3. Gary Oldman As Commissioner Gordon - The Dark Knight Trilogy
Prior to Batman Begins, Gary Oldman was known better for being the thorn in a hero's side rather than a helping hand, or a hero in his own right. He was an unconventional choice for Jim Gordon, but the successful defiance of conventional wisdom is a common theme in Batman movies. All that mattered is that Gordon looked like he walked right out of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, but sounded better and possessed fewer character flaws. As Gordon, Oldman was the most relatable character in the trilogy. He was the everyman, doing the best he could with what he had, as he told Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight. He lacked the time and resources for idealism. Batman, nutty or not, was just what Gordon needed to cut through all the red tape that kept him as an isolated do-gooder in a corrupt city. He may not have always been comfortable working with a masked vigilante, but he wasn't comfortable with all his badge buddies either, so what did it matter? Batman got results and allowed Gordon to get some of his own. He may have accomplished extraordinary feats, but Oldman set Gordon apart from the bats, clowns, and megalomaniacs by being the person audience members hoped they could be if faced with the same situation. He did what he thought was right, lived through regret, and tried his best to protect his family and put them first. The tragedy is that it wasn't always good enough. Perhaps one of the biggest missed opportunities of The Dark Knight Rises is how it left Gordon behind. Sure, he got the literal signal that Batman was not really dead, but with all that Gordon had been through, he deserved more. Bruce Wayne got to live happily ever after and it would have been great to see Gordon end the film inside a Cleveland home reunited with the family he fought so hard to protect. Then again, my rooting for him is ultimately a testament to how Oldman helped the audience connect with the character and hope that things eventually workout for an everyman like the rest of us.
