Review of Batman Forever (1995) by Kai82 — 22 Aug 2021

I am still divided if this is a good movie or more in the so bad that it is good category. It might be both at the same time but I will not deny that it is entertaining and has some great moments but also some weaknesses.

After Batman Returns missed Warner Bros. box office expectations and complains that it was too dark some changes were made for the next movie. I will say they made this one more colorful, used more humor and toned down the more matured parts.

Actually I view this as a restart even if it is not a reboot. This time Batman has to deal with Two Face who was the former district attorney Harvey Dent. An acid attack left half of his face disfigured and drove him towards crime and insanity.

He blames Batman for this as he could not stop this attack. Meanwhile scientist Edward Nygma who is a researcher at Wayne Enterprises has developed a new device that can beam television signals directly into a persons brain (Sidenote: This is actually more scary than most horror movies ever could be.

Think of non stop commercials and this is the stuff of nightmares). However he is rejected by Bruce. Meanwhile a circus is in town and the acrobat Dick Grayson will experience something he never would have imagined.

With this the story starts and I will stop here to avoid spoilers. The story works and is a vehicle for the action and characters. However it is neither that great nor reinventing the wheel. Batman the animated series did set up and use these characters far better and I think some of those episodes could be used for a better movie.

To be fair it is also not bad and they know what they are doing. The characters are similar to the story. They work and are enjoyable but also they are not that great with some exceptions. Lets start with Batman aka Bruce Wayne played by Val Kilmer.

Michael Keaton did not want to return so another actor has to fill the shoes. I think Val Kilmer would work great but is hold back by the script. Tommy Lee Jones does a fantastic job as Two Face and this deserves credit as with his costumes it is hard to take him serious (This could just be me to be fair).

They miss a critical aspect of his character here. Two Face is Bruce Waynes greatest tragedy in a certain way. He could neither safe him as Batman nor as his good friend Bruce Wayne. However he still works.

Jim Carrey as Edward Nygma is amazing. The role was made for him and his style. If you like his usual performance than everything is fine. If not than this is a disaster for you. I liked his performance and clearly see how much he enjoyed the role.

Chris O’Donnel as Dick Grayson delivers mostly a good performance but there are some scenes that are awful for his character. Then we have Nicole Kidman as Dr. Chase Meridan. Maybe too much damsel in distress but is really good otherwise.

The rest of the cast gives a solid performance. I am divided here as we have good actors without a doubt. But I have seen those characters done better and the script harmed them too sometimes. Visually or presentation wise the movie has its own style.

It looks familiar but more colorful. Some of the costume choices are bad and fail for me. The soundtrack by Eliot Goldenthal was really good. It had some songs that are still played today in the radio like “Kiss from a rose” by seal and to a lesser content U2s “Hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me”.

Other than those I liked “Smash it up” by The Offspring and Methods Man “The Riddler”. A good soundtrack and worth owning. Overall I like this movie but it will not end in my top movie lists. It is enjoyable but not awesome and I think a 7/10 is fair.