, albeit with a few changes here and there.

Cons:

• While I'm not one to care about animation, the animation of this film isn't as good as other DC animated movies and feels a bit choppy at times. Also, there's a minor animation error when Batman visits Barbara at the hospital and her eyebrows are Grey.

The Prologue: Noticed that I didn't mention the prologue in my Cons? That's because it gets its own little section. At best, the prologue is mediocre. So, the writers wanted to flesh out Batgirl's character. Isn't that cute...but it's WRONG!!! Instead of fleshing out her character, it destroyed her character as she acts nothing like her comic or animated counterparts and comes off as an arrogant, reckless, whiny, clingy Stalker with a Crush. But while that's bad enough, the prologue would have been bearable if not for...

The Sex Scene: Okay, Batman having sex with someone is nothing new, but him having sex with Batgirl is so wrong on so many levels. I've always considered their relationship strictly Student/Teacher, if not surrogate Father/Daughter and seeing them have sex on a rooftop feels like the writers threw the scene in for pure shock value and a failed attempt at Fanservice. Besides, Batgirl is Barbara Gordon. You know, Commissioner Gordon's daughter?! One of Batman's closest friends who would probably be sorely pissed off to find out his best friend was fucking his daughter. Did the writers even think about the Unfortunate Implications of that scene?

So, like I said, the movie is definitely worth a watch but I recommend skipping the prologue.