Would a living Heath Ledger be a top ten film baddie?

Friday, 25 July 2008

Heath Ledger's Joker has been named as the ninth best movie villain in a poll of two and a half thousand film lovers.

But would he have even made the Lovefilm.com top ten for his menacing portrayal of Batman's nemesis in The Dark Knight if he was still alive?

It may be solely due to the fact that The Dark Knight is creating a buzz amongst action film fans at present.

Initial fan reviews, however, suggest it's Christian Bale that delivers the star performance of the film.

One cinemagoer, Daryl Grisham, 32, told My Park Magazine: "Bale's profound, yet subtle acting whilst switching from suave Bruce Wayne to newly-sinister Batman is a joy to watch.

"He really delivers the star performance of the film and I think the hype about Heath Ledger maybe winning an Oscar for playing the Joker overshadows this."

Anthony Hopkins' Academy Award-winning acting in the role of Hannibal Lecter in Silence of The Lambs led to him being named the best baddie in the survey.

Darth Vader came second, with Joe Pesci's Tommy Devito from gangster flick Goodfellas in third.

Javier Bardem's hitman in No Country For Old Men - Anton Chigurh - came fourth whilst Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber in Die Hard and Kathy Bates as ankle crushing nurse Annie Wilkes in Misery came fifth and sixth respectively.

Te remainder of film baddies in the top ten of the poll were Kevin Spacey as John Doe in Se7en, Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance in The Shining and Robert De Niro as Al Capone in The Untouchables.