I think to some, TDKR would never be as good as TDK.
Joker is THE villain of Batman. Ledger portrayed a phenomenal self made interpretation with Nolan and clear influences from various different material. Joker brings out the duality, the psychology of Batman. Two of the same, but opposite ends of the spectrum. The purest good and bad fight you can get.
Bane doesnt have that sort of character. Bane is harbinger of battle, of war. He is the ultimate physical opposition next to Rhas. Bane is very intelligent, but IMO I never thought he would be capable of holding an entire film together, but I cant wait to see the performance of Hardy, and it will be awsome.
I always thought that Rhas would come back and Bane would be his right hand man in the Nolan films. Bane doesnt have the visual impact, doesnt have the psychotic nature, the flipping of the switch that joker, and Ledger, portrayed. I think that will be the only problem that would ever happen with TDKR.
This I agree with 100%.
The Joker and Batman have a unique, special relationship between hero and villain. It's why the Joker is so popular and considered Batman's greatest and most dangerous enemy.
Of course, Bane is more of a physical match for Bruce, and in this particular film, they may up the stakes in terms of mass destruction to what the Joker did. But the Joker is and always will be a greater threat to Bruce on a personal, intimate level than any other villain, and it has nothing to do with whether he threatens to blow up an entire city or not. It has to do with the doubt he causes in Batman as to the validity and meaning of his own mission and goal. As you said, they each stand on the same line, share the same perception, only they stand at opposite ends of the spectrum. They've both seen the meaningless, purposeless destruction of life, the inevitability of death, but while Batman chooses to fight against that and try to correct what he thinks needs correcting, the Joker instead embraces and even thrives in it, and sees nothing wrong with it. And his very existence is a reminder to Batman as to his own inability and failure to ever, really change the fact that bad things just happen, with no rhyme or reason, and there's nothing, in the end, anyone can do about it. The Joker, really, is the inevitability of destruction. He's telling Batman "Sure, you can save this person today. That won't stop them from dying tomorrow." And really, the Joker embodies that inevitability by himself being an unstoppable force. He has no fear, there isn't anything tangible you can bribe or coax or threaten him with, there isn't any way to reason with him or convince him against doing what he wants. Like death itself. And that's what makes him so dangerous, ultimately. Along with his immense intelligence. Not whether he has a bigger bomb than whoever the other villain is. He threatens Batman's very basis for what he does. He threatens Batman on a philosophical level. The very motives and beliefs which drive him to BE Batman. That's more dangerous than any physical threat.
So Bane was never going to live up to what the Joker was, and of course, Heath Ledger's performance was just so out of this world and pitch perfect to what the character is, it would be impossible, in my eyes, to ever top.
With what I've read regarding this film, I'm a bit disappointed, to be honest, regarding the absence of any mention of the Joker, or what he did, almost as though he'd been erased from this story, as though he never mattered. I know that isn't Nolan's intention, but that's what it feels like is happening, to me. The Joker's final words to Batman "I have a feeling you and I are going to be doing this forever" now ring hollow and without the great nod to their legendary rivalry and the heavy acknowledgement of what these two characters mean and represent to one another and always will. It was beautiful how their relationship played out on the screen in "TDK", how it was presented and represented, how ultimately intimate and personal it was, in between all of the action and drama. The never ending battle between chaos and order, destruction and creation.
I think, with the way this film plays out in the end, it really undermines that final scene with the Joker, and really, all of the interaction between Batman and the Joker in "TDK". I can't help but feel it's almost disrespectful, both to the character of the Joker, and to Heath Ledger's amazing performance, with the full knowledge that of course, that isn't Chris Nolan's intention at all. That's just the way I feel. What it smacks of to me.
But that's just my two cents.
