I am not a comic book reader so I need to GTFO of this thread, but before I do, I will say that J.K. Simmons nailed that character so perfectly, that even though I’d never read a comic in my life, I knew he did a fantastic job back when I saw the Spiderman movies. That’s how good he was.
Simmons was as close to J. Jonah Jameson as anyone will ever get, but I disagree about Reeve and Jackman. Neither was really the right physical type. Frankly, Superman should be built like a bodybuilder, not lanky and somewhat muscular like Reeve was at that time. And Reeve just didn’t have the steely fortitude conveyed by the comic book version of Superman. There is a fan flic trailer out there on you-tube where Superman is portrayed as an aging has-been. The actor they picked looked exactly like I imagine Superman.
Jackman is also way too lanky. Wolverine should be built like Roddy Piper, broad, burly. I’ll admit Jackson has captured the personality well enough.
My pick is Jack Earle Haley as Rorschach.
No dude who’s “built like a bodybuilder” could pass as a “mild-mannered reporter”. Reeve was right at the happy medium where he could pass as beefy or scrawny, either one, by his mannerisms.
I can’t agree. I think Michael Keaton’s was far superior.
Oh, yeah. I forgot about him. That was some perfect casting, right there. For that matter, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian was perfect as well.
The only problem I have with Jackman’s Wolverine is that he’s just too darn tall. I think he plays the part pretty well, however.
…and as a change of pace. There’s Thora Birch as Enid in Ghost World.
And nobody who can juggle stars without breaking a sweat is going to get built like a bodybuilder.
And Superman’s never been built like a bodybuilder in the comics. At his biggest he was built like a strong man, or a linebacker, which are very different than bodybuilders. More recently, he’s been built more or less like Reeve, which, IMO, is the perfect build for Superman - for the reasons both of us mentioned. (The other Kryptonian (or part-Kryptonian) characters also tend toward ‘average-to-thin’ builds.)
Hate on the guy if you must, but Jim Carrey was born to star in The Mask.
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I can’t agree. I think Michael Keaton’s was far superior.
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You know, my first answer to the OP was to say Michael Keaton was the best, basing myself on his portrayal of Batman as a character of cool confidence and determination.
Then, I thought that Batman was much more than that. He is a person confident in his ability and beliefs, but he is also someone consumed by his passions. I think Bale portrayed this better than Keaton.
But neither Bale nor Keaton showed the depth of character that the 90’s cartoon did. I can’t blame them, Bale was only in three movies and Keaton in two, but still.
Bruce Wayne and the Batman are two somewhat different roles.
http://www.superman-wallpapers.com/bulkupload/wallpapers/Superman%20Comic/superman-can-do-it.jpg
http://www.superman-wallpapers.com/bulkupload/wallpapers/Superman%20Comic/superman-flying.jpg
I’d say that Nicholson and Carrey were cast backwards. Nicholson’s Joker is a smarmy twat, and Carrey’s Riddler is a cackling loon.
The Riddler thinks he’s smarter than you. That’s why he leaves clues. Jack Nicholson acts like that in every movie he’s in.
And Carrey was born to play the Joker. The character from The Mask is pretty close to how he should act.
Joker … Crispin Glover
Yeah, but some comic artists draw all their superheroes that way. By their standards, Supes has an average build.
RDJ as Iron Man, Nicholson as the Joker, Wol… ehr, Jackman as Wolverine, that guy who’s been in more comic book movies than Stan Lee as Cap. Oh, and Hiddleston as Loki :D<— does not grin as widely as Hiddleston.
Not a comic book character, but Mortensen as Aragorn has in common with Jackman as Wolverine that both of them are “misses” on some physical information about the character that’s described carefully by the character’s creators, but who are absolutely great.
Nicholson has been known to occasionally not act like that, but yeah, him as the Joker is like Depp coming up flamboyant and theatrical - what’s unusual is when the director gets them to knock it down a notch or even a whole scale (Depp in Chocolat only does a Depp moue once, otherwise he might be a dude who looks a lot like Johnny Depp).
The other candidates for the Riddler (so I heard) aside from Carrey will make you wonder: Tom Hanks and Dan Akroyd.
I agree about Reeves, but I’d say he never passed as scrawny. He, like a lot of guys that size, could come off as powerful or just a big goof.
You saved me some typing. He was perfect in the role and I can’t believe they didn’t expand his role in subsequent movies.
I agree with most of this thread. J. K. Simmons is obviously great. Shame there’s no J. Jonah Jameson in the new Spider-Men so far (haven’t see #2 but I hear he’s absent).
I always liked Jack Nicholson’s Joker. Heath Ledger was great too, of course. I think I will miss Robert Downey, Jr as Tony Stark more than anyone else, though. I honestly don’t know how he compares to the original character, but I don’t really care.
He’s exactly perfect for the film, but the film was changed significantly from the original comics because Jim Carrey was cast. As I understand/remember it, the original plan was to do something a bit darker, like the original comics. Then somehow they got Jim Carrey as Stanley Ipkiss so the film ended up being made for him.