I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I know the decision to pair Batman and Batgirl is controversial, but Timm & Co. have previously planted the seeds for this sort of thing in *Batman Beyond*, so it didn't bother me the way it seems to have bothered many. I also appreciated that rather than just making Barbara a prop for the Joker, the film gave her her own story, with her own thematic tie to the traditional *Killing Joke* story, where she too has to face the abyss and decide whether to let it consume her. It wasn't perfect, but trafficked in many of the same themes and Tara Strong in particular did a great job at conveying the complexity of the character and her conflicting motivations. The second half of the film, which follows the source material more closely, was tremendous. Featuring a bravura performance from Mark Hamill who has, to my mind, become the definitive Joker, the film does well at embracing Moore and Bolland's themes of Joker's nihilism contrasted with Batman's steadfastness even in the face of unspeakable horrors. The art, the score, the animation, and the atmosphere of the adaptation were superb. It managed to be unflinching without devolving into grimdark nonsense, and even showed a fair amount of discretion in execution. It's a worthy exploration of the themes of the original (which the film takes from dutifully), and a superb culmination of Timm, Hamill, Strong, and the rest of the DCAU team's work with these characters.

In the first half of the film I was very surprised to see the bad reviews on this film. But by the end of the film I could see why. I can't say much without spoiling anything, but the unnecessary playtime, highlighting characters that you don't really need to know about or if you did didn't connect with the whole Joker story. Regardless, I rated this film an 8, because of the very talented animation and (with the help of a R rated) helped the "adult" version of a Batman vs. Joker work out. I loved this film in the end, finally seeing the dark history of the Joker and how he became "crazy".

So that's what happened to Barbara. Always wondered how she ended up in the chair. The ending with the Joker and Batman just having a laugh really caught me off guard. Brilliant.

One of the most formative stories of the entire Batman canon, _Batman: The Killing Joke_ is adapted for the screen as a full-length animated film. Based on an Alan Moore comic (though uncredited), Batgirl gives up the life of a vigilante after things get too personal, but is pulled back in when the Joker escapes from the asylum and attempts to settle old scores and break Batman. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprise their roles as Batman and Joker, and give solid performances. The animation is also pretty good, though not that much better than DC’s usual straight-to-video features. And even though it has an R rating, it doesn’t seem to do anything that daring or edgy with it. _Batman: The Killing Joke_ is a disappointing film that fails to live up to the reputation of the comic.

JOKER: Just one bad animation...