As always, the fans of the comic book characters divided into two groups: those excited to see the actors as the DC villains, and those who have a thousand reasons why this movie sucks, even though it has not came out yet. But the information about Leto as one of the greatest fictional evildoers of all time almost broke the Internet. I wouldn't be suprised if the World War III started because of the argument between Leto's fans and haters. But that's not all. On the 24th April 2015, so exactly 75 years after Joker first appeared in the comics, David Ayer, the director of the "Suicide Squad" shared a picture of Jared Leto in the full Joker's makeup on Twitter.
Short hair, tattoos, rings and silver teeth. Everyone knew that the Suicide Squad's Joker will be different than the previous versions. We were not expecting the pathological madness of Heath Ledger, we didn't think that we will see Jack Nicholson's cruel laughter, we were sure that there won't be anything of Cesar Romero's comedy. But we didn't expect anything like that. The Internet exploded with negative comments towards David Ayer, the "Suicide Squad" movie, the new Joker's look and Jared Leto. But I am going to try to prove, that Leto's Joker won't be bad. What's more, I'll try to explain why there is a chance that he can be even better Joker than Ledger and Nicholson combined.
The first argument against Leto that I found on the Internet comes from Ledger's fans. "This movie will suck, because no one can play better Joker than Heath Ledger did". It is really easy to find a counterargument for this one. Even though Ledger's performance was truly amazing, no one expected that. When Christopher Nolan announced, that the young actor, mostly known because of his role as a gay cowboy in "Brokeback Mountain", will play the biggest Batman's arch nemesis, people went crazy. They were saying that he has no chance competing with Jack Nicholson's Joker in the Tim Burton's "Batman" movie. Ledger proved everyone wrong. Not only his portrayal of the cruel clown many consider as better than Nicholson's, but it also was named as the "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role" by the Academy. Unfortunately, Ledger died before he got his statuette, due to overdosing his sleeping pills. Ledger's sacrifice for his role is a story for another article. But here, his example shows that there is no such thing as "the best Joker there will ever be". We saw that with this character you can always create something new. If not better, then at least just as good. That's why we should give Leto a chance. We shouldn't say that he has no chance to top Ledger's or Nicholson's performance.
The second thing that bothers a lot of people is the new Joker's look. Their argument is that it's completely comic book inaccurate. I can't really agree with that. The short green hair, crazy eyes, pale skin and little makeup (comparing to the previous live action versions) reminds me of the Clown Prince of Crime from the New 52 Batman: Endgame.
Silver teeth? Ok, I can't explain that. But, the movie probably will. I think that "Suicide Squad" will show us Joker as the long time enemy of Batman. And when you fight a long time with a guy who mastered every single martial arts style, the chances are that you will loose a tooth or two. Whatever the reason, I'm pretty sure it will be explained in the movie. What about those strange tattoos? We have never seen the Joker with anything other than blood on his bleached skin. But is this inaccurate? Is it impossible for the Joker to have tattoos? No, it's not. The Joker is one of the few comic book characters without any official origin story. The best known version of the Joker's past was presented in arguably the best comic book of all time - "Batman: The Killing Joke", partly inspired by an earlier story of "The Man Behind the Red Hood" (Detective Comics Vol. 1 #168). In a nutshell, the poor, unnamed engineer after quitting his job and failing as a stand-up comedian, decided to rob a chemical plant to finally be able to support his pregnant wife. At the plant he falls into the chemical waste pound lock to escape Batman who found out about his plans. The chemicals whitewashed his skin, turned his hair green and crooked his face in the characteristic, sardonic smile. After his accident and after he finds out that his wife's dead, he goes mad and becomes the Joker. But that's not the only origin story. There is quite a few of them. In fact, there is an alternative DC universe, where it's Bruce Wayne who got shot in the dark alley and not his parents. In that universe, Thomas Wayne, Bruce's father becomes Batman to seek revenge on the criminals of Gotham, and Martha Wayne, Bruce's mother becomes the crazy Joker, not being able to handle her son's death. I'm saying all this, because I want to show that in the Joker's case, there is nothing impossible. If the director of the "Suicide Squad" wanted to present Batman's greatest enemy as a flying, one-armed midget, he definitely could. AS LONG AS THERE IS A VALID REASON AND EXPLANATION, THERE IS NO "COMIC BOOK INACCURATE" JOKER! Which means that David Ayer set a high bar for his movie. Because such drastic changes as silver teeth and tattoos on the Joker have to be explained. And explained well.
The last argument criticizes Jared Leto as an actor. The Internet users write on different websites that "if they have to make another Joker's version, then please, anyone, but Leto". There is a lot of propositions, who would be better than him as the Joker. Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniel Day-Lewis, Matthew McMonaughey, my favorite two: Christoph Waltz and Michael Fassbender, or fan-favorite Willem Dafoe. Indeed, there is something special about that last one...
But, back to Leto. The fact that this 43-years old actor has won an Oscar, Golden Globe and the Critics' Choice Award for his performance in "Dallas Buyers Club" proves that he is a talented actor. But not every talented actor fits to every role. Does he have a chance to play a good Joker (oxymoron)? In my opinion, he certainly does. True, he has never played a real villain, a murderer, sadist, or anything as evil as the Joker before. But most of his roles are dark, twisted and psychologically complicated, which gives him a great resume while applying for a role of the evil clown. What else would you need to play the Joker? How about his evil laughter? I'm sure Leto can pull that off. See for yourself:
Jared Leto is a great actor. He understand his characters, he feels what they feel. The best example of that is, in my opinion, his performance in "Mr. Nobody". The movie shows us three alternative versions of one person. Leto changes his character in each of them but at the same time... He stays the same. To understand what I'm talking about, you should watch the movie. And on the other hand I am not afraid of the new Joker being too "light", due to Leto's lack of experience in playing villains. "Requiem for a Dream", where he played the main character, was one of the darkest, outright obscure, movies I have ever seen. His creativity is visible even when he plays as the supporting actor. Examples: "Fight Club", or "American Psycho". I have no doubts that yes, he will make a way different Joker than Ledger's or Nicholson's, but it will be just as good, or even better than the previous versions.
The last argument in Leto's defense is his part in the "Suicide Squad" trailer. When I first saw it, I had chills all over my body.
He WILL be a great Joker.
Mr. Film Critic
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