The hype around Friday’s release of the “The Dark Knight” has reached a fever pitch, with Heath Ledger’s dark turn as the Joker generating an avalanche of posthumous Oscar buzz.
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone has called Ledger’s performance “mad-crazy-blazing brilliant,” while the sequel’s director Christopher Nolan has raved in the New York Times that Ledger’s portrayal of the sadistic makeup-caked villain is “stunning” and “iconic”.
The big-ticket Academy Award categories have typically been bereft of summer blockbuster nominees.
But is Ledger’s performance so bone-chillingly remarkable that it can survive the hype and the action-movie stigma?
As the 2006 best-picture shunning of “Dreamgirls” demonstrated, presumptive hype can lead to a snub when the Academy Award nominations are announced.
The Internet Oscar buzz alone for the Australian actor - lead by a gallery of fans likely still reeling from the shock of his untimely death in January - has eclipsed the praise of traditional critics, elevating the risk that Ledger will become a target for backlash.
The film is likely to surge above the $100-million mark during its opening weekend, placing the film in the same mega-earning category as “Iron Man” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”.
Writing Ledger’s name on a ballot will perhaps become more palatable for Academy voters given the length of time between opening weekend and when Oscar nomination polls close on Jan.12, 2009.
This may be one time when fading memories are deemed an advantage amongst the fickle Hollywood elite - cementing Ledger’s legacy as an Oscar-worthy talent.
For full coverage of “The Dark Knight”, click here.
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Fabulous! The movie was great but Heath’s performance took it to the next level. He was a phenominal actor and it is a tragedy that someone would only believe this hype was due to his untimly death. It is remarkable how such a young man can bring such emense talent to the screen. As Ebert would say, “Two thumbs up!”.
- Posted by Karaalthough ironman was the long awaited movie of the summer this movie i can say would easly take that spot.
- Posted by mr. thaoi think in my opinion that this movie is the best of the batman series thus far. i’d give it 4 out of 4 stars. the thing that went well with this movie was that the theme or the feeling of the movie was alot darker then the previous ones. one factor is also the role of the joker. this is how it should be done and he was born for this part. the performance was sick off the charts. this movie in my opinion could easly pass to be a rated R film if it wanted to.
- Posted by mr. thaoJim…are you kidding?…Jack Nicholson’s portrayal better and NOT over the top and NOT on the silly side??? Okay…you cannot be taken seriously…..thinking Heath’s portrayal as sillier. Give me a break!
Oh…and my thoughts on Heath’s acting job…INCREDIBLE! He definitely deserves the Oscar. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him in every scene. He did an extraordinary job. He IS the joker…signed, sealed, and delivered!
- Posted by Colleen[...] reviews you may have read about Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker, such as: Peter Travers of Rolling Stone has called Ledger’s performance “mad-crazy-blazing [...]
- Posted by All American Blogger » Believe the Hype - The Dark Knight is That Good!Follow the money trail, Batman will beat them all!!!
- Posted by JimIf heath ledger was alive still, the movie would still be AMAZING!! His performance was great, but the movie in general had a great plot and one of the greatest Batman movies to date. It wasn’t corny, had a great plot and who doesn’t love Commissioner Gordan, Rachel, Harvey Dent, Joker and BATMAN!! So worth the wait and too bad Heath is gone because it would have been amazing to have him in more Batman Films.
- Posted by joSo many actors end up forgotten. As long as The Dark Knight is shown and watched Heath Ledger will never be forgotten nor will his Joker ever be surpassed.
- Posted by Sonnyi saw the movie today and i absolutely loved heath ledger in it. the joker was by far the best character in the film, at the very first scene he grabbed your attention and kept you on your feet for the rest of the movie. i loved how clever and insane the joker was and i even felt pity for his sad past. heath definately out acted the other big names, which surprised me. i was more captivated by the villian than the hero. i cannot praise enough how great heath ledgers acting was and this is hands down oscar worthy.
- Posted by danaSaw it, didn’t really like the performance. Way over-hyped. I’d give it ***. That’s it. It’s just a bit on the silly side. Jack Nicholson was much better. I guess that just comes with maturity that Ledger will never attain.
- Posted by jimI just saw Dark Knight, and Heath performance was amazing. Of all the batman films, he has been the best villain, again, just an amazing performance
- Posted by trsdosI saw the movie last night, and I can say that Heath Ledger was awesome. He depicted the role of the joker as a deranged freak quite well. I can say that i’m not a huge ledger fan, but after seeing this movie, I can say that his character was one of the best in recent memory. That doesn’t mean we should hand the oscar over to him right away, but based on his strong performance, he should at least be considered. Keeping that in mind, because he is no longer with us, and this was one if his last films (the last one is The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus in 2009); he is receiving some bias from the media. Yes, he would still be getting outstanding reviews if he were still alive, but do you think the academy would give him an oscar because this is his last chance? What about other great actor’s movies that haven’t come out yet?
- Posted by NickI wonder if there would be as much “hype” if Ledger was still alive. . . Yes, he was a good actor but no different than any other actor/actress such as Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable in THE MISFITS?
- Posted by dianeI went and saw this movie last night and let me tell you, it was one of the best movies I have seen in a incredibly LONG time! Now one of my favorite movies of all time. Heath Ledger did a amazing job playing the Joker. He was captivating, thrilling and just downright scary. I think he does deserve an Oscar for his role because I have not seen someone play a role better than that in years. He was brilliant.
- Posted by SophieWhat craft he had! He was brilliant… If he could act like that at 28 years old, just imagine what amazing films he would have made! He will be missed! May he rest in peace and never forgotten! Matilda will be proud of her father.
- Posted by ardenAbsolutely disagree with you, Dusty.
Aside from the typical response to the death of a promising young actor, sadless and loss, his role in the Dark Knight now provides yet another misfortune.
Now, not because of box office, but to avoid the appearance of sentimentality, he might end up being ignored.
Had he lived, there’d be no question of an oscar nomination.
- Posted by DrewI have to say that when i saw the midnight showing of “the dark knight” i was completely unbiased at the fact that heath ledger was dead. I couldnt remember who he was and it didnt click for me until the next day. So what im trying to say is that i saw the movie withought any biased towards the actor heath ledger. His role as the Joker was truly brilliant and bone chilling. It was a spectacular film that deserves all the great ratings its gotten so far.
- Posted by MarioI just caught the midnight showing of “The Dark Knight” and was clearly impressed with Heath Ledger’s brilliant performance exploring the depths of psychotic evil and madness of The Joker character.
It’s not often an actor rises to the challenge of making a complicated character ‘Larger Than Life’ on the Big Screen but with Ledger’s genius in portraying the subtleties of such a dark villain showing up at every turn I believe he not only set the standard of how to master such a difficult role but raised the bar as well.
The only other dark villain portrayed with such passion and psychological skill that comes to mind although in a different dramatic format was the Marlon Brando character Colonel Kurtz in the Heart Of Darkness story portrayed in Apocalypse Now.
An excellent brilliant performance by Heath Ledger.
- Posted by JeffHeath Ledger was brilliant.
- Posted by EricThe whole time I was watching the movie, I tried so hard to see through that joker character and find Ledger behind it.
Not only I was unsuccessful, but it made me think that the movie should be named “Joker, and Batman” or something…
The character development was so wonderful and acting was superb. Nowadays, filmmakers so easily create a figure using
CG and greenscreen. Only thing Heath needed was white powder and lipstick… it was amazing. Anybody who is foolish enough to say that the joker character is hype because of Heath’s death is just a ignorant person who did not see this movie, but wanna get some attention from
other bloggers. We will always miss Heath for this great movie. Thank you
the oscars mess up all the time. whether or not heath ledger even gets nominated, his performance as the joker can never be topped. he was perfect. *that* was the joker comic fans have been waiting for. *that* was the joker you can see in ‘the killing joke’.
- Posted by Rthe dark knight is a great film, and it’s sad that it’s going to be a cult film, just because it’s heath ledger’s last. it deserves cult status anyway.
heath ledger won me over completely with brokeback mountain. i didn’t think i could respect his talent any more, even if i tried.
i was wrong.
and that’s depressing.