Heath Ledger's Joker would be beloved even if it wasn't the best performance in comic book movies because of the background to the performance. Here was an actor whose casting was roundly lambasted by a community that didn't have the imagination to see range in his ability and labelled him a "romantic lead."
Thank God Warner Bros gave him the same sort of chance they gave Michael Keaton - despite similar criticisms of his casting - because the pay-off was a stunning performance in a transformative role that came with a tragic full-stop. But even without the added piquancy of that harrowing tale, Ledger's performance is mesmerising, darkly charming and perversely likeable.
The crowning gem on this towering achievement is the interrogation scene between Ledger's Joker and Christian Bale's Batman as the Dark Knight struggles for control over an agent of pure chaos. Here, we see everything that defines Batman's previous successes crumbling in the face of a rule-breaker (or a rule-ignorer) and it's just about the most irresistible scene in comic book movie history.
Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
