9 “Perfect” Casting Decisions That Went Horribly Wrong

4. Jim Carrey As The Riddler - Batman Forever

If there's one lesson we can take from this exercise in "perfect" casting decisions gone horribly, horribly wrong, it's that we shouldn't ever trust Joel Schumacher with a comic book movie. Batman Forever boasts not one but two potentially amazing casting decisions which in the end were all but completely wasted.

Jim Carrey certainly can't be faulted for throwing his all into this ridiculously camp rendition of The Riddler - it's clearly what the script called for, inexplicably harking back to the 1960s TV series. But few marks are awarded for effort alone, and in this instance his over-exuberant performance ends up being zany and weird in all the worst ways (think of a children's party clown hired from Craigslist and you're in the right ballpark). It has far more in common with slapstick and vaudeville, something Schumacher no doubt encouraged against any advise to the contrary.

In case you're wondering why no one from the atrocious Batman And Robin managed to make it onto this list, the answer lies in the inclusion of two characters from Batman Forever - by the time Schumacher came to making his follow up no one in their right mind dared to suggest that anything remotely approaching "perfect" could be hoped for.

And boy were they right.