Tommy Lee Jones' Two Face is not a memorable character despite having such an acclaimed and A-list actor associated with the role. People enjoyed him in First Avenger. What went wrong?
Three words:
Tommy Lee Jones.
At least according to rumors started by Joel Schumacher, Jones wanted a role similar to that of Jack Nicholson's $12 million+ character, which I quite frankly had no real pull towards, despite Nicholson's natural ugliness, scariness and the obvious Kubrick homages.
Tommy Lee Jones plays a sadistic character, but the backstory not reminded at all compared to Dark Knight. This is odd compared to his antagonist character in the Fugitive that was pretty complex or the Client. Safes made of acid, explosions, coins live/die. Face just burned. Killing Robin's parents. He was a bit two one sided. Not even Agent K of MIB...
I didn't understand why Batman blamed Two Face in the film, other than that's how it was because of the comics (albeit Batman was in the court room and did not stop the acid burning his face.)
A lot of the big Two face dilemma questions. Was he once a good guy? Is he with that half of his face burned? Why do that in a kid friendly show in the first place? Does he get the orignal mobsters? Not to mention people who are normally burned by acid don't normally turn straight into coin flipping deciding villains with mob boss tendencies.... There is a psychologist in this movie.... We get to know Two Face so much better in the Dark Knight that it seems very clear that this is not one of Joneses' best characters.
His intro is a bit McCarthyist though pre-Knight and Old Men,
"One brother born a hero, his brother a coward, baby a star,; fat politicians, holy men martyred, junkies grow legions, why? Luck." Action and blowing up half of liberty's face like the coin.
I don't know if it's because I was older or the portrayals, but I was not as afraid of this, even though Two Face's face was melted off. His appearance is a bit adult though with the sexually (kitty) predatorial furs, bringing out the more id of man.
Two Face henchmen with a red/black hood costume. Oddly enough. Two Face is a Sadistic Goon with a Gun and gets an interesting portrayal from all this actually becoming, Robin's Joker, as Tommy Lee Jones had intended, just like Two Face kills Tim Drake's father in the New Batman Adventures.. but actually done better oddly enough. Maybe they would have been friends a long time ago. Again reinforcing Batman's past and future to go in question. Two Face burned. Dick Grayson's parents killed. That box Two Face goes into before tricking Batman to jump down into it (despite them just running down a street before... Making no sense how there was such a distance between the two.) Not at all Two Face-like, and obviously Joker-ish, again giving him the Joker parallel in the screenplay.
Two Face left after killing the Graysons. Dropping them. Circus vs the Bat play.
Maybe would have had a better portrayal if on the same footing as Jim Carrey, whose character is even more one dimensional lacking an origin anyway- not like it does not work- crazy= evil in Batman's society anyway.
Happy Halloween, kids!
Like Two Face: Jekyll and Hyde? Bringing back the Joker in himself as a form of revenge for his scarring. The folder guarding his face makes sense although the suits horrible.
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