Although Paul Dano was praised for his dark, visceral take on the Riddler in 2022’s “The Batman,” there are still fans who long for the simpler days when the super-villain had strong silly goose vibes. It seems their ranks may include Jim Carrey, who played a much sillier version of the Riddler in the 1995 film “Batman Forever.”
“I’ve not seen [Dano’s version of the Riddler]. It’s a very dark version. I have mixed emotions about it,” as Carrey told UNILAD in 2022. “To each his own and all that. I love [Paul Dano] as an actor, he’s a tremendous actor.” Though he hesitated to say anything definitive about the movie, Carrey was clearly concerned with how realistic and violent this new version of the Riddler was, adding:
“I do worry. There’s a spot of worry in me over gaffer-taping people’s faces and encouraging people to do the same. […] Some sickos out there that might adopt that method. […] I do have a conscience about the things I choose. […] I know there’s a place for it, and I don’t want to criticize it, but it’s not my kind of thing. […] it’s very well done, those movies are very well done.”
Carrey’s concerns appeared to center on one of the more interesting (and perhaps most troubling) aspects of Dano’s Riddler: He seems similar to many real-life men who’ve been radicalized into political violence through online extremist rabbit-holes. Indeed, he’s terrifying because he seems like a guy who could exist in our world, as well as someone those guys would look up to. It recalls the situation with Heath Ledger’s Joker in 2008’s “The Dark Knight,” a fantastic villain who has also become an idol to edgy anti-social nihilists worldwide.
Both Ledger’s Joker and Dano’s Riddler also provide a stark contrast to Carrey’s Riddler, a straightforward weirdo who’s far more funny than frightening.
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Paul Dano as the Riddler smiling behind bars in The Batman – Warner Bros.
Carrey’s concerns mirror a common complaint about the Batman movies dating back to 2005’s “Batman Begins.” The criticism is that the “Batman” movies have since become a little too dark and serious for a franchise that is, in the end, about a guy who dresses up like a bat to fight clowns and scarecrows. And while many people are down to get on these films’ level, others can’t help but feel like this darker approach is too much.
It’s particularly easy to see this complaint from Carrey’s perspective. As he noted during various interviews he gave on the “Batman Forever” press tour, his version of the Riddler still manages to be scary despite his cartoonish nature. “As soon as you laugh, he’ll hit you with a rock,” the actor observed. “Some of it, definitely I wanted it to be uncomfortable. Although you feel for Edward [The Riddler], you also don’t want to be on the other end of that obsession.”
Carrey’s Riddler does, in fact, come off as a little scary and unsettling in “Batman Forever,” yet the movie never goes fully into horror mode or draws inspiration from real-life extremists. It’s similar to how Jack Nicholson’s Joker in 1989’s “Batman” is definitely more cartoonish than Ledger’s, yet he’s still effectively creepy when the film needs him to be. While most of us these days may prefer directors Matt Reeves and Christopher Nolan’s darker approaches to Batman and his world, it’s worth mentioning that Joel Schumacher’s more kid-friendly approach on “Batman Forever” is not without its charms.
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