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Michael Caine Calls Ledgers Joker “Scariest Performance” Ever
When it was announced that Heath Ledger had been cast as The Joker for the upcoming Batman movie, it caught a LOT of people off guard. Most people (like me) didn’t love or hate the selection. Most of us had a “guarded optimism”. After all, Ledger has shown that from time to time he is capable of knocking it out of the park (Brokeback Mountain), but sometimes he can also just suck (Knight’s Tale). He’s hit and miss… but when he hits… there’s no denying it can be something special.
Recently, our friends over at MTV sat down with Michael Caine. When the topic of the next Batman movie came up, one of the great actors of our time had this to say of Ledger’s performance as The Joker:
Caine said, “I’ll tell you who it’s about. It’s about Heath Ledger as The Joker. He will be the talking point of the next Batman.” So will he be scarier than say Scarecrow or Two-Face? Yes indeed, Caine said, calling Ledger’s turn, “one of the scariest performances I’ve ever seen.”
Now granted, Caine is an actor talking about an upcoming movie of his, so you know he’s supposed to say great glowing things… so take it with a grain of salt… but still… when an actor the calibre of Michael Caine says something like that… it can’t be anything but good news.
So what do you think? Could Ledger’s Joker performance make us forget about Jack?
“guarded optimism” is right…
I mean, he wasn’t the ’scariest’…but it’s going to take me a while to not make comparisons to Nicholson…
He’s going to blow Jack’s performance away. Honestly, I have so much faith and Nolan and Ledger.
No one can play the Joker like Jack Nicholson, dont get me wrong i can see ledger doing a great job as the joker but he will NOT out do Nicholson performance…..
Nicholson’s performance was good, but was not spectacular. He simply did not have great material to work with. Burton’s Batman film was very enjoyable, but does not hold up to Batman Begins. Ledger has much better material to work with, and this will ultimately make the difference.
I was indeed caught of guard by the Ledger announcement, but I also thought it was a pretty clever move. He wasnt even in the top 20 of anyones “who would be a good Joker” list. And thats why it was a great choice.
This is not going to be anything like Nicholsons Joker. That was Nicholsons charicature of Joker, Ledgers performance will be the difinitive Joker if it is half as good as I think it will be.
Ledger is going to bring more depth to this character, more than Nicholson in makeup just acting crazy (which was great, but thats all it was) I think we are going to get a peek inside the Jokers psyche and THAT is what will be scary.
well i think ledger is pretty much one of the futures main leading men hands down…i mean IMO the guy is just a natural…..i just saw the NED KELLY movie and it was really good i thought..he looks crazy in the pics
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Ledger is going to be a great Joker. Comparisons between his portrayal and Nicholson’s should be mute because Nicholson’s was so over-the-top, whereas from all we’ve seen heard of Ledger’s Joker, it’s still mostly grounded in reality and scary as hell.
The way he delivers his line in the trailer “people will die” genuinely sounds like he’s a nutcase!
This can only be good….
I loved Tim Burton’s Batman, and I thought Jack Nicholson stole the movie, but throughout the batman comics, the Joker has been portrayed in a number of ways, from the type of character Jack played (bad, crazy, homicidal) to what I hope Ledger will play (psychopathic scary). I think he has the chops for it. I mean, honestly, Jack as the Joker was good, but it never scared me. I like the Joker when he scares me.
so what if michael caine said “no heath just couldnt nail it and the joker seems lame and the audience is going to be sooo disappointed.” -?
i like where it seems theyre going with joker.
i would have liked an even more grotesque scar but meh.
im still undecided about ledger in the role but i hope he roks.
Let’s put it this way. I think Heath is one of the greatest actors of his time and beyond. I have all of his movies plus his tv series of Roar and none of the parts are the same. All of his movies are not great but he plays a great part. I think partly it is because he does research on every part he plays. Again he is a great and dedicated actor and I expect he will not let any one down in this one either. Jack was good but it was just comical where as Heath will be playing a more true character like in the Batman Begins movie.( Which is why I liked it) I am not a comic book movie fan although I did like some of the Superman ones with Christopher Reeve. As you can see I am also a Heath Ledger fan even though I am at a mature age. (very mature or old as you wish)(64). I can’t wait to see it.
I can deffenty see him being a relly good joker but he is a hit and miss actor but batman begins was such a good movie i have full hope for this one
I have total faith in Christopher Nolan. He has not let me down yet. This is going to ROCK!!
BTW Nicholsen was great as the Joker, for the Batman of that time.
Ledger will be great as the Joker Now.
No comparisons, just great acting.
lets remember caine is the same guy who read the script for jaws the revenge and still took the role!!
but ledger does look great…..can’t wait for this. my most anticipated film of next year by a mile.
Jordon, I hope your hit and miss concerns his movies and not his acting because as I said all his movies were not good, but he was superb as an actor in them. Just my opinion.
It all reinforces my feeling that the second Batman film is going to be a real treat!
What do I think? Could Heath’s Joker performance make me forget about Jack? I don’t think so. Nicholson’s Joker was fantastic for that movie at that time. Batman became REAL in that movie; Jack made the Joker REAL as well. It was the early 90’s after all. There was a great disconnect about how his Joker came to be from what the comics tell us, but he was evil and funny and just a bit creepy. Now Ledger? I believe he’s going to be fantastic for this movie at this time. Recently we have seen more than we wanted too in our daily lives. Heath will be a reflection of that. Expect to be scared.