Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker

2000 • 76 minutes

About this movie

When The Joker returns to Gotham City to destroy former Batman Bruce Wayne, a new Dark Knight rescues his mentor and discovers the truth about a seemingly immortal villain. After a 40-year absence, The Joker (Mark Hamill) invades Bruce Wayne's (Kevin Conroy) estate, revealing his knowledge of Wayne's past secret identity. The Joker nearly kills his nemesis, but Batman, alias Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle), Wayne's protégé, saves Wayne's life--for now. Pressured by Terry to divulge the truth, Commissioner Gordon (Angie Harmon) retells the events of the night she witnessed the total annihilation of the psychopathic Joker. So how can the Clown Prince of Crime be alive? Will this inexperienced Batman meet TheJoker's challenge? Bruce Wayne's life depends on it in the action-packed animated adventure Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker.

Ratings and reviews

Bringing Joker into the world we had grown to love in Batman Beyond was simply a no-brainer. This was an absolutely splendid film. Hearing Mark Hamill's voice behind Joker's insanity again took me back to my days watching Batman: The Animated Series. With a very unique twist, this is one film you won't want to miss.

What keeps this movie from being perfect? The treatment of Bruce Wayne. I'm fully aware the character was 75-80ish but even HE was depicted with more skill in the series. The movie portrays him like a doddering old man despite being able to fight (at his age) using the cane as a bow staff and sword. The original Batman should have still held his own especially against the Deedees and maybe even against the Joker. Bruce's self defense skills should not have suffered as shown.

For anyone wondering, this is the original, uncut version of the film. It's incredible.