Batman: The Killing Joke Animated Movie Review!
Batman: The Killing Joke has been hailed as one of, if not the greatest Batman story ever published. Truth be told, this isn’t really Batman’s story, it’s Joker’s. It gives us Joker’s origin story. This amazing story is brought to life with talent such as Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as Joker, and Tara Strong as Batgirl.
In order to add length to the rather short story that is “The Killing Joke’, a twenty minute prologue is added in. It has already proven to be controversial as it has the pairing Batman and Batgirl. Batman has a history of relationships that don’r work: a crook, an assassin, and a princess from a society of immortal warriors. It’s not like this is exactly new either, the relationship having been mentioned in ‘The New Batman Adventures’ and ‘Batman Beyond’. Personally, I’m indifferent to the paring and the prologue, but I don’t think it was DC’s brightest idea to but such a controversial pairing into one of it’s greatest stories.
Outside of the prologue, the rest of the movie stayed almost completely loyal to the book, taking panels right off the page and putting them on screen. If you have read the book, and are Batman fan, then this is a must see. Even if you haven’t, it’s a great look into one of DC’s most complicated character’s. I enjoyed the animating style, it looked great on screen and flowed well. This film simply would not have been good without the acting talent that was there, especially Mark Hamill as the Joker. I give the movie four out of five stars. The movie is available today on iTunes and you can see the movie tonight in select theaters through Fathom Events.