THE GREATEST MOVIE VILLAIN OF ALL TIME I cannot imagine what it would be like for friends and family of someone that recently died be to be subjected to constantly looking at the photo of the person that has passed away. On movie posters. On billboards. On TV ads. Everywhere. The friends and family of Heath Ledger are dealing with the tragic legacy.. and all the while the DARK KNIGHT is making oceans of cash. That cash and record breaking box office is not because of Christian Bale. From the very first few minutes of the 154-minute DARK KNIGHT, Heath Ledger made fans of the film and even lukewarm spectators watch the film with the hair on the arms raised.. Ledger defied all expectations in his acting abilties in this film. He re-created the role of what the 'Joker' would be in Gotham City.. what mayhem caused by a clown with no limits or morals would look like.. what an evil villain hellbent on causing terror just for the sheer fun of it would act like. Heath Ledger allowed the DARK KNIGHT to become the success it already is.. He led the film to new heights. And through it all, he has become the signal greatest movie villain on screen I have ever seen. Arnold Schwarzenegger from TERMINATOR.. Michael Myers from HALLOWEEN .. Freddy Krueger from your NIGHTMARE.. Dracula, the witch from WIZARD OF OZ, all pale in comparison. Even Anthony Hopkins as HANNIBAL holds no candle to Heath Ledger as the Joker.. And yes, STAR WARS fans, even Darth Vadar pales in comparison to the clown prince of crime. Ledger created a monster from nothing. A man that puts his own makeup on who simply wants to create terror in a city.. it turned into his greatest role, ever, in a film. Fans and foes were mesmerized by his stunning performance. People were amazed as uncanny at his ability to completely delve into the deepest and darkest parts of the human psyche for the film.. From the very moment Ledger's Joker appeared on screen, the memory of Ceasar Romero, Jack Nicholson, or comic book inventions were completely forgotten. The role was his, for whatever reason he wanted it and for whatever road he was ready to take it on. The first scene proved to be one of the greatest scenes of the film. A bank heist that shows the callousness and cruelty of the Joker in its finest. And from there on, he has no mercy for the innocent or the criminal.. The only one has has mercy for is BATMAN, the one person he wanted to keep alive simply because he "completes" him.. In a scene closer to the end of the film, Ledger's Joker describes in detail how the Batman really really doesn't want him to die.. How he wants to keep the Joker around .. We all do. That scene, without question, had the greatest ability to remind us all of the tragedy of Ledger's death. Not to spoil the film for anyone here, but in DARK KNIGHT, the Joker doesn't die. But in real life, the man who played the Joker, is gone. If only we can live in fiction... A fiction where heroes exist.. That fiction isn't reality. And reality is cruel. As DARK KNIGHT ended, I wanted it to keep going. I wanted Heath Ledger to stay with us just a little longer.. a few more minutes. Another scene.. Anything to keep this enormously purposeful act going a little longer. But end we must.. And when it ended, I walked from the theater (twice now) absolutely convinced that the Ledger version of the Joker was cruel, sadistic, enormously funny, and quite surely the best and most exciting movie villain to appear on the big screen--of all time. An Oscar performance.. And without him, the DARK KNIGHT wouldn't have nearly amounted to what it did. It was a long movie--long enough to keep wanting more from Ledger. It was a film with shady characters, mob bosses, and Two-Face. But it's the Joker we all wanted.. it's the Joker that lit the screen every time he appeared. It's the Joker that is still existent in Gotham City. But it's Heath Ledger forever gone from this very real world. A performance for the ages. Yes. It was just that damn good. Mr. Bale, no offense, but it's not you that they are going to see.. It's Heath Ledger, with his disappearing pencil trick, his careless terrorism, and his way of making us all ask questions about morality deep down.. He dressed in a hospital dress.. purple .. clown makeup.. and evil. Heath Ledger played the Joker. The Joker circa 2008: The best movie villain of all time. Period. End. And take it to the bank.

Labels: Batman, Dark Knight, Entertainment, Heath Ledger, Hollywood