All it takes is one bad day. That in a nutshell speaks to the overall theme in Batman: The Killing Joke. There are graphic novels and then there is The Killing Joke by Alan Moore. Now this highly acclaimed one-shot graphic novel from 1988 has become the latest DC Animated Feature. This time however ahead of its Blu-ray release, it’s being released through Fathom Events to theaters for a special one-night only event nationwide. Warning, spoilers ahead…
It’s a rare to see a graphic novel be treated with such grandeur but then again The Killing Joke is not just any graphic novel. This story reshaped one beloved character’s future and reestablished the sadistic nature of another. The premise is quite simple; the Joker (voiced wonderfully once again by Mark Hamill) has escaped Arkham Asylum and is set on proving that the only thing that separates him from everyone else and in particular in this case, Commissioner Jim Gordon (Ray Wise) and Batman (the legendary Kevin Conroy) is one bad day. For the Joker himself, we get to see his one bad day that gave birth to this iconic super-villain. His story was actually quite sad and humanized his character. A tribute to the writing style of Alan Moore.
The biggest if not most shocking surprise when reading the novel and then seeing it come to life in film comes from the shooting scene of Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl (Tara Strong) by the Joker. If that wasn’t disturbing enough, there was the ensuing scenes of a naked Jim Gordon being led by a leash at an amusement park and subjected to nude photos of his daughter Barbara laying in a pool of her own blood. Joker wants to prove a point and does all he could to do just that.
When Batman finally locates Joker, he frees Gordon from his cage. Before pursuing the Clown Prince of Crime, Gordon orders Batman to bring him in, by the book. He wants to prove that their way works and will always be better than the Joker’s. After yet another tussle between the two, Batman pleads with his arch nemesis to let him help in hopes of rehabilitating him before one of them ends up dead. Joker feels he is too long gone and beyond redemption. Instead, he offers Batman a joke, a joke that leads to the two of them laughing together as the story fades to black.
Now when reading the graphic novel such a concluding scene was satisfying and memorable. Seeing that same scene play out in front of a movie going audience, I think it left some feeling cheated, proving not everyone there had read the story prior. I for one accepted the story fully. The biggest issue I took was the inclusion of a backstory that changed the relationship between Barbara’s Batgirl and Bruce’s Batman. Their story has always been one of teacher-student. Here it was much more intimate than that. Up until that confirmation of their relationship, I was fine with the backstory. We got to see Batgirl in action that we never got to see in the graphic novel itself. But changing the dynamic of the relationship, I know will leave many purists uneasy if not livid. This was not the best DC Animated film to be released mainly due to the additional backstory with its surprising twist but it’s a view for any Batman or Joker fan.
Directed by: Sam Liu
Starring: Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Tara Strong and Ray Wise
R 76 Mins
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE – ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
