And Dwight as Doctor Doom?

Read me.

Dark Knight as Dark Horse

You are still all abuzz over Dark Knight. You are still very mad at me for calling it, "meh."

Some defensive notes:

This isn't my first rodeo.

This is not the first time I have watched the Joker revitalize a Batman franchise. Joker on the cover of Batman books sales better than not having him on the cover. Caesar Romero stole the scenes of the 60s television show. Nicholson's The Joker was the best part of the 90s Tim Burton movie. The Joker drives the franchise...and the plot. He always has.

It's the Joker who kills Robin. The Joker burns Arkham. He tortures and paralyzes Commissioner Gordon's daughter in the "Killing Joke," a comic that in defied all the "rules" of graphic novels and reinvented the Joker character as a cruel, murderous lunatic instead of "the clown prince of crime" who gagged his way through the 60s and 70s.

Part of the Joker's appeal is simple. People fear clowns. Plus, no other Batman villain is worth his weight in intimidation. The Penguin? Waddling into your nightmares without flight? Horrifying. The Riddler? Oh no! Not riddles! Riddles makes me think of sitting next to my grandfather after one too many Amaretto sours. What's next, Crossword Man? King Tut? For real? The Scarecrow? Scary...for crows. Why not develop Stiff Breeze Guy. Mr. Freeze? Sounds like Shop-Rite's brand of popsicles.

None of these evil-doers pack the punch of the Joker. The Joker is the end all of Batman, and much like Heath Ledger's character points out, Batman can't kill Joker...without killing himself.

So sitting down to watch Dark Knight exclusively for the Joker is not a new experience. But questions persist. Ledger's performance is powerful. His Joker's contribution to the canon is intensity. This Joker makes us more tense, even upset than any other incarnation of the character. Even Nicholson, who made a career out of playing psycho, draws a more a more relieving  Joker. His one-liners and purpleness allows the audience to share in an internal smile. Ledger, with his lumbering gait, crack-addict mouth and streaked make-up, never indulges us with even a small wink.

This is all Ledger. He was a truly gifted actor. His legacy should rest more firmly in Ang Lee's gorgeous Brokeback Mountain. His portrayal of a man tortured by his personal truth is nothing short of breath-taking. The Joker is a solid addition to his legacy, but it should not define it.
 

And so goes Dark Knight. It's an excellent super hero movie, but is it more than that? Ledger's performance is great, but is it an Oscar-worthy? Is Dark Knight itself an Oscar-caliber film (Ebert and the NYT both place it pretty high on the "maybe" list)? 

Maybe the value of these questions are eclipsed by a larger one: Would Dark Knight be the Oscar contender it is if not for Ledger's tragic death? In other words, if Ledger were alive, well and starring in a period piece opposite Kate Winslet this Spring, would we be having an Oscar conversation about this movie?

Consideration of these and other questions will drive our conversation of Dark Knight.