Ex-villains on TDK

Tommy Lee Jones and Jack Nicholson have chimed on with their feelings on the new boys, set to play Harvey Dent and The Joker in THE DARK KNIGHT. Most of us think that they’re pretty damn perfect, but let’s see what these dudes have to say:

Tommy Lee Jones on Aaron Eckhart:

“…But yeah, he’s a good guy… I’ve worked with him. He’s an awfully good guy… Aaron is a good actor… He can take care of himself… That make-up, however, is difficult,” he said, offering a rare grin.

Jack Nicholson on Heath Ledger (or rather, not being asked back in general)

“I’m furious. I’m furious. [He laughs.] They never asked me about a sequel with the Joker. I know how to do that! Nobody ever asked me… It’s like, in any area, you can’t believe the reasons things do or don’t happen. Not asking me how to do the sequel is that kind of thing. Maybe it’s not a mistake. Maybe it was the right thing, but to be candid, I’m furious.”

He also went on to talk about how he felt about the post-Burton BATMAN films:

“I don’t think they ever really captured Tim Burton’s spirit [since he stopped being involved]. They kind of drove the franchise into the ground. Tim Burton’s a genius. He had the right take on it. That’s why I did the movie. I did the movie based on a single conversation with him. We both come from the cartoon world originally. We had similar ideas.”

To be honest, I totally appreciate the Burton vision in his BATMAN films, but I cannot understand it whenever someone says that his were better than Nolan’s. I respect what he did, but I just don’t think he captured how dark Bats is as a character and Gotham is as a city. I also appreciate that with so many different incarnations of Batman, it’s tough to say which depiction is more accurate, the more realistic one (BATMAN BEGINS) just sits more comfortably with me. Somehow, I think there will be more than a couple of you who disagree with ol’ Jack. Personally, I think that Chris Nolan has the right take on it.