Jack Nicholson in "Batman"

Yea or nay for his performance?

He's the primary reason I like the movie.

Yay, he was a perfect fit for what the movie asked out of him.

Yay, but, his character was more intimidating before he became the Joker.

Aside from the mirror scene and zapping Jack Palance, goes abit too far into piss about mode, I thought the Penguin was a better villain.

You preferred him as Jack Napier?

Didn't "prefer", he was just more threatening as a character.

You get the great scene with the hand rising out the acid and the mirror scene making out he's going to become worse, but he ends up being a slightly wacky uncle.

The penguin was a horrid little shit in comparison.

Jack Nicholson playing Jack Nicholson with Joker costume. He was okay.....but after Heath Ledger's portrayal...he lost points.

Not really, the performance difference between Jack Napier and the Joker is pretty big, he's mainly making the character goofyer closer to the 60's version.

Heath Ledger.

"You wouldn't hit a guy with glasses would you?"

I still laugh to this day when I hear this line. Nicholson's Joker was amazing, but so was Ledger's. That being said, Nicholson's was very spot on to the Joker from the comics and from the animated series- funny, yet psychotic. Ledger's Joker was just psychotic, but I still really liked it.

Yay - a good Joker, but not the best. Mark Hamill's Joker in the animated series is the best in my opinion...

Jack's Joker is scarier than Heath's Joker. Ledger was still too good looking as the Joker.

For the time and style, he was perfect in the role.

It was great for the time

Sure, Ledger's performance surpassed Jack's, but that doesn't make Jack's Joker any less awesome.

He didn't stick his tongue out enough.

Agreed. Better balance of campy/threatening.

Was quite surprised when Siskel And Ebert commented they didn't like him in Phantasm, also going on to claim the original 1989 movie was better.

For reference:

"Have you ever danced with the devil on the pale moonlight?"

Even as a kid I found Jack's Joker to be too cornball but I didn't really care for Burton's Batman movies all around do Jack's Joker is just one gripe among many I have about those 2 movies.

@uninspiredcup: Plus hasn't he done the voices for some of the recent games too? From Phantasm the bit towards the end where things are exploding and he is laughing insanely - more manic than any other Joker I have seen, including Ledger's.

I love this thread, I never watched the old Batman movies and I think I'm missing out.

He was faultless in Batman. The Joker in that is cognizant enough to know exactly what he is doing, which makes his villainy more disturbing than if he were not in control of his actions like a rabid dog.

Nicolson's portrayal was all the more befitting to the character and unsettling precisely because he was not menacing. He wasn't meant to be. If you're looking for that in the Joker, you're missing the point.

Ledger's was no doubt an impressive job on its own merits, but inconsistent with the personality as it's been written. Joker's not a raving psychotic lunatic, he's a well composed and calculating criminal prankster.

Nicholson nailed it better.

@BranKetra: exactly.

He scared the crap outta me as The Joker. Dude did a heck of a job bringing that character to life.

I watched it in on Netflix the other day, wasn't as fond of the performance as I once was.