Anyone else sick of Jim Carrey's Riddler being called a joker ripoff?

[Joker]

I totally agree, Carrey definitly channeled Gorshin's Riddler almost to the T, I mean it was more modern but the laugh and the way he was silly all the time, was definitly Gorshin's Riddler, which I liked both for their use with the source material.

Have you ever actually SEEN Gorshins riddler? He was sometimes goofy, having fits of glee, but most of the time he was cold and calculating, and always seemed like he was about to snap. He was the best villain on the show, and the only one that ever came off as threatening at all.

Carrey was a goofball, the entire time. Even when killing people, he acted goofy. It's like he watched 30 seconds of Gorshins Riddler, and then went off that.

EDIT: Here's a scene that shows how full of range the character has. From giggly glee, to reflecting on how much he's longed for this, to spite...



I love the look that he gives that girl as in "b**ch, what do you mean no riddles!?!?"

EDIT 2: Ugh, they cut the end part off of the clip...I'll try and find a better one that has him enraged at the girl.

 

[Darkness Falls]

after revisting batman forever last night
i honestly can not see a joker rip-off out of two-face or riddler

there were moments where tlj did pull off the character
the part where he kept flipping the coin bothers me still
ok so it wasn't my version of two face
but i enjoyed it none the less

now onto riddler
imho carey did more than just play himself
he was whacky and calculating at the same time

his best acting part imo is when he said
''you were supposed to understand, i'll make you understand''

he just looks so sinister when he says the second part and the voice helps add to the start of his descent to madness

it was a nice change to see a villian who was a rival to both bruce and batman

 

[Mutagen]

Even when I was a young kid when BF came out I always thought that the Riddler's scenes would fit the Joker like a glove, all jokingly and what not. I don't think he copied Jack's performance, but he had characteristics of the Joker.

 

[Zig-Zag Man]

Wasn't a fan of the potrayl. Both Riddler and Two-Face in that movie look like wannabe Jokers to recapture the elements and success of the first film.

 

[the_scream]

Ever since Jack's Joker, every male villain has tried too hard to be larger than life. That's why Cillian Murphy and Liam Neeson were much better in BB. They played characters not copy-cats of the Joker.

 

[MrQuinn]

Ever since Jack's Joker, every male villain has tried too hard to be larger than life. That's why Cillian Murphy and Liam Neeson were much better in BB. They played characters not copy-cats of the Joker.

Cillian was astounding as Crane. The casting in Begins is phenomenal. Minus that whole Katie Holmes thing...

 

[Zig-Zag Man]

Ever since Jack's Joker, every male villain has tried too hard to be larger than life. That's why Cillian Murphy and Liam Neeson were much better in BB. They played characters not copy-cats of the Joker.

Exactly. The inhabited characters from a realistic psychological perspective. Much the same way Ledger did for the Joker, but his Joker being more real is much more disturbing.

 

[Stevens25]

Looking back on it all,I think Carrey would have made a good Joker. I hated the spandex he wore in Batman Forever. I liked his Riddler suit ALOT better. As for TLJ,his Two-face was too comical. I think it would've worked out alot better if he had played the straight man to Carrey's outrageous Riddler.

 

[Nathan Petrelli]

TLJ's Two Face had no Harvey. I still hate the part where he keeps flipping the coin until he gets the results he wants, kills the whole point of the character. His "good" side was completely superficial. The Drew Barrymore character that represented that side actually helped in criminal plots.



I think that's a little more accurate than Joker rip-off. Just how people criticize Jack's Joker as Jack not playing the Joker but playing himself in Joker make-up. You could say the same about Carrey in BF, Ace Venture: Super Villain.

I bought Batman Forever today and watched it, haven't seen it in a long time, and the thing I hated the most was how inaccurate Two-Face is. Being one of my favourite characters, I felt kind of sick watching it. And I nearly turned it off when he was constantly flipping until he got to the scarred side. Also, he said that the security guard wouldn't die because he didn't flip the scarred side, so he locks him in a vault full of acid???

And as for Jack Nicholson. I suggest you go and watch The Departed, he reminds me alot of who Jack Napier would be if he didn't turn into The Joker, I would have loved to see him do The Joker in that style.

Pfft.

It's just another movie where Jim Carrey was paid gratuitious amounts of money to play Jim Carrey.........with a Green suit and question marks. I wasn't impressed by his acting, so much.

Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face was very different than anything he had done before. I'm impressed by how well he pulled it off (despite it being very different from Two-Face himself.)

Go watch Natural Born Killers. The guard that Tommy Lee Jones plays is a MIRROR of Two-Face.

I didn't mind Jim Carrey, it was another Jim Carrey role, but he did put depth in it, you can see the obsession in his eyes.

I've read almost every "regular" Batman comic (Batman, 'Tec, B&B, World's Finest) from the new look to the time of "Zero Hour".

I watch the Adam West Batman series regularly, I also have the movie. You can tell Jim Carrey was really inspired from that era of Riddler, hell. Even the way he walks you can tell.

 

[ironwez20]

long story short he was stupid

 

[Batmania]

As someone else said, Carrey played Jim Carrey. I didn't see much 'depth' to his performance at all once he became the Riddler. It just became cartoon character territory at that point. If I were Batman, I'd have laughed out loud at the sight of some of his ridiculous outfits, lol.

 

[MrQuinn]

As someone else said, Carrey played Jim Carrey. I didn't see much 'depth' to his performance at all once he became the Riddler. It just became cartoon character territory at that point. If I were Batman, I'd have laughed out loud at the sight of some of his ridiculous outfits, lol.

even if you, yourself, were in a giant, stiff, rubber Bat suit?

if I were Batman, I would have actually laughed at some of the things the Riddler said, even if people's lives were in jeopardy. I guess that doesn't make me a very good Batman. what can I say, I like funny things...

 

[Sawyer]

I thought the Joker rip-off was TLJ's Two-Face?

I loved Carrey's Riddler.

Same. I mean, since when does Two-Face laugh hysterically?

 

[Majik1387]

TLJ's Two-Face was his Natural Born Killers character with bad purple make-up. Not a Joker rip off. I said this earlier in the thread.

 

[Mutagen]

Well that's good to know, I shall remember that when next I watch his performance, which will unlikely happen in the near future do my previous thought of him being over the top.

 

[Two-Face]

Actually Carrey played like Frank Gorshin's Riddler not a Joker rip off.

 

[redfirebird2008]

Both Carey and Jones were horrible in it, IMO. Carey was waaaaaaaay too hyper as The Riddler. Just look at him when he raids the Batcave, for example. The Riddler is alot more reserved than that.

People will realize just how bad he was once Nolan does the Riddler in his franchise, IF he does the Riddler and that is a big IF. The B:TAS Riddler is the best version of the Riddler by a long shot and it's basically how I think Nolan would adapt the character.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Have you ever actually SEEN Gorshins riddler? He was sometimes goofy, having fits of glee, but most of the time he was cold and calculating, and always seemed like he was about to snap. He was the best villain on the show, and the only one that ever came off as threatening at all.

Carrey was a goofball, the entire time. Even when killing people, he acted goofy. It's like he watched 30 seconds of Gorshins Riddler, and then went off that.

EDIT: Here's a scene that shows how full of range the character has. From giggly glee, to reflecting on how much he's longed for this, to spite...



I love the look that he gives that girl as in "b**ch, what do you mean no riddles!?!?"

EDIT 2: Ugh, they cut the end part off of the clip...I'll try and find a better one that has him enraged at the girl.

My friend here speaks the truth. Gorshin played the Riddler straight enough to have been in any of the Burton/Schumacher movies. He really did seem to be a demented, dangerous lunatic. If you watch the 1966 movie, the other villains want to defeat the dynamic duo, but he really is obsessed with killing Batman & Robin.

However, Carrey was not a goofball all the time. When he wanted to be chilling he was.

- "Riddle me this, riddle me that....who's afraid of the big, bad bad?" And the whole following scene where he taunts Batman from his throne. He comes off as a proper, insane supervillain.

- "Questions, Mr Wayne? Questions? Why hasn't anybody....put you in your place?"

 

[DACrowe]

Both were written and directed poorly. I feel both were trying to compete with Jack Nicholson's Joker. But Jack's Joker had a real depth of evilness in him and a real menace and cruelty in his personality. Two-Face and Riddler in BF were one-dimensional cartoon characters played for laughs. They were trying to out ham Jack and failed.

I'd say TLJ tried harder as this was a unique and singular performance for him (hammy cartoon villain). Jim Carrey plays himself like he does in every comedy he does and to boring effect as always.

 

[DarkKnight88]

Let's be honest here.. Jim Carrey is a HUGE reason the film was such a success in 1995. He was coming off a streak of huge hits Ace Ventura, The Mask and Dumb & Dumber and this was his real first big blockbuster. Everyone at that time was a fan of his. I remember sitting in the theatre and when in the opening credits the names came out Jim Carrey's name drew thunderous applause.

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

Have you ever actually SEEN Gorshins riddler? He was sometimes goofy, having fits of glee, but most of the time he was cold and calculating, and always seemed like he was about to snap. He was the best villain on the show, and the only one that ever came off as threatening at all.

Carrey was a goofball, the entire time. Even when killing people, he acted goofy. It's like he watched 30 seconds of Gorshins Riddler, and then went off that.

EDIT: Here's a scene that shows how full of range the character has. From giggly glee, to reflecting on how much he's longed for this, to spite...



I love the look that he gives that girl as in "b**ch, what do you mean no riddles!?!?"

EDIT 2: Ugh, they cut the end part off of the clip...I'll try and find a better one that has him enraged at the girl.

No I DEFINITLY have never seen Gorshins Riddler, I must have been thinking of some other person that played The Riddler in the 1960's Batman tv show considering there are so many, tons If I remember right. Even though Carrey said in interviews he used Gorshin's Riddler for style here and there I must totally be wrong, oh I guess I must be.

Oh and I must have definitly said that Carrey's Riddler was 100% EXACT to Gorshin's too, or maybe I just said that they were Very Similar!!!

-DV

 

[MrQuinn]

Okay, so I'm tired of this.


Jim Carey is actually a decent actor.
At least he is nowadays.
In BF, we got his goofy days, but, I can see that it was him doing his usual goofy routine, while trying to prove that he can base his performance on an actual thing of significance (i.e. Gorshin in this case) while also providing a little bit of seriousness and depth to the character.
When Carey was Edward, he was very troubled, very possessive, and very much stalker-esque. He really nailed it, in my opinion. His desperation and idolization in the character really pinpointed where the Riddler came from in the movie.
Nowadays, when I see Carey in movies like "Eternal Sunshine"... he has really evolved. I think Forever was the breaking point in him, it gave him a little opportunity to show a serious actor side of him, instead of him just flailing his limbs around and making weird animal noises.

[/rant]

 

[The Batman]

Same. I mean, since when does Two-Face laugh hysterically?

yes...because we all know that thats the defining characteristic of the joker, and we all know that the joker is the only comic villain who has that trait...

I wish people had actual reasons for calling riddler/two face joker ripoffs

 

[The Guard]

I wish people had actual reasons for calling riddler/two face joker ripoffs

Agreed.

 

[Paste Pot Pete]

Carrey's Riddler was the Riddler, no doubt.

But come on, Two-Face was a giggling buffoon. His introduction was pretty much the sole moment in the entire film where he really felt completely like Two-Face.

The comparisons to the Joker are valid; Jack's performance was the standard in "comic book villiany" - big, loud, and showy. TLJ took that page out of the playbook and ran with it. Problem is, "big, loud, and showy" is what the Joker is. It's not what Two-Face is.