Ledger's Joker is like a Gaggy to me. Or maybe a terrorist who put on a clown face. He is too absorbed in describing the grand ideology behind his actions and isn't really funny in any way. The Joker is actually funny sometimes and not just in the evil clown kind of way. The real Joker doesn't explain anything and if there's an ideology he seems to follow, he'll throw that away when you least expect it. Ledge-Joker is too focused on trying to be scary, instead of being scary while being funny too.
Which is better? I don't like answering that, because both Nicholson's and Ledger's performance are so far away from the Joker I know they could do in a movie. But if I absolutely had to, I would have to say Nicholson. Yes, he was fat and middleaged. But at least he was someone who fell into a vat of chemicals and who did crime for fun, not someone who smears his face with paste and explains himself.
But I've become adjusted to getting over worshipping Hamill too. His performance goes way too often in the Cesar Romero territory these days. It's fitting they passed Tim Curry over for Hamill; Curry's performance was deemed too scary for kids. We'd be praising Curry's performance now if they hadn't made that decision. Hamill did an amazing job for years, but I'll do just fine when he retires.
I think the best Joker actor has not yet shown himself.
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