Why Heath Ledger’s Joker Wasn’t Perfect

Alright, before I even attempt to put a few thoughts down, let me put this disclaimer on the top.  I liked the movie.  A lot.  Read my review.  I liked every second when the Joker was on screen.  Looking back at it though, there are some things that stand out to me.  I’ve heard people say, “how can you make another movie, you can’t top the Joker.”  I don’t believe that is true.  There are many things that can be done which can top The Dark Knight and here is why.

First off: There appears to be little coherency in his character.  If you step back and ask yourself, what is the Joker’s motivation and why does he do what he does, you get a few answers.  We have this big speech about how he is just a dog chasing a car, he doesn’t have a goal.  Then we have this big speech about how he is having too much fun with Batman to kill him.  In that same speech we find out that he doesn’t want to loose the fight for Gotham’s soul by only playing off of Batman.  We have him talking about not wanting to do things for free when you can get paid for them.  Now thinking about everything he has said, and how he tells multiple stories about his scars, it might seem that he just gives a different speech to whoever he is talking to at the time to have fun with them.  Even if you look at it this way though, he is heading towards the very distinct goal of trying to bring out the worst of people, while at the same time, looking down on greed, which is usually where the worst of people comes from.

#2: Disregarding all cannon and past incarnation of the Joker and how he is “supposed” to be.  He is just not that insane.  Maybe he wasn’t supposed to be.  But based on comments of other characters about his being a madman, I would think the movie wanted us to think that.  He might even be the most sane person in the film.  Batman?  There is no way you can tell me that is a sane idea.  Harvey Dent?  Taking on the mob while being very public about his relationship with Rachel and not expecting her to die?  Commissioner Gordon faking his death and not telling his wife.  What do you think would happen to you if you did that.  Joker believes that people are bad and will show it when pushed.  That is the truth.  People care about themselves and those things that they feel make their life better and don’t care too much about things further than their grasps.  I know there are plenty of examples to contradict that, but really…

#3: I swear I’ve heard that voice before.  It was a little into the film when it hit me.  That voice Ledger had been working on for months in a hotel room, sounded a lot like Skip from Lords of Dogtown.  Not that using the same voice is horrible, it worked, but lets not pretend the guy pulled a genius character out of mid air.

#4: The lack of a back story or any truth behind the character did wonders for the mystery behind him.  This can easily be topped though by putting a three dimensional villain into a film.  Think about how much more compelling the rushed story of Two-Face was.  We know the guy, what he loves, what makes him tick and then we see him wrestle with real issues and make a choice we might not.  That’s a villain.  Once again, this is not to say they should have done this with Joker, but just to defend the fact that they can do more and top this film.

#5: If you came into your house one day and saw Heath Ledger’s Joker, after seeing the movie and all he did, what would your reaction be?  Mine would be something along the lines of, “Awesome dude, whats up?”  If you disagree and would run from your house, maybe he struck your differently, but I just don’t think he’s that bad.  What was his kill count?  4?  Yes, the ferry thing would have upped the total, and maybe if they didn’t evacuate the hospital, but still, with the foresight to pull of a dual kidnapping and prison escape before going on a high speed chase you think he could have had a little more control over the situation.

I gues at the end of the day, I just think there are more compelling villains and sometimes they need more time to be flushed out.  There are better Batman story arches and because of that, I don’t think anyone should write off the greatness of future projects based on how sweet this one was.  I know I’m going to get a lot of crap for this, (Well as much as a guy with a few hundred views can get) but still, I felt it had to be said, and I don’t spend enough time on the Internet to know if anyone else has done it.

What do you think?  Am I right?  Am I part right?