‘The Killing Jokes’ fails on multiple levels and should frighten fans
While Alan Moore is one of the greatest comic book creators of this generation, none of the film adaptations are ever worthy of carrying the name. So, with that said, The Killing Joke‘s mitigated failure should not come as a surprise, but give die hard fans some closure, hopefully shelving their inner fanboy’s desire to see other Moore projects put on the big screen.
Fathom Events delivered the best product they could as the auditorium was packed full of fans eager to see the classic piece of comic book loir adapted with Kevin Conroy’s voice as Batman, Mark Hamill’s Joker, a Brian Azzarello script and Bruce Timm calling the shots.
Batman taking on The Joker in “Batman: The Killing Joke” photo courtesy of Fathom Events
The first half of Killing Joke is a controversial prologue centering on Batgirl three years into her service with Batman. A new case pulls her in too close and the lines get blurry. Batman’s warnings are not only ignored, but fuel Batgirl’s rebellion and ultimately her repressed sexual feelings towards Batman. The lines are crossed and the Joker enters.
Diving into the relationship between Batman and Joker is what Moore mastered when Killing Joke was released nearly 30 years ago. Playing directly to the graphic novel, using iconic images, the backstory and origins of Joker give fans the conflicting emotion of empathy towards this psychopath. The line between pair becomes a metaphor which is called “one bad day” and poor Jim Gordon is thrust into the center to Joker’s experiment.
Warner Bros continues with their resume of bad decisions. Selling the film as R-rated by unnecessary profanity and an idiotic sexual encounter on a rooftop made the studio look like a bigger clown than the Joker. Enough with the cursing, it doesn’t even make sense.
How did Azzarello sell this horrible backstory for Batgirl? More on that below.
At one point she yells out “It’s just sex. It doesn’t matter” (I’m paraphrasing because it was awful) and is so morally bankrupt that I don’t know how it was ever allowed in the final product.
Review continued on the next page.
Tickets for “Batman: The Killing Joke” can be purchased online by visiting www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website.
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