Jim Carrey has 'mixed emotions' about Paul Dano's 'very dark version' of The Riddler in The Batman.
Joel Schumacher's Batman movies are oft-derided for their overly colourful, pantomimic vision of the caped crusader. Ice-skating fight scenes, Batman sliding down a frozen brontosaurus, Bat Credit Cards – it was all a Batnipple too camp for fans and critics alike.
Yet, there are flairs of mad genius: for one, Arnold Schwarzenegger's one-liners; but primarily, Batman Forever's casting of Carrey in his comedic prime as Edward Nygma, aka The Riddler, still the most maliciously flamboyant villain to face off with the dark knight to this day. It was a 'joygasm' to watch, as he would say.
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Check out Carrey's thoughts on Dano's Riddler below:
Carrey, who's only returned for two other sequels in his career (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and Dumb and Dumber To), is back as Dr. Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Once seemingly stranded on the Mushroom Planet, the blue speedster's foe has somehow returned with a brand new 'stache and an accomplice: a spiky-fisted, red echidna known as Knuckles.
To mark the movie's release this week, UNILAD sat down with the legend for a chat about Sonic, his filmography and Dano's Riddler.
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All the differences between Dano and Carrey's iterations of the character – whether it's Carrey's garish outfit compared to Dano's Dead Man's Shoes aesthetic, or Dano's livestream army versus Carrey's exploding ducks – can be whittled down to one word: showmanship.
We asked Carrey if he had any thoughts on the new Riddler, to which he said: "I’ve not seen it. It’s a very dark version. I have mixed emotions about it. To each his own and all that. I love him as an actor, he’s a tremendous actor."
Citing The Batman's grimmer tone, he continued: "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.
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"I do have a conscience about the things I choose. Robotnik has cartoon bombs and no-one gets hurt. I know there’s a place for it, and I don’t want to criticise it, but it’s not my kind of thing… it’s very well done, those movies are very well done."
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Back in 2013, Carrey famously denounced the violence in Kick-Ass 2 in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings. "I am not ashamed of it but recent events have caused a change in my heart," he tweeted.
Speaking in a press conference, Dano said his performance may have 'somehow' been informed by Carrey, on the basis of him being a fan since he was a young boy, but he strove to make the villain his own to give it 'real juice'.
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Sonic the Hedgehog 2 hit cinemas on Friday, 1 April.
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Topics: Batman, Jim Carrey, Film and TV, Entertainment