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Why Heath Ledger's performance was superb: Without all the hype behind the movie, you would have never guessed who the actor was. This is the same guy who played the hero in the chickflick romance "A Knight's Tale" and romance/comedy "10 Things I Hate About You". He made me believe he was his character, the Joker. That is an actor's job, and he pulled it off wonderfully.
Although the actor died, the character can continue. Ledger was in makeup for the entire movie (one brief moment without when disguised in the celebration, but he still had the lip scar makeup). Another actor could be fitted into the Joker's role with minimal impact on his look or feel. Perhaps Johnny Depp could pull it off.
One of the things I didn't like about the movie was the forced sound of Batman's voice. Yes, he needs to disguise his voice from that of Bruce Wayne, and he wants to be intimidating. That works (kinda) with short yelps of dialogue when interrogating criminals, but a two-minute conversation with Gordon in the cleared-out bank vault? Forced anger in casual conversation just makes the audience uncomfortable.
I really liked how they layered the development of one villian, Two-Face, amidst the plotline of the main villian, the Joker. Unfortunately, the transformation was a little too sudden at the tail-end of the movie for my tastes. We didn't get to see the conflicting split personality, him arguing with himself, or much support for the shift from stoic good guy to murderous bad guy. Yes, he threatened to kill one of the Joker's henchmen while personally interrogating him (how'd the Batman find him?). Yes, he just lost his wife-to-be and is suffering excruciating pain at having lost half his face (although we really don't see much physical agony expressed). Finally, yes the Joker sets Two-Face off. All this makes logical sense, but in the end I just didn't feel it. I needed to see pain and conflicting emotions expressed to truly empathize with his metamorphosis. I needed to see remnants of the original Harvy Dent fighting for control and losing. I needed to see that resorting to a coin flip, fate, was his last ditch desperate effort to preserve what was left of his sanity and morality. I needed more than the end of a movie about the Joker to really get into the Two-Face character as a villian. Such a short resolution to so much build-up is just disappointing. It didn't do the character justice.
I also really liked how realistic the physical creation of Two-Face was versus the comics or cartoon (vat o' chemicals), where in trying to untie himself he knocks over a drum and spills oil, and subsequently falls over and soaks half his face, later ignited by the proximity of the explosion due to the timing of the barely-successful rescue by Batman.
I too remember Batman shouting to Gordon that he was going to rescue the girl (whats-her-name), and I was surprised when he busted in and rescued Harvy. I didn't even consider it was an intentional mislead by the Joker until I read it here. I think the switcheroo is quite befitting of the Joker, though, but wish there was more to support this realization after the fact, within the movie, like a comment from a character, so this twist wouldn't be so obscure to the audience. What I like about the deception is that whoever Batman chooses to save, the Joker knows it'll be whoever he cares about most, and by giving opposite directions the Joker ensures the Batman will be emotionally fucked. Either way, Batman loses. So cold...
One other thing that bugged me in the back of my mind was that after the stomach bomb went off, why was the Joker the only one standing? I don't believe he's any more resistent to explosives than a normal human being, and there were people all around the Joker when it went off, so at least some people were bound to be as unscathed as he was. Maybe they were ducking behind their desks and the Joker kept standing because he knew what to expect? Who knows, but a quick shot of it would have answered that.
Other than that, the Joker definately stole the show from Batman in this movie. I just hope in future movies they don't bring in Robin or Batgirl. Bleck. The darker, grittier Batman works alone. The earlier, classic comic Batman was a comic of its times with the inclusion of a sidekick and a girl-version. I don't see that as necessary to the current Batman. Robin = Teenage angst that just leaves me ill (and the source of way too many gay jokes). Batgirl = Just ... lame. Catwoman is far more dynamic for that role niche.
Post has been edited 5 time(s), last time on Jul 27 2008, 11:35 am by Hercanic.