* Warning: For the folks still waiting to be surprised on the Joker’s new look, please avoid the picture of the character at the bottom of this entry.
Allow me to be bold:
Heath Ledger is an actor I was never fond of until “Brokeback Mountain,” but after seeing the new trailer for “The Dark Knight,” I submit that he will likely be the best Joker of all time, barnone.
In months from now I may be proven wrong and eat my words, but that’s not likely if you’ve seen him in the new trailer.
Why?
The man looks horrifying. If I ever walked into him I’d be compelled to either beg for my life or run like a bitch. He’s scarred, his make up looks grotesque, his laugh is excellent, he looks like pure evil incarnate, and he’s comedic without being goofy.
I for one have never been a fan of Batman’s Nicholson Joker for the simple fact that Nicholson was just being Nicholson with make up. I could never get into his variation, and though menacing as he was, he just missed the mark for me.
Up until now, for me, the best Joker has been Mark Hamill who was a voice actor for Bruce Timm’s Batman: The Animated Series who was without a doubt a power house of a performer as the Joker.
For me, the Joker is a person who thinks he’s funny and thinks the most sadistic of deeds are hilarious and he’s the only one who gets the joke. Torture is funny, murder is funny, making people die laughing is funny. What, you’re not laughing? You’re a party pooper, how about I make you laugh with me?
And yet while enjoying the party he should also be a genuine force of evil, one you can see as a clown but a figure you’d also be genuinely afraid of and for once the joker inspires that in me with Heath Ledger.
The opening shot of the new trailer of the Joker sitting in a cell and suddenly gaining a fascination for the Batman because he simply won’t laugh is just fantastic.
Ledger inspires genuine goosebumps, but also a slight sense of fear, and I think he will surprise even the hold outs who insist he’s been miscast. Hell, he may even traumatize the unfortunate kids who are dragged to see it opening weekend. I personally think Ledger will be the best Joker of all time.
And it’s not often I can put best and Ledger in the same sentence.
More so I think Two-Face will be fantastic. Nolan is improving on the past franchise, and so far he’s pleased this comic geek, because I was never crazy about those movies to begin with beyond Catwoman. I look forward to the new versions of the mythos, and his Joker looks like another home run.
