The most tragic thing about Heath Ledger's untimely death is that he didn't have the time after doing Brokeback Mountain to do more work. Now he will most memorably be known for being a gay cowboy.

The "Dark Knight" looks pretty damn good. I think his role as the Joker will probably be one of the best performances in the year to come.

The trailer was unimpressive

I disagree. I think the trailer is very impressive.

I caught him in "10 things I hate about you", "A Knight's Tale" (-damned good, btw), and "Monster's Ball".

I never caught "Brokeback Mountain", but will probably watch it sometime... I'm hoping his portrayal of the Joker will be fantastic... It'd be a good note to 'go out on', if you will...

Sucks that he's dead though, was a pretty good actor!

Thank GOD the finished filming.

But, Jack Nicholson said he 'warned him.'

I'm guessing a bet to see who was the better joker. the loser had to off themselves. too bad. Even though the original Batman movies hold a special place in my heart, I was kinda hoping this one would kick all kinds of crazy ass.
If my theory was right, Dark Knight won't hold a candle to the original Batman.

I'm with Matt in that I'm unsure what to think ...

It'll be tough to top the Jack, for sure.

And damn radical Baptists and John Gibson for mocking this man's death. Seriously, what the hell --?

C'mon, it's Fox News. I'm surprised they aren't burning an effigy of him outside his funeral service.

Nels said:
I disagree. I think the trailer is very impressive.

I watched it again, just for measure (here it is (Trailer 2) for anyone else who wants to see).

Bah! One must be easily amused or at least a pushover for precedents in order to be impressed. There was nothing in that trailer that could incite any sort of emotion save for extreme indifference bordering on apathy. I mean, Ledger's Joker impression sounds like Rain Man when he can't watch People's Court.

Also, Christian Bale is a doucheface. His Batman is only a notch above George Clooney's (who is just above Michael Keaton at the bottom).

Bring back Adam West and Jack Nicholson and I guarantee I would have urinated my pants.

At any rate, we're only discussing the trailer and not the movie, so judgments of the actual movie will be reserved till summer.

Upon re-examination, I have altered my stance. That trailer doesn't really tell you anything about the movie, at all. Despite this, I still feel Ledger's Joker looks and sounds promising. It will be different that Jack's - but then, why would we want to see someone else try play the Joker exactly the same?

Ledger's joker is more aligned to the joker from the original comic books.

He's supposed to be based of The Killing Joke's Joker.

Last edited by Ziyad on January 29, 2008

I didn't really care for the Joker's backstory in the "Killing Joke." I would rather just see the Joker as a psychotic, disfigured killer whose origins remain a mystery, rather than someone who was personally tortured by some past mistake. I think writers liked to draw parallels between him and Batman, like this one moment determined the rest of their life, but to me that is just too easy and simplified. No offense to Alan Moore.

You sound like you want the Joker to be Kefka.

I want the Joker to be Alex de Large from "A Clockwork Orange."

"Alex is violent because it is necessary for him to be violent in order for this movie to entertain in the way Kubrick intends. Alex has been made into a sadistic rapist not by society, not by his parents, not by the police state, not by centralization and not by creeping fascism -- but by the producer, director and writer of this film."

That was said by a certain film critic, who, though I don't agree with on a lot of things, does have an interesting take on Alex that I don't think is unfounded.

If you want to the Joker to be as evil a character as Alex, there is going to have to be more substance to him than just "Batman's Opponent" for the movie.

As an aside, Alan Moore wasn't too happy with the Killing Joke many years later.