Honestly, if you’re looking to watch The Killing Joke, you’re probably coming at it from one of two directions. Maybe you’re a die-hard Mark Hamill fan who needs to hear that iconic, bone-chilling laugh one more time. Or maybe you’ve heard the absolute firestorm of controversy that surrounded this R-rated animated feature when it dropped back in 2016. It’s a weird one. It’s a movie that tries to adapt what many consider the greatest Joker story ever written—Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s 1988 graphic novel—but it takes some massive, questionable swings in the first act that still have fans arguing on Reddit today.
Batman: The Killing Joke isn’t your typical Saturday morning cartoon. Far from it. This is a dark, psychological dive into the idea that anyone can go insane after just "one bad day." It’s a nihilistic look at the relationship between the Caped Crusader and the Clown Prince of Crime. But before you hit play, you kinda need to know what you’re getting into because the movie isn't a 1:1 translation. It’s more like two different movies stitched together with a very shaky needle.
The Prologue That Almost Broke the Internet
Let's talk about the elephant in the room. If you decide to watch The Killing Joke, the first thirty minutes might confuse the hell out of you. Why? Because they aren't in the book. At all.
The producers, including legend Bruce Timm, felt that the original story was too short for a feature film. Their solution was to create a prologue centered on Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl. On paper, giving Barbara more agency before the traumatic events of the main plot sounds like a solid, progressive move. In execution? Well, it gave us a romantic rooftop encounter between Batman and Batgirl that felt... off. To put it mildly.
Most fans felt this cheapened their dynamic. It turned a professional mentor-protege relationship into a messy soap opera. It’s the biggest hurdle for newcomers. If you can get past that weirdly paced first act, the movie eventually settles into the actual source material, and that’s where things get interesting. The shift in tone is jarring. One minute you’re watching a generic mobster chase, and the next, you’re plunged into the foggy, rain-slicked nightmare of the Joker’s origin.
Why the Voice Acting Saves the Experience
You can't talk about this movie without mentioning Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. For a generation of fans, they are Batman and Joker. Getting them back together for an R-rated project was the main selling point.
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Hamill, specifically, puts in a terrifying performance. He voices the "pre-acid" Joker with a pathetic, desperate whimpering that makes his eventual transformation feel earned and tragic. Then, when he flips to the modern-day Joker, he brings a level of cruelty that he couldn't show in the Animated Series days. When you watch The Killing Joke, pay attention to the monologue at the carnival. Hamill’s delivery of the "one bad day" speech is arguably his career best. It’s haunting. It’s melodic. It’s pure madness.
Conroy plays the straight man perfectly. His Batman is weary. He’s tired of the cycle. The opening scene where he visits Arkham Asylum just to talk—to try and prevent the inevitable death of one of them—sets a somber tone that the rest of the film tries its best to maintain.
The Visual Style: Bolland vs. Animation
Brian Bolland’s art in the 1988 comic is legendary for its detail. Every line on the Joker’s face, every droplet of rain, it’s all there. Translating that to 2D animation on a TV budget is basically impossible.
- The colors are muted, leaning heavily into purples and sickly greens.
- The character designs try to mimic Bolland's "long-face" Joker, but sometimes look a bit stiff in motion.
- The "flashback" sequences use a distinct color palette that helps separate the past from the grim present.
It’s not the most beautiful DC animated movie ever made—Batman: Year One or The Dark Knight Returns probably take that crown—but it captures the grime of the Gotham docks well enough.
The Psychological Core: One Bad Day
The meat of the story is the Joker's attempt to prove a point. He kidnaps Commissioner Gordon and subjects him to unimaginable horrors to prove that even the most righteous man can be reduced to a raving lunatic. He wants to show Batman that they aren't so different.
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This is where the movie earns its R-rating. It’s mean-spirited. It’s uncomfortable. The scene at the abandoned amusement park is a gauntlet of psychological torture. Unlike other superhero movies where the threat is a giant laser in the sky, the threat here is the total collapse of a man's soul. It asks a heavy question: Is sanity just a mask we wear when things are going okay?
Where to Watch The Killing Joke and What to Look For
Currently, the film is widely available on digital platforms. You can find it on Max (formerly HBO Max), or rent/buy it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Vudu. If you’re a physical media collector, the Blu-ray is worth it for the "Madness of Music" featurette and the look at the Joker’s history.
When you sit down to watch, keep these things in mind:
- Ignore the first 28 minutes if you have to. If you find the Batgirl/Paris Franz subplot boring or annoying, just skip to the 30-minute mark. That’s where the actual adaptation begins.
- Listen to the score. Kristopher Carter, Michael McCuistion, and Lolita Ritmanis did a fantastic job creating a soundtrack that feels both circus-like and funeral-esque.
- Analyze the ending. The final scene is one of the most debated moments in comic book history. Does Batman laugh? Does he kill the Joker? The screen fades to black, and the sound of the rain is all that’s left.
The Controversy of Barbara Gordon
We have to address how the film handles Barbara’s trauma. In the comic, her shooting is a plot device to hurt the men in her life. The movie tries to fix this by giving her that long prologue, but critics argue it backfired by making her motivations revolve around her romantic feelings for Bruce.
It’s a valid criticism. The "Women in Refrigerators" trope is strong here. However, if you look at the film as a piece of history—an attempt to grapple with a flawed but masterpiece-level comic—it’s an essential watch for any DC fan. It shows the limits of adaptation. It shows that some things that work on a static, silent page don't always translate to a moving, speaking medium.
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Actionable Takeaways for the Viewer
If you're still on the fence about whether to watch The Killing Joke, here is how to approach it for the best experience.
First, read the graphic novel first if you haven't. It only takes about 45 minutes and provides the context for why this story is so revered. Second, go in expecting a character study, not an action movie. There are very few fight scenes. Most of the "action" happens in the dialogue and the shifting expressions on the characters' faces. Finally, watch it as a companion piece to the Batman: The Animated Series. It feels like a dark, "lost" episode that finally lets the characters say and do the things they couldn't on network television.
The film isn't perfect. It’s messy, it’s controversial, and it’s occasionally frustrating. But for the performance of Mark Hamill alone, it remains a pillar of the DC animated catalog. Just be prepared for the ending—it’ll leave you sitting in silence long after the credits roll.
To get the most out of your viewing, compare the "flashback" scenes to the modern-day sequences. Notice how the lighting shifts from warm, sepia tones to cold blues. It’s a subtle way the filmmakers show how the world lost its color for the man who would become the Joker. Whether you love it or hate it, you won't forget it. That's more than you can say for most superhero flicks these days.