Movie Review: The Killing Joke

So I finally saw the Killing Joke, one of the biggest and most popular books DC has produced, written by Alan Moore who gave us great tittles such as Watchmen and Swamp Thing. I admit I was rather lukewarm about the movie, primarily because I felt the same way about the book itself. I never found the Killing Joke to be that great a story overall, it's more popular for what it did (crippling Barbara Gordon, Joker backstory, questionable ending) and it overall feels like a period comic like Superman Red Son but where that book works more as an elsworld story, the Killing Joke feels like it's trying to almost tell an in continuity story but only the paralyzing of Barbara still remains. The appeal of it, this is the book that redefined the Joker as a great villain and led to the death of Jason Todd later on. 

 Joker Burn Out

Since the Joker was introduced and especially since the Killing Joke, there has always been a sort of rule that if you do a Joker story, you have to raise the stakes to an extremely high degree. From the death of Jason Todd in the comics, the kidnapping of Tim Drake in the Bruce Timm Universe, the madness in the Arkham games, and the work Scott Snyder did in the comics, honestly has me burnt out on him. He can't just have a simple story and it's because of intense and amazing a character he is, he demands that attention but it just always feels draining overall. You know that the Joker will attempt to be redefined as he pushes Batman the Bat Family to it's limit. Because of how big he is, his very existence always seems to turn the DCU on it's side so he barely even shows up or even mentioned in other stories. This keeping the Joker on the back burner makes sense, Sherlock Holmes can't battle just any Moriarty scheme but the's essentially done everything he could do. Even Scott Snyder, who has written some of the best Batman stories in years couldn't really push the Joker enough to really shock me. This film is a good example as even his shooting.torture of the Gordon family doesn't surprise or shock me. Even Mark Hammil, who to me is the definitive Joker, didn't feel to have the same presence of any of his other appearances.

The Batgirl Element

Honestly what makes this movie standout is the first part of the movie dealing with Batgirl which I feel was done to make it look like Barbara wasn't just in the movie to be shot. A big complaint that hs been in the movie the crush Barbara has on Bruce/Batman and the one night sex scene they had. Comic fans will say there was never any romantic relationship between the two of them but we must remember that this we are looking at the team of Bruce Timm, Kevin Conroy, and Mark Hamill; the animated series team. In that universe she was crushing on Batman well before she crushed on Dick Grayson and in Batman Beyond it was mentioned that the two did have a relationship, it felt inappropriate because it was supposed to be. This showed a Barbara that we really only saw a few time in the animated series and that is a rather flawed character, one who didn't quite know what she was getting into and that was important. Barbara's greatest trait as Batgirl is that there was no tragedy that made her put on the cowl, she made the costume for a college party, stopped a mugging and the rest is history. A big issue had always been that Barbara doesn't really have an arc to her genius and skill set for the most part, she's just that good and is capable of taking the cowl off, go home, and be well adjusted, and that isn't really believable. This movie set off to show us a character who thought she could make it but hadn't been tested and this was shown in her interaction with Paris, who gets under her skin and ultimately pushes her so far that she quits being Batgirl in the end. From a story standpoint it has nothing to do with anything but it does seem to add an almost Watchmen feel to it, in that she isn't some super, symbol like hero, but a person who wants to be a part of something but isn't exactly aware of what it means. I think it honestly could have been done better but it does show what I feel as a more realistic take on a character putting a mask on.

Final Thoughts

Like the book, the Killing Joke feels like it was built up to be more than it was and the less you know about it going in, the more entertained you will be. I think that is also a problem with the internet now, as you essentially have to stay off the internet to avoid a movie or book being spoiled. It isn't bad by any means and from an adaptation standpoint it hits the notes of getting the tension right but where Watchmen felt timeless and raised the standards for super heroes, this movie is really just the Joker. If you want to watch this movie because you like the idea of Conroy and Hamill back in their roles or the lovely and talented Tara Strong play Batgirl then give it a watch. However, if you are looking for a good animated Batman movie, I'd give it a pass and watch something like Mask of the Phantasm, Under the Red Hood, or Mystery of the Batwoman.