1) Hatred
One big problem with the “first” four blockbuster Batman movies (if you were to group them together in a loosely linked, semi-chronological James Bond movie kind of way) was that the Caped Crusader was much less interesting than his adversaries.
Just take a look at Burton’s Batman flicks. Jack Nicholson stole the show as The Joker in 1989, whilst Danny DeVito and Michelle Phiffer were the shining lights in the murky, grim-looking sequel. Joel Schumacher’s campy take on the famous comic book character also fell victim to the exact same issue.
Jim Carrey was flavour of the month at the time Batman Forever was released, and alongside Tommy Lee Jones proceeded to chew the scenery whilst Val Kilmer’s chin was left starved of any kind of attention. Arnie and Uma might have looked head-smackingly silly in Batman & Robin, but even they stood out against an off-key Clooney.
[zergpaid]The villains were better than anything else in these Batman movies. Sometimes we loved them for all the right reasons, and sometimes we loved them for being “so bad they’re good” (Arnie with an ice gun). Regardless, we couldn’t help but enjoy the company of these adversaries more than we did Keaton, Kilmer or Clooney.
Nolan’s franchise acknowledged this issue, and whilst Ledger’s Joker didn’t completely steal the show in Dark Knight, you couldn’t help but want to see him on screen. Sure he was evil, but in a weird way, you kind of loved him. He was funny too – offering some twisted comic relief in an otherwise deeply dark picture. Leto’s Joker on the other hand could bring something completely different to the table – a character we simply cannot stand, but for the right reasons.
Director David Ayer has called the portrayal “raw” and “subversive,” which suggests Leto may have created a Joker that is the absolute definition of pure evil. Like Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Warden Samuel Norton in The Shawshank Redemption, or Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange, Leto’s Joker could prove to be a toe-curlingly, detestable character that audiences can’t help but despise.