So I saw the new Dark Knight movie Friday night. I usually don't like "blockbuster movies," but I wanted to check this one out 'cause of the buzz surrounding the new Joker. First off, the movie was kinda long. It was good (in a predictable, mindless kinda way), but coulda been shorter. As for the Joker, with all due respect to Heath Ledger, I didn't like him. I like the Joker's new persona, he's a lot darker and more homicidal, but something about Ledger's Joker was too feminine. Maybe it was his voice, but I just didn't like him as the Joker. Compared to the first Joker, I think Jack Nicholson was a better actor, but Ledger had a better role. Nicholson had the 80s Joker. Lighter, funnier, clownier. Kinda like the original Joker — Cesar Romero's Joker — which I remember watching on TV as a kid. Nicholson's Joker picked up where Romero left off. On paper Ledger's Joker is better, both as a written role and better costume designers, but in the end, he came across as a smart, depressed criminal with clown makeup. My verdict: Ledger's Joker needs more crazy.
2 comments:
I disagree. You want to talk crazy? How about telling horrible stories about how your father cut your face (the whole "why so serious?" bit). I appreciated the depth they gave the character but also the lengths to which Heath seemed to embody him - essentially owning that persona in a convincing way. There wasn't once in that movie where I felt like he was out of his element, where as Jack's joker was a put on hollywood stunt to get people in the seats similar to the dreadful third movie with Arnold, Jim Carey, Uma Thurman, etc..
Yeah, I agree. Jack's Joker was essentially a clown/Hollywood stunt. But if he had to play the role of the Dark Knight Joker, I think he mighta done a better job. This coming from a guy who played the ultimate crazy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
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