Heath Ledger rocked as the Joker. That's pretty much a fact that no one can dispute. His take on the character was insanity and chaos and anarchy all mixed together to create one of the most powerful villains to ever appear on the silver screen. That his take on the character was the most powerful portrayal of the Joker that has ever been done by an actor is also beyond debate. While Caesar Romero and Jack Nicholson did great jobs as well playing the crown prince of crime, Ledger's Joker is just a couple of steps above them.
With that said though, I can not and will not support the idea that Heath Ledger is the end all be all Joker, and there will never be another Joker greater than him.
That idea is currently being espoused by the folks over at The Ultimate Joker, a site devoted to getting the character of the Joker forever removed from future film projects. They are currently running an online petition that is trying to get enough signatures to convince the folks over at the WB that they should never again use the Joker in any live action endeavours ever again. Their argument is that Heath Ledger's Joker is the ultimate portrayal of the character, and as no other actor will ever even hope to come close to the greatness of Ledger's Joker, they shouldn't even try to ever again have another actor play him.
I'm sorry, but I couldn't possibly disagree with this idea more. The notion that no other actor from now until the end of time being able to meet or even surpass Ledger's Joker performance is idiotic at best, and laughable at worst. Yes, Ledger's performance in the Dark Knight was astounding. It was breathtaking. But to say that no other capable actor will ever be able to come close to that is Lunacy. These people are just hopping onto the current bandwagon of popularity the character is enjoying. If they had been around and started a website back in 1989, it would have been devoted to Jack Nicholson and how amazing he is and how no one will ever be a better Joker than he is. And then what would have happened if the studios had listened to them back then? The Dark Knight never would have happened, that's what.
My point is that the Joker is an incredibly multi-faceted character. His lunacy is deep and complex and different actors have and will continue to bring new things to him. Caesar Romero was the classic clown prince. Nicholson a dark and demented artist with a vision. Mark Hamill's animated Joker is a deadly mixture of Romero and his own brand of over the top insanity. Heath Ledger, as I already said, is the embodiment of chaos and disorder. They're all great Jokers, and each one is unique. To say that no one should ever again don a purple suit and face paint is to deny comic book and movie fans everywhere the chance to see new actors tackle a very complicated role and to take the character in new directions we've never seen before.
Do I want to see a brand new film starring the Joker right now? No, I do think they should give the character a rest for a bit. But that's not to say that I never again want to see the character. Far from it. Currently, I'm very much looking forward to seeing a new portrayal of the character by Mark Hamill in the upcoming videogame Batman: Arkham Asylum. And in another 10 years or so? I'm sure the world will be ready for a new take on the deadliest clown of all time.
Don't sign this petition people. It's stupid. They do have an amusing poll though asking who the greatest Joker of all time is. I voted for Caesar Romero and was very happy to see that he has almost as many votes as Ledger does.
(Via Wired)
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