by KD1234

Created on: February 14, 2009

A dark, foreboding figure of mad glee and enigmatic whim, with the sickest sense of humour and a wicked grin you wouldn't even dare imagine. That's right... I'm speaking of none other than Jack Nicholson, an actor almost born to play the part of The Joker. Possessed of a twisted charisma and otherworldly acting talent, Nicholson took on the role of portraying The Joker in Tim Burton's 1989 reinvention of the 1940 comic "Batman", created by Bob Kane. Iconic as The Joker, Nicholson is perfect in the part of the homicidal fun loving killer, his wicked sneer and unsettling giggle a perfect foil to the enigmatic part of Batman, played by Michael Keaton.

I have to say, when I heard that Heath Ledger would be playing the part of The Joker in the new Batman outing "The Dark Night", I was instantly dubious of the whole thing. While I believe Ledger was a great actor, he's certainly not Joker material. His attempt to bring a bit of reality into the part of the homicidal killer really took the edge and fun out of the role, whereas Nicholson's Joker was over the top, flamboyant and actually quite scary, Ledger's Joker was just that little bit too close to reality, and really didn't mesh well with the brooding lead role of Batman played by Christian Bale. Yes, Ledger was great at reinventing the Joker as a current day possibility, a realistic and really quite scary madman, but gone is the volatile, irresolute charisma that Nicholson brought to the original film.

If you were to take Ledger out of his green suit, remove the makeup, and get him to play the same part, I highly doubt any connection to The Joker character would exist, and it would quite honestly be a very boring movie, just a stock standard hero/criminal affair. Take Nicholson out of his purple suit, remove his makeup, and he would still be an intensely convincing killer and still completely terrifying as the Joker. In fact I believe if you were to get Nicholson to re-play his character out of costume, it really would bring that touch of scary reality to the part that Ledger tried so hard to create, because Nicholson just naturally comes across as crazy, wired and ready to break.

All in all when I think of The Joker, or even just Batman in general, my initial response is "Jack Nicholson", for the part he played over 20 years ago was so strong and convincing that I doubt it, or he, will ever be forgotten. Do you think Heath Ledger will be remembered for his part in The Dark Night, or really will it be that The Dark Night is remembered only because of his death soon after it's release?

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