Comic book movies: The top 20 hero performances

5. Gary Oldman as Commissioner James Gordon

Every article with a list has one entry that people are angry at. This is going to be that one. It’s not that he’s on the list, but because he’s ranked so high. Before you scoff, I’d like you to be honest for a second. How good would the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight Trilogy be without Gary Oldman? I vote not that good. Gary Oldman was the balance in the movie. Christian Bale was the star, the villains were a necessity but Oldman held it all together. He did a lot of the work that Bruce Wayne and Batman couldn’t do. If not for him, Batman would have been killed or unmasked by the Joker. In my opinion, he was the most important part of The Dark Knight Rises.

I wrote a piece on how the Dark Knight Trilogy didn’t need Batman as the main focus and I stand by that. Oldman’s performance was so good that he could have been the star of movie and the focal point. His growth from detective to commissioner proved that. Oldman was easily one of the best actors we’ve seen in a comic book movie and he won’t be recognized for it. He is the Commissioner Gordon we wanted and needed.