The Killing Joke, The Dark Knight Returns and how to do adaptations

The Dark Knight Returns film fucking rocks.

A lot of people forget that animated film is a fundamentally different medium than comic books. Comic books are a highly visual medium, but they still rely on words to convey ideas and feelings more than films do. By contrast, films have sound, light, motion – multiple ways of showing what they want to show. Conveyance is the keyword here; conveyance of ideas and feelings through careful use of all these elements.

Misunderstanding of conveyance is why The Killing Joke’s animated adaptation fell flat on its ass. The Killing Joke is painfully faithful at times, but is hamstrung by poor production values and a misunderstanding of the themes that made the original comic one of the definitive Batman stories. And even the stuff that got carried over was conveyed poorly, with some exceptions – the ending, for instance, is wonderfully done.

The Dark Knight Returns, on the other hand, understands exactly what made The Dark Knight Returns (and Frank Miller’s work, by extension) good, arguably better than what even Miller himself has displayed given the Dame to Kill For film. Because this movie is pure, raw, unfettered emotion, delivered by Peter Weller (RoboCop) with so much power and precision that you’d be forgiven for mistaking him for Batman himself.

Remember the scene where Batman interrogates the mutant on the rooftop? Here’s the relevant scene’s equivalent in the comic book.

Just as chilling on the page, but a direct adaptation would be long and dragging. The film understands this and adjusts accordingly. There’s no need for a monologue, just masterful usage of shots, angles and chillingly minimalistic voice acting to convey height, confusion and fear.

Hell, this is what made the original Legends of the Dark Knight short so good too. Look at the Mutant Leader fight scene:

It wouldn’t be as effective if we saw Batman breaking the Mutant Leader’s leg. There’s just a flash of lightning accentuated by the mutants’ (and Robin’s) shocked faces, followed by the rain washing the mud off Batman’s hunched, shadowed face.

That is what all adaptations should do. Don’t give me the comic book, except with moving pictures. If I wanted the comic book, I’d buy the comic book. Use the differences in the medium you’re adapting it in to convey the same themes and invoke the same emotions as the source material.

Both halves are available now on digital and DVD. Buy this masterpiece.