I think that the Batman franchise has been around long enough that really any interpretation of any of the characters (Joker, Batman, whoever) is viable. So I think that Heath Ledger's joker may have more in common with some interpretations of the character than others.
We're everything brighter than even the sun
You are assuming that Dent's transformation into Two-Face begins once his face is mutilated in the gasoline fire. In fact, his transformation is a gradual process from his first stellar performance in court where he disassembled a suspect's gun, through to where he was on the verge of killing Gordon's family at the end of the movie. His first sharp downward turn occurred at the attempted assassination of the mayor, when Dent was ostensibly killed. Batman caught him in the act of illegal interrogation and nearly extrajudicial execution, and warned him that this behavior was unbecoming the city's D.A. At this point, he was already in descent; Rachel's death was the event needed to send him over the edge. That particular aspect of character development wasn't glossed over; it was convincingly and gradually developed throughout much of the film.
I agree wholeheartedly about the Joker not seeming joker-y enough, in either personality, motivation, or actions. He... just didn't seem very interested in joking or smiles or anything? He has moments where he keeps a persona of offbeat misanthropy, which works, but at most times he seemed like a sort of magician, preacher, or trickster rather than a clown or comedian. I wouldn't go as far as to say he's a completely different character, it's more like they planned for the movie to have the Joker, Two-Face, and the Riddler but, instead of cutting out the Riddler's parts, they just threw his character into a blender with the Joker to create some strange, actually quite effective character.
Leave a Comment:
The Dark Knight
The acting is good and the effects are good. The plot on the other hand requires for the universe to be bending over backwards for the Joker's plans to work. It requires for the Joker to be a)omniscient b)posses unlimited resources and c)be able to get anywhere undetected. The movie was definitely exceeding my ability to suspend my disbelief.
Also Heath Ledger's character is the Joker in name only. The characteristics that make the Joker the Joker are missing. The typical warped sense of humour appears in a few short scenes but is not as dominating as it should be. It is a great character, it just isn't the Joker.
Further more Harvey Dent's descent into Two-Face is not given enough screen time to be effective. As it is there are too many illogical aspects of his change of character that are never even briefly explained. It would have been better off left for an other movie.
Overall, the first hour and a bit of the film were good but I found that the film was unable to maintain that level of quality towards the end.