Batman Forever

Batman Forever lacks the outright depressing, darkened mood of the first two. Good! After Batman Returns I didn't know how much more decadent they could get, with so much lack of lighting I was having a hard time just WATCHING the movies. As far as Batman himself I am happy to say that Val Kilmer is NOT Michael Keaton or Adam West. They were ok for the job but were just too wooden and monolithic for their actions. With Kilmer we get a much more fluid Batman who doesn't seem to lag around like Keaton's did. Speed is what he does best...and he does it! The supporting protagonists do the meager, ok job they need to keep this film acceptable. It is nice to see Dick Grayson ditch that sickeningly awful "Robin" outfit a la 1966 and get a REAL superhero suit. THE VILLAINS! No Batman movie would be complete without them! Tommy Lee Jones is ok as Two-Face and his presence holds on until Jim Carrey--master of dancing around and acting like the modern, much cooler Jerry Lewis--slides in as the Riddler. Like Nicholson in the first, Carrey holds our attention with his shenanigans (even if they annoy us) and make the movie a bit more fun. That's the whole point. When we go to a Batman movie, we aren't expecting "The Godfather" or "Citizen Kane". We want to be entertained to the MAX and this movie does just that with a hint of glitz and a lot more style than Batman 2 did. Remember how it took over half an hour for us to get around to observing Keaton as Bruce Wayne in that one? I think these two are tied for second. By all means avoid Batman & Robin! You will be utterly disappointed with George "ER" Clooney, Arnold "Jingle all the Way" Scwarzenegger, Uma "the Avengers" Thurman, and everything else in that piece of garbage.

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.

If people go around saying that Tim Burton's Batman's were campy and cartoon-ish, then what are the Schumacher films? REALISTIC??? Not even close. Tim Burton's "Batman" and "Batman Returns" were brilliant and classic, dark and gritty with no cartoon in them. "Batman Forever", and it's brother "Batman and Robin" are foolish, cheesy cartoon films that have hardly anything to offer. Throwing Robin into the film was a desperate move to keep plot going, and really didn't keep me interested at all. I will say that Carrey was a bit of relief, unfortunately Tommy Lee got some pretty bad and cheesy lines, but I will give one of his lines 4 of the 5 stars I've given the film, his great delivery of, "Why won't you just die?!", classic. The other star is for his outfits, damn fine material. You want a good Batman film? Watch the first two by Tim Burton, and of course see the Christopher Nolan films. Hell, watch the T.V. show as well, at least that keeps a viewer interested.

I first saw this with a bunch of school pals in Sterling theatre (South Bombay) in the year 1995. Revisited it recently with my 10 year old nephew.

After having enjoyed both the Keaton's Batman movies on vhs in the late 90s, i was looking forward for the theatrical experience.

While Keaton's movies were dark with gothic style n a dystopian atmosphere, especially Batman Returns was far ahead of its time with a scary villain. Even my 10 year old nephew found the Penguin villain far better n scary than the 2022 version.

Batman Forever ruined the experience with unnecessary comedic elements n lottuva overacting by Jim Carey who did the same stuff what he did in previous year's The Mask.

We have Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon.

He played Gordon in the 1989 film Batman and its three sequels. He is one of only two actors to appear in the four Batman films from 1989 to 1997; the other is Michael Gough as Alfred Pennyworth.

In one scene Robin is caught by Two Face while Batman is engaged with The Riddler n then suddenly without any explanation, Robin is shown trapped by The Riddler.

Batman forever fails to follow in the footsteps of the first 2 movies, after Tim Burton and Michael Keaton were replaced with with Joel Schumacher and Val Kilmer. Schumachers approach is too comical and Gotham has lost the sinister ora that Burton created, Val Kilmer is OK as the bat, and he certainly helps save the film from total disaster.

All the other characters are new, Nicole Kidman (Dr. Chase Meridian) brings sex appeal, but her character delivers little more. Chris O'Donnell is introduced as Robin, and his martial arts antics do add something to the film. Tommy Lee Jones plays Two-Face and as usual his performance is decent, but the star of the show is Jim Carrey as the Riddler; his performance is both camp and eccentric, and it hits the mark brilliantly.

The problem with the movie, although i did enjoy it, is the total change in style; the backdrop of Gotham city is no longer dark and Gothic and the series is moving away from Batmans comic roots.

This was the beginning of the end, and it was followed by Batman and Robin. Thank god for Batman Begins.

6/10