Movies FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2014 29

Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus any people think that Spider-Man 2 is still the Mbest and most faithful comic book movie to date (it’s certainly up there with the likes of Iron Man and Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy) – and that is largely due to Alfred Molina’s brilliant performance as the tentacled villain Doctor Octo- pus. Seriously, try to imagine anyone else in the role and the movie takes a massive hypo- thetical nosedive in quality in your head. He was perfect and it’s just a shame that he was defeated and that the franchise ended, because it would have been great to see more of him.

Tom Hardy's Bane om Hardy’s Bane was somewhat different to the version we’re all familiar with from the comics, but it was one Tof those refreshing moments when different actually meant better in terms of the way the character was portrayed in live action. It was a dominating performance, some of which was improvised brilliantly, of a well-organized and strategic villain much different to the chaotic and maniacal Joker in the movie that came before him. Hardy’s size was al- ready well on the way to being Bane-esq before he bulked up for the role and the voice he created for the role – modeled on bare-knuckle boxing champion – added something very chilling to the portrayal.

Ian McKellen's Magneto an McKellen has portrayed the mutant Magneto in X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand and in a mid- Icredits scene in The Wolverine and he’s done a fantastic job so far. He is set to reprise the role in this year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, where he will share 's Joker the responsibility with . McKellen’s ack Nicholson was born to play the Joker. His performanc- Magneto conveys a real air of authority and influence, es as Randle McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s leading the Brotherhood of Mutants who include the Nest and Jack Torrance in The Shining prior to taking the likes of Mystique, Toad, Sabretooth and Juggernaut J (who isn’t a mutant in the comics, incidentally) over role, and his general appearance (which isn’t dissimilar to the Joker even when he isn’t wearing make-up), exemplified the the course of the first X-Men trilogy. fact that he would be perfect for it – and he didn’t disappoint. In the movie, Joker’s appearance was radically and perma- nently altered by chemicals and Nicholson presents him as a vain (with a penchant for nice suits and a trophy girlfriend), cackling, psychotic individual, with a truly macabre sense of humor, who is never without his trademark trick items and shows a genuine fear of Batman – initially at least. 's Joker t had to be Ledger, didn’t it? The late actor’s spectacular performance as Batman’s insane and highly unpredictable arch-enemy earned him a posthumous Academy IAward for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role – and rightly so. It was accomplished in every way, including the improvisation, after the initial reaction to Ledger’s casting was one of anger and bewilderment. Such was Ledger’s commitment to this role, he apparently prepared himself for it by locking himself away for weeks on end, looking in to a mirror and perfecting the character traits that he wished to convey on screen, which is an unbelievable level of dedication – and it obviously paid off. The result was a much darker, entirely different looking Joker to anything we’d seen before – such as the depictions played by Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson – and it worked brilliantly, garnering huge praise from critics and audiences alike. It was such an enormous shame when his tragic, premature death ensured that we’ll never get to see it again. –www.whatculture.com