10 Best Live-Action Batman Characters (Who Aren't The Dark Knight)
5. Harvey Dent/Two-Face The Dark Knight (2008)
Massive step up doesnt do justice in describing the difference between Aaron Eckharts portrayal of one of Batmans most iconic foes and that of Tommy Lee Jones in 1995s Batman Forever. Dents path from white knight to broken villain is massively fulfilling, washing away the bad taste of the previous portrayal as a cartoonish buffoon. While his leap from brokenhearted man to murderous monster under the persuasion of the Joker is ever so slightly convenient, it all works thanks to Eckharts efforts in humanising Dent. Considering the fact that Two-Face has always been a constant figure in the comics, its surprising viewers actually get so little of that persona in the film and can still walk away feeling the character was done justice. Like Scarecrow, Two-Faces use in the context of the series subscribed to the less is more approach, making it all the more effective that the persona is the natural end of Dents evolution rather than a new beginning. Dents death has an impact not just on the characters, but on the audience, as we couldnt help but root for him throughout the film despite knowing what hed become. Its always entertaining to see a hero fall, because theyll always pick themselves back up and save the day, but the tragedy of Harvey Dent is a fantastic contradictory juxtaposition to the ideal Thomas Wayne once taught a young Bruce.
Writer, film enthusiast, part-time gamer and watcher of (mostly) good television located on the fringe of Los Angeles, who now has his own website at www.highdefgeoff.com!
