![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
So I've been toying with the idea of writing a proper analysis of Two-Face in Batman Forever, weighing the pros and cons of that depiction and Tommy Lee Jones' performance, all in the name of trying to find something interesting and even positive to say.
Y'know what? Fuck it.
I tried, I really did. But I can't do it. Objectively, I know I'd find TLJ's performance to be a blast, since I love over-the-top villains, and he genuinely seemed to be having a great time. But I can't forget that he's supposed to be Harvey. I just can't.
That said, the movie novelization is--almost literally--a different story. For one thing, the author, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, crafts an entire three-part prologue that looks into the backstory of all the main characters, with a special focus on Harvey.
( The untold story of BATMAN FOREVER's Harvey Dent (and an alternate take on his death) behind the cut )
If this were the actual Two-Face we got in the film, it still wouldn't have been perfect (playing second fiddle to the Riddler? Killing the Flying Graysons? The brain-drain stuff? Meh!) but it would have been greatly improved. Honestly, I'm tempted to say that this Two-Face would have been superior to the Two-Face in The Dark Knight (which, in turn, had the superior Harvey Dent).
Combine the two, and hey, you get... well, you pretty much get the Harvey/Two-Face from Batman: The Animated Series. Yeah, still the gold standard for the character.
Y'know what? Fuck it.
I tried, I really did. But I can't do it. Objectively, I know I'd find TLJ's performance to be a blast, since I love over-the-top villains, and he genuinely seemed to be having a great time. But I can't forget that he's supposed to be Harvey. I just can't.
That said, the movie novelization is--almost literally--a different story. For one thing, the author, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, crafts an entire three-part prologue that looks into the backstory of all the main characters, with a special focus on Harvey.
( The untold story of BATMAN FOREVER's Harvey Dent (and an alternate take on his death) behind the cut )
If this were the actual Two-Face we got in the film, it still wouldn't have been perfect (playing second fiddle to the Riddler? Killing the Flying Graysons? The brain-drain stuff? Meh!) but it would have been greatly improved. Honestly, I'm tempted to say that this Two-Face would have been superior to the Two-Face in The Dark Knight (which, in turn, had the superior Harvey Dent).
Combine the two, and hey, you get... well, you pretty much get the Harvey/Two-Face from Batman: The Animated Series. Yeah, still the gold standard for the character.
