So I finally watched The Dark Knight

[Conundrum 1]

Am I the only one who wasn't blown away by Heath Ledger's performance?

I mean, he played the part well and all, but after all the hype about it I was really expecting something amazing.

I did enjoy the movie though.

[quade 3]

Lemme ask you . . . how did you watch the movie?

Large screen with a great sound system in a darkened room with no distractions or . . . the way a lot of people watch movies on TV . . . average sized TV, poopy little built in speaker, lights on, maybe the phone rang and you stopped in the middle.

Not making a value judgement, but there is a huge difference between the way most people watch movies and the way they were intended to be watched. Just curious.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Conundrum 1]

I totally agree with you.

That said - we have a 67" 1080p TV with Blu-Ray and a nice Sony surround system. Lights off, sound up, with the kid in bed... the way a movie should be watched.

[quade 3]

And even still Ledger's performance didn't come across for you? Hmmm.

I'll tell ya, when I saw it I was blown away. I thought he brought something amazingly new to the role. Everyone else has always played The Joker as slightly off but a kind of "happy" clown. Watching Ledger made me think of a really sick and twisted individual hiding behind the clown make up. Kind of a cross between a John Wayne Gacy and Ted Kaczynski. Ledger's Joker was scary as hell in his ability to just off his henchmen without so much as a blink and it really wasn't that he wanted to "get away" with doing the crime but that the chaos of the crime itself was the goal. Ok, that was in the script, but I thought Ledger was amazing in bringing that to life.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Conundrum 1]

I'm not saying he did a bad job or anything, I just heard SOOOO much hype about how awe inspiring he was in the movie - and I just didn't find it jaw dropping. Good? Yes. Totally fucking awesome? No.

He did well at portraying a sadistic mother fucker but I didn't turn off the TV thinking "wow, that was incredible".

[jcd11235 0]

Quote

Lemme ask you . . . how did you watch the movie?

Large screen with a great sound system in a darkened room with no distractions or . . . the way a lot of people watch movies on TV . . . average sized TV, poopy little built in speaker, lights on, maybe the phone rang and you stopped in the middle.

Not making a value judgement, but there is a huge difference between the way most people watch movies and the way they were intended to be watched. Just curious.

As a recovering audiophile, I agree that a nice home theater system or the big screen can enhance the viewing experience. However, if a movie needs the big screen or nice home theater system to be great, it usually isn't really a great movie.

I thought The Dark Knight was a good, not great movie. I didn't think it lived up to the hype, but it wasn't bad.

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[skydiverbry 0]

I have to agree with ya.Thought it was good,very good,but not blown away great.
I saw it on the big screen and it stiil for me didn't live up to all the hype I was hearing about his performance.
Bry

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[jtval 0]

Quote

Am I the only one who wasn't blown away by Heath Ledger's performance?

I mean, he played the part well and all, but after all the hype about it I was really expecting something amazing.

I did enjoy the movie though.

You said it yourself. "After all the hype."

When the rest of us watched it the hype wasn't really there we went in expecting to see a decent movie.
Heath played the part so well that I didn't see Heath. I saw the joker.

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[LouDiamond 1]

Quote

Am I the only one who wasn't blown away by Heath Ledger's performance?

I mean, he played the part well and all, but after all the hype about it I was really expecting something amazing.

I did enjoy the movie though.

Give it a few days then go back and watch it again. This time pay a bit more attention to Ledger's portrayal of the joker. They say there is a difference between acting and being. Case in point, the Drill Sgt from Full metal jacket (R Lee Ermy), they said he didn't get an Oscar because he wasn't acting in that movie, he was doing what he was trained to do. The bottom line was that it was (for those who have been there) the most realistic depiction that has been portrayed of a drill sgt. in the movies. What I think made Ledger's portrayal of the joker so noteworthy is that I don't think he was acting( at least not too much) as much as he was either letting it out of him or had allowed himself to become immersed in the characters psychosis.

The people who commented on his acting after the movie came out realized there was just something a bit more convincing about his portrayal of a mad man than is typically seen in Ledger's past acting. The question is did he succumb to immersing himself too deep in the character and fall victim to it or did the character just provide him a conduit for him to release his own demons? Having spent a fair amount of time with truly unbalanced people and straight up killers in my life, I can say that Ledger's portrayal was eerily accurate of a sociopathic killer. This of course is just my shit house psychologist analysis but as I heard one person comment when I was leaving the movie theatre...."That mother fucker wasn't acting, he be crazy for real [sic]". Either way, crazy or not, it was unquestionably one of Ledger's best performances.

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[beowulf 1]

I bought it on Blu Ray and have watched it a few times just to concentrate on the Joker. I still can't see Ledger behind all that makeup. Usually you can see the mannerisms of the actor pretending to be the character, but not with Heath Ledgers Joker. That is what makes a great actor. With all the other actors that played the Joker you could recognize the actor behind the makeup, especially Jack Nicholson.

[livendive 8]

I thought he was pretty good, but the massive amount of attention was due to his death rather than his performance.

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[RALFFERS 0]

I saw the movie, and - I really didn't like it. It was way too long; I was dosing off every now & then. I liked 'Batman Begins" A LOT better.

That said - I really enjoyed Heath's performance! I didn't see an actor, I saw the joker. I thought many parts he was funny; I saw a bit of myself in Ledger's portrayal of the joker.

Edited to add: I very much agree with what LouDiamond said:

Quote

The people who commented on his acting after the movie came out realized there was just something a bit more convincing about his portrayal of a mad man than is typically seen in Ledger's past acting. The question is did he succumb to immersing himself too deep in the character and fall victim to it or did the character just provide him a conduit for him to release his own demons? Having spent a fair amount of time with truly unbalanced people and straight up killers in my life, I can say that Ledger's portrayal was eerily accurate of a sociopathic killer. This of course is just my shit house psychologist analysis but as I heard one person comment when I was leaving the movie theatre...."That mother fucker wasn't acting, he be crazy for real [sic]". Either way, crazy or not, it was unquestionably one of Ledger's best performances.

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