It really became a joke

Archibald 2021-12-29 08:01:17

Marvel continues to crush DC in the film market, and DC's strategy of sticking to one-third of an acre of animated films is now more and more like self-comfort. To make matters worse, the over-exploitation of classic comic resources is more like paying homage than paying homage to it: rest on its laurels and do not want to make progress.

Whether you think this animated film is "not well adapted" or the original manga is "not well adapted", the result is the same: 76 minutes of mediocrity and embarrassment.

This Batman comic, born in 1988, combines "Father of the Watchmen" Alan Moore and the painter Brian Bolland who once participated in the creation of , and the former in Colorist John Higgins, who worked with him. Although the title is Batman's name, it is actually an out-and-out Joker story. The terrifying style, the distorted character and the desperate story make known as DC's darkest comic book. The thinking about the dialectical relationship between reason and madness, goodness and evil in the comics makes this story of the master and the clown falling in love and killing each other with a depth of thought and philosophical significance that other comics can’t match.

The original 40-page manga, a feature-length film that stretches to more than one hour, is definitely not enough in content. So the screenwriter of the animated film devised a method he thought was clever: enriching the character of Barbara Gordon. In the original work, Barbara Gordon exists more as a plot device, and has little to do with her other identity, Batgirl. In the movie, the screenwriter chose to spend nearly half of the time reviewing the experience of Batman and Batwoman fighting side by side. The most criticized one is Batman and Batgirl's "comrade-in-arms gun" on the rooftop. In my opinion, what is even more unacceptable is that after the first shot, Batwoman complained about Batman's avoidance. I can't believe my eyes, there will be such a melodrama scene between two such cool superheroes.

In addition, the film inherits the origin story of the clown in the comics, and judging from the style of painting, it is set in the 1960s. In the first half hour of the movie, the various high-tech settings are obviously the background of the 21st century. Such a time out of touch shows the roughness of the play. And this kind of roughness is not only reflected in this bug, but the production level of the movie is also uninteresting. The details of the screen are slightly crude, with a touch of Flash animation texture; the characters' movements are embarrassing with insufficient frames, and they are rigid; the original The soundtrack that should be the icing on the cake also has no sense of existence.

Perhaps the only bright spot is that the film has assembled the best voice actors in the two roles of Batman and Joker: Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. If you want to say the best part of this movie, it must come from the part of the clown, if you want to say the best part of the clown in the movie, it must come from his "Skywalker" dubbing. In contrast, although Kevin Conroy played stable, but did not have much success. Especially the last dialogue and laughter...

So here, we have to talk about the biggest controversy in this original comic, and it is also the segment where fans have the most high hopes for the change of animation (spoiler! Spoiler!) . At the end of the story, Batman has the upper hand. The Joker asks Batman to kill himself and understand the grievances between the two, because the ending between this pair of old opponents must be either you or me. Batman didn't do it, because he wanted to prove it to the Joker. Not everyone would become a madman because of a bad day. He wanted to help the Joker regain his senses. The Joker refused. He thought it was too late, so he told Batman a joke about a lunatic, and then let out a crazy laugh. After the unsmiling Batman tried to endure it for a while, he couldn't help laughing out loud.

In the nearly 30 years since the original comics came out, the debate about whether Batman killed the Joker in the final laugh has never stopped, and this animated movie has not made more explanations for this controversy. This kind of loyalty to the original is understandable, but we cannot ignore the difference in the carrier. The same story is conveyed through comics, novels, animations, or live-action movies. The methods must be different and the details must be different. Such a rival drama is indeed thought-provoking in the comics, perhaps it is the imagination that comes from the blank space of the static picture. In an animated film, it is completely copied and simply "makes the static picture move", the result must be a dry and incomprehensible ending.

If you like the original "Fatal Joke", and you have nowhere to put your curiosity and 76 minutes of panic, I recommend you to read it.


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Extended Reading
  • Dominique 2021-12-29 08:01:17

    You can completely ignore the original part of the first half an hour and just look at the original restoration behind

  • Dee 2021-12-29 08:01:17

    After reading it, the evaluation on the Internet is really not very high. It does not mean that the original work cannot be adapted. It is just that the content of the first half hour of the film is out of touch with the real story behind. It should be to show the two sides of "that line". The story of people, Gordon and the clown in the same situation and different treatments puts Barbara out as an embarrassing introduction, let alone the sex scene. The atmosphere is not as comprehensible as the comics, but the story is handled in this way.

Batman: The Killing Joke quotes

  • Batman: Negotiating?

    Batgirl: He wasn't gonna hurt me.

    Batman: Did he know that?

    Batgirl: Sometimes, you have to have a little faith.

    Batman: What happened to the drivers?

    Batgirl: They got away. But the night's still young.

    Batman: [waking the thug up with a smelling salt] I'm gonna need some alone time.

    Batgirl: Oh, sure, yeah. Maybe I'll see you...

    [as she leaves, she hears the thug screaming]

    Batgirl: ...later.

  • Francesco: It's all over the news. Every channel.

    Paris: What can I tell you? Batgirl's hot.

    Francesco: [grabbing him] Don't get smart.

    [slapping him]

    Francesco: I lost four men yesterday.

    Paris: Four idiots. They said they could knock out the tracker on the armored car. I don't think they could plug a computer in their ass.

    Francesco: Do I care? I'm out a hundred grand thanks to your friggin' fiasco. And what do I get for it? The Bat and his bitch breathing down my neck. Bottom line, you're gonna give me my money back, nephew, every cent. Otherwise, you're gonna become a very distant relative, very soon. Capisce?

    Paris: Okay, unc, whatever you say.