The plot begins with Batgirl, aka Barbara Gordon, and Batman, aka Bruce Wayne, involved in an attempted robbery, which leads to a quarrel between the two. Batman later arrives at a crime scene where the Joker was reportedly sighted. He discusses his relationship with the Joker, and ponders who will end up killing who, and when it will happen. It ends with Batman offering the Joker rehabilitation, as well as the big revelation that Batman was talking to a Joker imposter the entire time in the prison cell. 

Bruce’s quote before his last altercation with the Joker magnifies further the pragmatism of the dynamics of real-life relationships: “How can two people hate so much without knowing each other?”. The dialogue for the film is basically taken directly from the novel, including all its phrases and witty quips. 

(Read also: Four superhero rom-coms for date night)

In the film, Batman descends into the darkest void he has ever experienced. As he says, “There’s a feeling when you stop caring. The abyss…” The Joker also dwells in absolute madness, and is adamant in his pursuit to drag the people around him down to the same level of madness, in a way that’s disturbingly funny. The Joker remains a character with a morbid sense of humor, regardless of what may or may not come next. 

As far as character development goes, every single lead voice actor/actress in the film puts great enthusiasm into their characters: Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as The Joker, and Tara Strong as Batgirl. This raises the nostalgia factor even higher due to the fact that the said voice actors and actress voiced those respective characters in the animated series.

Meanwhile, director Sam Liu once again proves  his ability to flesh out the original material. Liu’s previous DC animated films such as Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009), Batman: Year One (2011), and the second latest Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015), are just a few of the many films he has directed over the years. The aforementioned film adaptations all show a subtlety in Liu’s directing, in which he merges his personal preferences with the audience’s wants and needs. 

Knowing that well-known DC artist Timm had reprised his role as head of animation for the film after a brief retirement was very enlightening. Interestingly enough, Timm manages to combine the styles of his iconic character designs with Brian Bolland’s, the original comic book artist responsible for the Killing Joke novel. Moreover, the color palate incorporates the designs of the characters, and the pace of their movements resembles those in Batman: The Animated Series/The New Batman Adventures (1994-1999), and Batman Beyond (1999-2001). 

(Read also: Warner Bros. calms fans with fun 'Justice League' footage)

Overall, the film will delight those who are already familiar with the Batman franchise, as well as its various storylines and the characters’ involvement with other DC characters. This film is arguably not as mature as I expected it to be – although, there were body dismemberment/disfigurement montages, slight nudity, off-putting camera angles and frequent use of profanity. One particular scene in which Batman and Batgirl engage in sexual intercourse – although expected due to the films adult rating – seemed rather unnecessary as it takes the film a bit out of context.

There was roughly a 15-minute long sequence detailing the Joker’s origin story and different persona, as well as his life prior to pursuing a life of crime. The cinematographers incorporate a bit of a black-and-white tone to the color placement in sections, which feel like a love letter to 1940’s gangster/noir films. 

As for the main story arc itself, there is a lot more action than readers of Alan Moore’s novel would expect, as it was reported to dive more into the story in a linear fashion without adding more fight sequences. (kes)

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The writer can be found at Instagram (@fdsmusic).

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