MovieChat Forums > Batman (1989) Discussion > Why do people say that the Jack Nicholso...

Why do people say that the Jack Nicholson Joker was a joke?


I mean he killed his right hand man who was loyal to him, he killed so many innocent people at the museum, and with his products, he burned a guy to a skeleton, and he was going to kill everyone in the city. Why do people say that he was a joke? If the standard that everyone will die one day justifies murder, people are brainwashed to dangerous levels.

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I don't know how you came to that conclusion. I've always thought of Nicholson's Joker as a Gangster.

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People have post it in the comments and people I know say that he was colorful. I said why I think he was extremely evil. Plus he mutilated his girlfriend. I don't see that as colorful.

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It's just pro Nolan anti Burton fanboys who say Batman never kills cause they are ignoramises who have never read his original comics from the 30s and 40s that this movie partially adapted.

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'I've always thought of Nicholson's Joker as a Gangster.'

Definitely.

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Jack Nicholson as the Joker was a Gangster. Heath Ledger as the Joker was an Anarchist.

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That sums it up perfectly.

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The movie may have been dark but it was still campy. Compare Nicholson’s performance as Joker to his performance in The Shining.

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Yes indeed. The 'campiness' of it certainly influences people to see past the actual level of evil he inflicts on everyone.

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