From the not always clear past, Joker is portrayed on the big screen as a sadistic psychopath, but of great charisma. He is also a man with knowledge (chemical, computer, to name just a few) which is out of the ordinary. A creative and crazy man, the Joker represents absolute evil in cinema, the genius who is fighting to bring darkness instead of light into the world. This kind of character, however hateful, can only have a certain charm.
The Joker has always represented one of the characters coming from a comic book that is able to intrigue even those who have never been especially fond of the subject. This is because the character has become so deeply rooted in mass pop culture that he is immediately recognizable by anyone, as proven by the fact that, statistically, the vast majority of audiences who visited the theaters to watch Suicide Squad went to enjoy Jared Leto’s interpretation.
However, the Joker has had many faces over the years, and not just on paper, but also in movies and TV series. Therefore, this begs the question: what are the best versions of the character? We are going to explore in this ranking all the audiovisual interpretations of the Joker, to decide which one has been the most convincing. We remind you that, as always, like every ranking, this is strictly personal and we invite you to share yours in the comments section.
Actually, this is the first real version of the Joker on the big screen, without counting Romero’s appearance in the 1966 film, which, however, was adapted from the series of the same name already mentioned. It goes without saying that Nicholson is still widely regarded as the best Joker ever, over the top but disturbing, poised between comic book and noir reinterpretation, and almost becoming a Dick Tracy-like character.
The coolest element of that version was to show him before his transformation, actually giving him an identity, with a name and a codename, Jack Napier for those who do not remember him, giving him a gangster characterization of other times clearly defined by his clothes. Certainly one of the Jokers that audiences will remember most fondly, not only because of a wonderful script, but also because of the actor’s captivating performance.
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