Who is the real monster?
27th December 2008 – 10.24 pmI picked up The Dark Knight on DVD and revisited this action-packed and enthralling super hero adventure, after having seen it twice at the cinema earlier this year. Heath Ledger is simply amazing as The Joker, slipping in to a rôle that he makes complex and engaging with experienced ease. His new depiction of The Joker leaves me with just one question: who is the real monster?
Is it The Joker, with his disfiguring scars and disguising make-up, hiding his true identity and making him more intimidating? Is it the way he turns conventions and expectations on their head to upset and disorientate law enforcement and criminals alike, his only apparent goal being to spread disorder and chaos? Is it the way he pushes anyone and everyone to act against their own morality to show that we are all uncivilised animals under heightened circumstances, or the brutal murders he performs just to make a point or as a means to an end?
Or is it the businessman, in his suit and tie?
Having got Iron Man on DVD for Christmas and seeing Obadiah Stane conspire to kidnap and kill his friend Tony Stark whilst using Stark's company to sell weapons covertly to both sides of a bloody conflict involving his own nation, before attempting to kill as many people as he can who discover and can reveal his plans, leading him to go on a rampage downtown, it turns out that the real monster is in fact the businessman, in his suit and tie.
I honestly didn't see that one coming.
One Response to “Who is the real monster?”
It's the first one, Rich. Unless the suit is made of human skin.