Don't believe the hype...wait...do believe it.

[jroc_723]

I finally got the chance to watch "The Dark Knight" this past weekend. I also managed to get to see it on the wonderful IMAX screen.

This movie has gotten a lot of hype... whether it be for Heath Ledger's frightening depiction of the Joker, or Ledger's relatively recent death, or Christopher Nolan's much darker take on Batman after Joel

Comments

[purple_dwarf]

One friend said that the joker look was better in this one, but had liked Jacks joker in personality better. Another friend, sort of in response, said they were different movies and couldn't be compared like that.

I find myself thinking both fit their movies well (my second friend being more right). It's odd the two movies are different enough they are that tough to compare.

[jroc_723]

Jack Nicholson's role was classic, very well done, and yes, it definitely suited the movie. Where Ledger's version was a dark, maniacal, scheming character. I guess even Burton's movies were a bit more cartoony or outlandish (although still laced with an essence of darkness about), where Nolan's is a bit more mature and (maybe) more realistic(?).

Really, though, I think your second friend is more "right" in my opinion. They are different takes on the same characters, like Schumacher's take. It's just that Schumacher's take was fucking ridiculous.

And regardless of what Batman movies you like, Ledger's Joker is still the creepiest. :)

[darthoprah]

I think the best thing about Ledger's Joker was how he was written. We didn't see his origin story, we got conflicting stories about how he got his scars, he didn't have a ridiculous plan to off the populace. He claimed to be an agent of chaos, and his character was suitably difficult to pin down. The performance was effective in that he didn't try to be too silly or too wacky. I don't know how much of this was the actor's decision or how much of it was Nolan's, but it was the right choice. Ledger himself was also a somewhat bland actor without a well-defined screen presence. Jack Nicholson as the Joker felt like Jack's usual bag of tricks being applied to a role, whereas Ledger felt fresh.

[jroc_723]

I will agree with that... Jack's Joker was probably a bit of an exaggeration of his usual tricks. It fitted Burton's vision of the movie quite well, though.

As for Ledger's Joker, he came off as quite demented... and that pencil trick was funny and sick at the same time. Maybe because it was so fresh/untypical for Ledger, I don't think I would have been able to recognize him. And maybe that's Nolan's skill as a director... being able to get such a performance out of a typically uninteresting actor.

Now all this talking about the movie makes me want to see it again.