Thoughts on The Killing Joke movie

[Unfinishedsentenc]

I loved it. Original story was great, movie was even better.

The beginning with Batgirl helped it to be a stand alone story for people who don't read the comics much or at all. You get to know Barbara a little bit before she gets shot, and you feel more for the character. The added scenes with her in the hospital also really help for this.

This was a major flaw with the original comic. You see her get shot, and get shown to her father afterward. That's it. She was literally only used as an object to make Jim's day terrible. It doesn't want you to care about what happened to Barbara. Yeah, this was Joker's plan, that's fine. But it wasn't just that, the author treated her as an object just as much. However, this was not the case in the movie. And that's why I like it more.

As for the sex scene... I thought it was pretty strange. Unnecessary, but it didn't make the movie worse. I don't really care. I find the complaints about her being "objectified" by it silly considering what I said above though, lol.

Objects are innate in all stories though; there are thousands of throw-away characters that only serve a single purpose, both male and female. I don't see the problem with this at all. Yes, she was just caught in the cross-fires between two men and used to enhance someone else's story, but that happens all the time, not just to woman characters. It's not sexist or misogynistic or any of that other nonsense; if anything, it demonstrates their importance in the male character's life. Some people (not you, but some people) have this weird, irrational hang-up where if they see any woman depicted as stupid/sexuailzed/inept/neglected they automatically call sexism, even though it's a FICTIONAL woman and not reflective of what that author truly thinks about women. Since when do writers have an obligation to cater to their audience's wishes? It really does blow my mind.

[Unfinishedsentenc]

This. It's sickening. And given that cover awhile back of Joker with his arm around a tearful Batgirl, drawing a grin on her face with blood, proves that all this "female empowerment" the comic companies are playing lip service to is nothing but BS.

Whaat? I really hope you think it's sickening for someone to do that in real-life and not sickening for a writer to represent it in a fictional comic-book-story.

As for the cover, the only thing sickening about that is how many people complained. They don't like it, they don't buy the freaking comic. Didn't have to start a petition and all that BS. One girl is scared and haunted and crying, and everyone loses their minds. Yet if you had Flash looking all terrified with an encounter with his mother's killer, nobody would give it a second glance. That's what's disgusting. "Fans" pushing "female empowerment" propaganda onto comic-books instead of just appreciating the ones which have it embedded into the story naturally. I get the need for stronger female characters, but the level of censorship on either previous characters or new images of those characters has gone way, way too far.

[Quiet Raven]

Objects are innate in all stories though; there are thousands of throw-away characters that only serve a single purpose, both male and female. I don't see the problem with this at all. Yes, she was just caught in the cross-fires between two men and used to enhance someone else's story, but that happens all the time, not just to woman characters. It's not sexist or misogynistic or any of that other nonsense; if anything, it demonstrates their importance in the male character's life. Some people (not you, but some people) have this weird, irrational hang-up where if they see any woman depicted as stupid/sexuailzed/inept/neglected they automatically call sexism, even though it's a FICTIONAL woman and not reflective of what that author truly thinks about women. Since when do writers have an obligation to cater to their audience's wishes? It really does blow my mind.

All I am saying is Barbara is a significant character in the series and if you are going to do something drastic to her, like shoot and cripple her, there should at least be a little focus and sympathy for her. But yeah, apparently there was and I was wrong, anyway. So it doesn't really matter.

[Quiet Raven]

Whaat? I really hope you think it's sickening for someone to do that in real-life and not sickening for a writer to represent it in a fictional comic-book-story.

As for the cover, the only thing sickening about that is how many people complained. They don't like it, they don't buy the freaking comic. Didn't have to start a petition and all that BS. One girl is scared and haunted and crying, and everyone loses their minds. Yet if you had Flash looking all terrified with an encounter with his mother's killer, nobody would give it a second glance. That's what's disgusting. "Fans" pushing "female empowerment" propaganda onto comic-books instead of just appreciating the ones which have it embedded into the story naturally. I get the need for stronger female characters, but the level of censorship on either previous characters or new images of those characters has gone way, way too far.

I agree with this. It's like, "we need stronger female characters! But oh no we don't want to see women get hurt!" I mean, that's what happens when you are a super hero, you will get hurt by villains. It's the same thing with the X-Men Apocalypse poster with Raven. Yeah, she was getting choked by bad guy. It's an action movie, it happens.

[Unfinishedsentenc]

All I am saying is Barbara is a significant character in the series and if you are going to do something drastic to her, like shoot and cripple her, there should at least be a little focus and sympathy for her. But yeah, apparently there was and I was wrong, anyway. So it doesn't really matter.

Yeah, I get it. I myself wish the hospital scene was a bit longer. Since she's such a large part of what happens, Moore (or the movie) could've shown her feelings, pain, thoughts, etc. in more detail and such. Still not against what happened to her though.

[Quiet Raven]

Yeah, I get it. I myself wish the hospital scene was a bit longer. Since she's such a large part of what happens, Moore (or the movie) could've shown her feelings, pain, thoughts, etc. in more detail and such. Still not against what happened to her though.

Yeah, I agree.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Yeah, I get it. I myself wish the hospital scene was a bit longer. Since she's such a large part of what happens, Moore (or the movie) could've shown her feelings, pain, thoughts, etc. in more detail and such. Still not against what happened to her though.

It is so strange so they added this 30 mins intro to help us get invested in Babs okay fine but then once the TKJ started it is literally a different movie, Babs is dropped for the Jim, Batman & Joker which is what the novel was all about but this made the entire 30 mins more pointless than they already were. Babs was ultimately used as a tool in the story so there is no skirting around that and it showed in the actual TKJ adaption, imo they should have just concentrated on Batman, Jim and Jokers relationship for the "prologue". Like Batman and Joker do not actually meet until like an 1hr in.

[ispacehead]

The first 30 minutes is necessary if only to establish Batgirl as a character.

Otherwise, she's just some red headed chick that gets blasted by the Joker after a line and a half of dialogue.

Hardcore lunatic fans like us don't necessarily need it explained to us who she is, or why she's important, but as a standalone film, this seems like the necessary course.

[Aesthete18]

I was wondering about something besides the joke itself. The whole movie, pre-joker thinks he's not funny. He says it a few times. Says he's a failure in a crowd. But then, when the bad guys tell a joke (even though it's not intended to be a joke) that's centered around Joker's situation, he finds it funny. There were two occasions this happened, one was the about the nest and the other one was about the red hood. In the end, Batman got the joke because he told a joke that was specific to their situation.

I don't know that's the way I saw it anyway.

[dodoriazarbon]

I have mixed feelings that I haven't yet decoded, but I've liked reading everyone else's mixed feelings about it too.

Mostly...I wish they'd spent money on the animation. I WISH. For a special event film like this.. it would really have benefited. It actively looked cheaper than other DC films..?

[lameco]

I'm not really going to say nothing nobody has really said before but ehh. Saw this in the cinema and dear god the animation is not fit for the big screen. I feel like they made Barbara really immature, needy and slightly pathetic in her pursuit of batman, who couldn't give a single damn about the situation and just went along with it for no real reason. And that gay best friend made me cringe a little. It was ok, but than again the killing joke was kinda on the 'good but not a masterpiece' side of things to me in general anyways.

[Minerboh]

The first 30 minutes is necessary if only to establish Batgirl as a character.

Otherwise, she's just some red headed chick that gets blasted by the Joker after a line and a half of dialogue.

Hardcore lunatic fans like us don't necessarily need it explained to us who she is, or why she's important, but as a standalone film, this seems like the necessary course.

Αnd they established her as a female version of Jason Todd? With a sexual attraction to Batman at that? Batgirl, at least the Batgirl i know, is not like that. She had an innocent father-daughter relationship with Bruce. Not a daddy/lolita affair that not even Alan Moore didn't dared to hint.

[SicariiDC]

I have mixed feelings that I haven't yet decoded, but I've liked reading everyone else's mixed feelings about it too.

Mostly...I wish they'd spent money on the animation. I WISH. For a special event film like this.. it would really have benefited. It actively looked cheaper than other DC films..?

I've never noticed it, and I've watched all the dc bat films, but the animation looked choppy to me, especially the running at the beginning. Even Batman walking down the hallway to jokers cell looked wierd. I really hate that it wasn't better

[Baggie_Saiyan]

The first 30 minutes is necessary if only to establish Batgirl as a character.

Otherwise, she's just some red headed chick that gets blasted by the Joker after a line and a half of dialogue.

Hardcore lunatic fans like us don't necessarily need it explained to us who she is, or why she's important, but as a standalone film, this seems like the necessary course.

Batgirl did not need establishing at all. TKJ was never about her. All that was needed to know was she is Jim's daughter. She wasn't even Batgirl once she was shot she became a generic daughter like character which makes the beginning even more unnecessary. Not mention the beginning didn't paint her in the best of lights a teenage girl gaging for a shag.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

I have mixed feelings that I haven't yet decoded, but I've liked reading everyone else's mixed feelings about it too.

Mostly...I wish they'd spent money on the animation. I WISH. For a special event film like this.. it would really have benefited. It actively looked cheaper than other DC films..?

Have a look at DC's next film JLD the visuals and animation look so much more better.