Year: 2016
Director: Sam Liu
Country: US
Language: English
Based on the 1988 graphic novel of the same name, The Killing Joke was originally written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brian Bolland. The book explored the dichotomy and similarities between the Joker and Batman; how both were created through incredible loss and how they were basically the same people who took two different paths. It showed both characters' more vulnerable sides, while also being incredibly shocking at the same time.
As Batman hunts for the escaped Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime attacks the Gordon family to prove a diabolical point mirroring his own fall into madness.
The original graphic novel wasn't long enough to make a full length feature, and when writer Brian Azzarello set out to adapt it he took liberties with the source material. Much of the new material is either filler that doesn't add to the story or screen-time that deviates from plot themes and focuses more on bat-girl. The ending of the film is a large deviation from the novel, and isn't anything at all that you'd want out of a batman/joker picture.
That being said the mostly hand-drawn animation (refreshing to see as most animation is computer generated nowadays) intentionally meant to evoke Batman: The Animated Series. It mimics the style well, displaying impressive visuals for voyeurs to eat up. The voice cast, which includes Mark Hamill as The Joker, is top-notch. Out of the 2016 Joker's I much prefer Hamill over Leto. It's a technically impressive picture that hits rock bottom on story.
It's unfortunate that the sole female hero is more of a victim in The Killing Joke. Also unfortunate that this film couldn't stand tall in comparison to its source material. Granted, the graphic novel is a product of its time and was mostly made for shock factor. "How can we make the most gruesome joker yet?" It's a work of art that is out of place in 2016.
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