Review of Batman Forever (1995) by Mrmoviebuff — 05 Apr 2016

If you were ever looking for a movie that doesn't know what it wants to be, lighthearted, fun, adventurous, thrilling, dark...and doesn't know how to mix it together seamlessly, look no further than 'Batman Forever'.

Tim Burton is not directing this one (although, stayed on as producer), it is instead directed by Joel Schumacher after there were reports that Tim Burton's previous two "Batman" films were deemed "too dark".

Heaven help those people, god forbid that Batman, also known as "The DARK Knight" have a "dark" movie, that is just wrong in every way. He should be campy, lighthearted, colorful, fun and witty. These people who complained in the first place did not know that we were going to get a wreck of a film.

This time, Val Kilmer takes the role of the caped crusader, and I mentioned in my review for 'Batman Returns' (1992) that Michael Keaton never got a chance to shine as Batman mainly because Tim Burton's theatrical direction and constant focus on villains prevented from the great Keaton to fully flesh out in the role. Kilmer, on the other hand, is ultimately bland, one-note and one-dimensional in the role, he shows no emotion whatsoever, and when he tries to show some concern, it feels forced.

The script (written by Lee Batchler, Janet Scott Batchler and Akiva Goldsman) contains some crummy, on-to-the-point dialogue. Take the beginning sequence when Batman has to save a security guard from being trapped in some small silo filling up with acid, the hostage actually screams "Oh no, it's pouring acid!", and then later he says "Oh, my shoes are melting!", we get it, they're in trouble. Joel Schumacher clearly doesn't understand the rules of all show and no tell.

Our main villains are; Harvey Dent aka "Two-Face" (an over the top Tommy Lee Jones), and Edward Nygma aka "The Riddler" (a very comical Jim Carrey). The main problem with the casting here is; didn't anybody learn from casting comedians in superhero films? Remember when Richard Pryor was in 'Superman III' (1983)? That didn't turn out so well, I understand that Carrey is charismatic, but was casting him as the villain really a wise choice? His role in this is almost no different to the one he played in 'The Mask' (1994).

Director Schumacher clearly knows how to be theatrical, he knows how to make a movie visually exciting, but he doesn't know the true nature of the characters he is adapting. Batman is a dark and troubled character with a dark and troubled past that included his parents getting killed right in front of him when he was a little kid. I know I mentioned that Tim Burton was almost too theatrical, but at least he took the character more seriously than Schumacher does. This almost feels like a parody from time to time.

We also meet a young, circus acrobat named Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell) whose family gets killed by Two-Face, and he wants revenge. Bruce decides to let Grayson stay over at his mansion until he can sort himself out, but his thirst for killing Two-Face grows.

Nicole Kidman plays Dr. Chase Meridian, her character is completely bland and pointless, I fail to understand why Bruce is so in love with her, she maybe pretty (KIdman seems to be good at being pretty), but there is nothing to her character, she is almost boring in some ways.

I could go on and on about why this movie is wrong on so many levels, but having seen it through a child's eyes, and as an adult's eyes, my feelings remain the same. See it as a sequel to 'The Mask' (1994) and not as a comic book adaptation of the iconic DC Comics character...