Batman: The Killing Joke

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1:25

2016

1h 16m

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

Animation

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

35%

Tomatometer

46 Reviews

50%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Batman (Kevin Conroy) must save Commissioner Gordon (Ray Wise) from the Joker's (Mark Hamill) twisted quest to drive him insane.

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Batman: The Killing Joke

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Critics Consensus

This stilted retelling of the Joker's origin adds little to its iconic source material, further diminished by some questionable story additions that will have fans demanding justice for Barbara Gordon.

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Ben Travers

IndieWire

Batman: The Killing Joke is borderline unsettling - and not in a good way.

Every Movie Has a Lesson

Filled with rated-R level violence and disturbing content, this is not your Saturday morning or weekday afternoon Batman story.

Fans of both the novel and “Batman: The Animated Series” will certainly appreciate what the movie eventually becomes. But getting to that point makes for a puzzling ride.

While the first half feels like an extended prologue included as runtime padding, what follows isn't much better, as it deviates from the source material, and worse, emphasizes what was unwieldy about the text.

... scriptwriter Brian Azzarello wrote a half-hour prologue that explored Batgirls retirement from crime fighting. Give the production high marks to the adaptation proper but the addition is problematic at best and misguided at best.

The final product is nothing more than a middle of the line DC animated film that was concentrating more on controversy than giving a film that fans not only wanted, but deserved.

Audience Reviews

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Zachary L

The beginning is by far the worst part of the film but after that it gradually gets better a solid 6/10

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/24/25

Full Review

David C

La animación es buena pero la película no es muy buena

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

09/27/25

Full Review

Oaklee D

As a fan of the graphic novel this film has adapted. I can say that it deserved better. the first 25 minutes of the film had no need to be there and it cheapened the second half of the film. It does get points for casting Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill in the roles they are known for as I couldn't picture anyone else voicing them for a killing joke film BUT the movie itself was ok when it should have been great.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/26/25

Full Review

Mason T

Okay. We all know that Batgirl segment. But the whole reason is that the story is short. Regardless, I enjoyed watching it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/23/25

Full Review

D P

Okay... my teenaged son put this on for us to watch. Not the worse way to spend a weekend night. I even yelled at one of the characters for being stupid.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/14/25

Full Review

Doron G

A disturbing, unapologetically violent masterpiece. If that's your thing, this is the best Batman movie ever!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/06/24

Full Review

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Batman: The Killing Joke

My Rating

Sam Liu

Director

Kevin Conroy

Bruce Wayne

Mark Hamill

The Joker

Ray Wise

Commissioner James Gordon

Tara Strong

Batgirl

John DiMaggio

Francesco

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Batman: The Killing Joke: Trailer 1

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Batman: The Killing Joke

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