Batman Forever

I must admit that I was biased before I'd even seen this movie back in 1995. I was biased because I just didn't expect it to be any good due to the absence of Michael Keaton.

When I did watch it I thought it was okay. Val Kilmer did his best as Bruce Wayne although he just looked a bit too young to play a millionaire playboy-but he did do a good job.

Finally we saw the debut of Robin. I thought Robin's costume was cool-it was updated for the 1990's.

Once again the villains stole the show. Jim Carrey (a truly funny man) made a great Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones made a superb Two Face.

Nicole Kidman made a great love interest for Batman but I would have liked to see more interaction between them in the film.

Whilst I think the first two Batman films were the best, I have no problem in recommending this film to any Batman fan.

Batman Forever may be the most unfairly criticzed super-hero film ever made. It's sandwiched between the fandom of the Burton and Nolan films while simultaneously blamed for leading to Batman and Robin. If you compare it to the darker and more gothic Burton films and are disappointed Keaton isn't still playing Batman, of course you're not gonna enjoy it. If you compare it to the more serious neo-realism of the Nolan films, again you're not gonna enjoy it. What is it you ask? Batman Forever essentially plays out like a live action cartoon and it does this very well. If you watch it through that lens instead of judging it for what it's not you'll find that Batman Forever actually has superior continuity and pacing than any other Batman film except maybe the 1966 version. This is coming from someone who's favorite film is Batman 1989 and a big Tim Burton fan. It honestly baffles me to hear people rave about how great Batman Returns is and then go on to bash Batman Forever. While Returns has a ton going for it, it really suffers from the same core problem as Batman and Robin; the director getting too cute with creative control. All Joel Schumacher did was set out to make a fun super-hero film with something for everyone to enjoy and I honestly think he succeeded with Forever. With Batman and Robin he went too flamboyant just like Burton went too zany and weird with Returns. The first time around both directors got it right testing the waters with their own respective styles. Everything in the film is very cartoonish and if you appreciate it from that perspective it's really quite masterful in a lot of subtle and not so subtle ways. Although Batman The Animated Series was largely influenced by the Burton movies Forever really seems like it's bringing that onto the big screen with real actors and real sets which is quite a feat. Schumacher just added more color and neon which honestly is a welcome change from the stark art deco gothic flavor present in Returns. Nothing wrong with that flavor in Returns, it's just that Burton went all in and we didn't necessarily need more of the same. Batman Returns actually has considerably different art direction from Batman 1989 yet you rarely hear fans complain about that difference or even acknowledge it.

Nicole Kidman is perfectly cast as Chase Meridian and I like Chris O'Donnell as Robin even though he was probably a tad old. Everyone criticizes Val Kilmer for being too bland compared to Keaton but honestly the latter wouldn't have worked at all in the film the way it was done. Since Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey are both such strong personalities a more stoic Kilmer contrasts that well. Batman Forever really is Jim Carrey's vehicle though. You watch Batman Forever for Jim Carrey the same way you watch Batman 1989 for Jack Nicholson.

I liked the first two batman movies, they were very, very dark, broodish and more in line to the actual dark comic book style. Burton is an amazing director and brought the best out of Keaton(when batman was out he became the coolest man around - and now he's not even given an eyelid!).

So what went wrong with this film. Was is Schumacher? Apparantly Keaton had doubts over wanting to do another Batman movie and after meeting Schumacher dropped out. It is amazing that such an actor can be put off a film such as this. But after seeing the film I can see why.

The film starts off pretty well, a helicopter crash into a statue of libery look-a-like - with Batman trapped inside, struggling to get outside before it crashed and blew up - it kinda took me back to old James Bond movies. The background song "Kiss from a Rose" provided by Seal is romantically well placed - but it isn't in the same OTT style as the film - unlike the U2 version.

The film lacks anything other than a flimsy plot of revenge. Batman (played by a boring, Val Kilmer) plays master to a vengeful Robin who wants revenge on a flat villan, Two-Face (underplayed by Tommy Lee Jones), who is working with the Riddler - played by an OTT Jim Carrey (I personally would have gone for Robin Williams, but I guess Williams is too old - he's probably fits "the Mad Hatter" rather than the Riddler).

I know Carrey was payed MegaBucks to carry this flimsy film, but this is no reason to make him the only star of this film. Why, when Carrey gets all the minds off tv-zombies, doesn't realize Batman's true identity sooner is beyond me.

Carrey's character is never explained properly, why is eccentric? OK - he never got praise for his work, but if you didn't get praise for your job you don't come crazy and wear green spandex overnight do you?

This film is pretty poor compared to the previous versions, Nicole Kidman although looking pretty - figures out Batman's true identity far too quickly. She's supposed to be head strong, but instead comes across as a dasmel in distress.

Overall I suggest you return to the old versions. And I would suggest avoiding the PAINFUL Clooney version: Batman and Robin.

Overall: 4/10

I loved the first two Batman movies, and honestly would have loved to see Burton go on to direct more entries in the series, but Joel Shumacher's Batman Forever is not at all an unwelcome change. I think some people recollect this film and automatically associate it with Shumacher's awful second Batman attempt, Batman & Robin. That is the bad movie. This is not. People also seem to forget how big of a hit it was. Artistically, there were things it got wrong and didn't do as well as the others, but there were things it did so much better, too. For one thing, this is the only 'Batman' with a decent soundtrack to its name (including 2 great songs by U2 and Seal).

In some ways you can look at this as a transition from the dark, tortured Batman to a Batman who has finally conquered his personal demons and gone on to be happier in being a man who fights crime in the night dressed up in rubber. For this one it was good, 'cause that's essentially how it ends, but the result of this led to the campy and just plain boring 4th episode.

But I really was surprised at how psychological of a movie Batman Forever is. I'm not saying it's particularly deep, but when you look at Edward Nygma's obsession with Bruce Wayne (stalking him, to imitating him right down to the mole), Harvey Dent's schizophrenia as Two-Face, and the fact that both Bruce Wayne AND Batman end up romancing the same psychologist is all enormously amusing. The romance isn't to be taken that lightly, though. I thought out of all 5 films Chase Meridian was Bruce's best girlfriend. The whole Vicky Vale relationship was pretty stale if you cut out all of the conflict with the Joker, and obviously Selina Kyle didn't work out so well for Bruce. Having this woman who could understand the mind of the tortured Bruce Wayne was a great idea, and I don't need to tell you that the gorgeous and talented Nicole Kidman pulled it off well.

Something I liked (and would have liked to have seen more of) was the competitive relationship between Bruce Wayne and Edward Nygma. They're enemies as Batman and The Riddler but also as regular people in everyday life. Take that scene at the Nygmatec Ball when Edward gloats about how well off he is, but Bruce is totally unflinching. Jim Carrey does a great job with a character that is so obsessed with this person; who idolizes him but hates him at the same time and is generally evil, but still can make us fall on the floor laughing.

This is a rousing and dynamic picture. It's basically the lighter side of being Batman. It was exciting with some great action sequences: I loved the end where both Robin and Chase are dropped and he saves them both. That piece of Elliot Goldenthal music when Batman finally grasps Robin's arm is excellent.

I liked Burton's 2 films and obviously Batman Begins better than Forever, but when you're in the right mood for it, it really is a fantastic movie that, if nothing else, thoroughly entertains.

My rating: 7/10

What I can say about Batman Forever is that it is getting too much hate. It is definitely not a good movie but it just isn't as bad as everyone is saying.

One of the things that ruins this movie is the awful script. While the plot is not that bad, the script is just plain awful. It's filled with unfunny and dumb jokes and poorly written dialogues. I'm aware that this movie is comic based and so I shouldn't expect much from it but this horrible script makes it look more like a parody.

The casting was also not very good. Val Kilmer as Batman was ok (if compared to Michael Keaton), Jim Carrey also did a quite good job as the Riddler. But Tommy Lee Jones's portrayal of Two Face was terrible. Two Face is a character that suffers from split personality, but the movie didn't show that. Tommy Lee Jones was playing a role that was closer to the Joker. All these "insane acts" that he was doing throughout the movie made me think that this is actually the Joker who for some reason got half of his face burnt.

Of course there are many reasons why you might enjoy this movie. The plot is not bad and even interesting at some points. If you are a fan of Jim Carrey movies you'll surely like Batman Forever not only because of the unique performance that only Jim Carrey can give but also because this movie is way more colorful than other Batman movies.

For conclusion I can say that Batman Forever is a kid friendly movie that is excellent if you have time to waste. It is definitely not a good movie but still doesn't deserve to be called the worst