The Batman Review: 7 Ups & 2 Downs

5. The Riddler’s Darkness

The Batman Riddler 2022
YouTube/Warner Bros Pictures

Ooft! Paul Dano = tour de force.

Reeves doesn't pull any punches with the direction for his combined Edward Nashton/Riddler character either. The very first thing you see Dano's villain do will make you squirm, and the flick does a cracking job of escalating his importance in each follow-up scene.

Jim Carrey from Batman Forever, this isn't. Nobody's slagging off the great man's over-the-top work back in the mid-90s, but Dano takes The Riddler in an altogether different direction. There's an intense bleakness to his appearance, behaviour and the messages he leaves for Bruce Wayne, and it's all...a riot.

Serial killer vibes are nothing new to the Batman universe. Somehow though, Dano's intelligent portrayal of someone who enjoys toying with Wayne elevates his character to Jack Nicholson as The Joker comparisons. That's high praise indeed, albeit deserved praise.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.