Batman Forever

After such a dark atmosphere in "Batman Returns", Warner Brothers wanted to create the next Batman film as more family friendly. "Batman Forever" was the first Batman film I ever saw and my favorite in the Burton/Schumacher series. This movie has much better story themes than the other three films and it is balanced with some great fun & humor. The movie introduced me to so many of the actors in it as well as to director Joel Schumacher. The music plays such a huge part in the mood of the film. After more than 20 years since its release, the sensible side of me would say that "Batman Forever" has gone out of style but my carefree and sentimental side wins out in this case.

I love how the Warner Bros symbol morphs into Bat emblem to start the movie. The opening musical theme and subsequent montage do wonders for the introduction of Schumacher's portrayal of Batman. The drive-thru joke was a great way to end the montage. The introduction of the "Segregated One" is equally well done. One characteristic of Two-Face that I get a kick out of is the tantrums he has whenever Batman escapes or wins. My favorite fit that Two-Face throws is with the line, "Why can't you just die?!!!" I love it when characters have had enough of the current situation. Unlike the previous movies, Gotham's good standing citizens hail Batman as a hero. In the last movie, the city seems ungrateful to Batman but in "Batman Forever", Gotham cheers Batman on. Gotham is also different design wise. The other films looked like period films but in this movie, it is a futuristic, flashy and optimistic setting. The city also appears more prosperous, mirroring the economy of the 90's, and there is a science fiction angle. The use of the Statue of Liberty makes it more apparent than ever that Gotham is a fictional version of New York. We get a great opening battle between Batman and Two-Face's thugs. I enjoy the Indiana Jones moment when Batman easily defeats the impressive thug with the blades. It happens again at Nygma's party. Other humorous moments include the lines "It's a trap" (the timing was spot on) and "Hang on." Unlike the comics, the Riddler acquires his higher intelligence by means of science fiction. This makes him a more powerful antagonist in my eyes. He is narcissistic as well. Another great quality about the character of the Riddler is that he is Bruce Wayne's biggest fan and this was the first time in my life where I encountered a film villain who idolizes the hero to the point that the villain must rid himself of this fascination. At the start of the movie when Edward turns against Bruce, it does not destroy his admiration for Bruce but rather instills in Edward a desire to replace Bruce. That complex characteristic is intriguing. The ironic thing is that Edward set out on his path of villainy because of Bruce's dual life. When Bruce and Edward first meet, Bruce sees the Batsignal and is in a hurry to leave. As a result, when Edward demands an immediate answer to his proposal, Bruce has no choice but to say no. He has no time to deal with Edward's unethical invention if Edward cannot be patient. I love how Bruce gets to the Batcave from his office. The character of Chase Meridian is the best female character in the whole film series thanks to the acting of future Oscar winner Nicole Kidman. Batman resists Chase's temptations because he can't allow himself to fall in love. However, Bruce Wayne was familiar with her work before she met Batman. Upon meeting Chase as Bruce Wayne, he becomes attracted to her. In turn, Chase becomes attracted to Bruce Wayne for the same reason she likes Batman. She sees them as both psychologically interesting. All this makes for a better romantic plotline than we saw in the previous two instalments.

I love how The Flying Grayson's outfits at the circus match Robin's outfit from the 1960's almost perfectly. Bruce is more than willing to save the people at the circus by revealing that he is Batman. Because of all the commotion however, this doesn't work and so Bruce takes action as himself. It is all he can do and he reminds Dick later in the movie of this fact. Because he is not Batman at the circus, it makes it impossible for him to save Dick's family. He has no gadgets or weapons. Bruce Wayne was at the circus and tried to help but Batman could not be there. Bruce takes Dick in because of he does feel responsible. He accidentally reveals this guilt to Alfred later in the movie. Another reason why Bruce "adopts" Dick is because they both share a similar back-story. Bruce knows exactly what Dick is feeling. When Dick confesses his desire to avenge his family, Bruce takes it upon himself to spare Dick the consequences that Batman has to deal with. I love how Bruce and Alfred get Dick to stay and I also enjoy the scene between Alfred and Dick. This is a very important story moment because Dick is taught the difference between being a hero and being an unforgiving vigilante. I like the fun design of Two-Face's hideout. That scene, where the Riddler and Two-Face join up, is also a lot of fun as well as the montage of their crime spree. When Dick discovers the Batcave, he does what any of the fans watching the movie would do by taking the Batmobile for a spin. Bruce finally accepts the fact that he is in love with Chase. The problem is that she is more in love with Batman, something Bruce knows could have dangerous consequences. He goes to her anyways like she wanted. I will say that this is quite a hot scene with her lying in bed and everything. Chase however suddenly realizes that she loves Bruce more because he is more real. The smile works so well because it is the only time in the movie when Batman shows any side of lightheartedness. Had it been one of many, it wouldn't have been so funny. "Batman Returns" portrayed Batman as having a human side where as this movie doesn't. Batman is quite serious in his tone except for here as he slowly smiles. The joke has a purpose also. It shows Bruce's approval of Chase's decision. For her sake and for Dick's, Bruce decides to give up being Batman. Trying to live a double life with Chase in love with him and with Dick needing a better example isn't working in Bruce's mind. I love how Two-face and the Riddler get into Wayne Manor. We get some great humor as the Riddler destroys the Batcave. I really love the pitching joke. Dick comes back to fight with Batman because he is a good person. Deep inside, he needs the guidance that Bruce and Alfred have to offer. I really love how the Batwing appears for Commissioner Gordon. It really sets up the climatic battle as Gordon cheers Batman on. Once again, the music plays a big role in the power of this scene. The climax is also the best one from the whole series because there is sufficient narrative build-up. It is also full of more fun jokes such as Battleship. A really clever one is the reference to the 1960's Batman movie with Robin pointing out the holey rusted metal to Batman. Robin moments later is finally faced with the choice of killing Two-Face and he chooses not to. Bruce and Alfred's mentoring has paid off. The game show is another fun moment. The Riddler took the turmoil that Bruce had mentally at the middle of the movie and bet everything on that, not realizing that Bruce had in the meantime overcome this problem himself. Bruce chooses even before he arrived at the island to have a double life. The subsequent rescue of Chase and Robin has a lot of suspense and triumph because of the music. Batman doesn't kill Two-Face but uses Two-Face's weakness to his advantage. Two-Face dies by accident and Robin seems to be surprised that it was so easy. Then Robin face's seems to communicate that he is at peace with the fact that Two-Face had a fitting end. I really love the final shot of the dynamic duo thanks to the musical score.

Since this movie, I have noticed certain characteristics of a Joel Schumacher movie such as tilted camera shots and use of statues. I also see a lot of rich colors whenever possible. As mentioned, "Batman Forever" introduced me to all of the major performers. I may have heard of some of the cast members beforehand but I had never seen a movie of theirs until this one. Val Kilmer was cast after Keaton turned down "Batman Forever" because he did not like doing the movie without Burton directing. He also did not like where the series was headed. Other actors that interestingly were considered to replace Keaton include Ralph Fiennes and Johnny Depp. Val Kilmer is my favorite Batman actor except for Christian Bale and part of the reason is because he was my first Batman. Kilmer looks like a million dollars as Bruce Wayne and that is a quality that Michael Keaton did not have. When he is Batman, Kilmer becomes a different character. His voice is slightly different, an acting choice that was originally conceived for Batman by voice actor Kevin Conroy. I was aware of Tommy Lee Jones before this movie because he had won an Oscar for his performance in "The Fugitive". Despite bringing Jones in to play Two-face, Schumacher seems to have later regretted that decision. Jim Carrey, according to the director, was quite profession off camera and Jones felt vulnerable by this. Fun facts like that are interesting to me. Once again, Robin Williams wanted to play a manic Batman villain but the role of the Riddler went to Jim Carrey instead (now we will never know what could have been but I can't complain against Carrey). I knew who Carrey was previous to this show because the year before, his first three major motion pictures were huge hits. I became a big fan of his after this movie because of his energy and outrageousness. He has too many funny moments in this film to name them all. I enjoy lines of his such as "Nice form but a little rough on the landing. He may have to settle for the bronze." I love the Captain Kill joke because it is so different from the rest of his possible personas. Robin Wright was thought up to play Chase but Nicole Kidman won the role. She is amazing because of her looks and talent. Leonardo DiCaprio was close to getting the part of Robin and would have done very well I think but I am still happy that Chris O'Donnell got the part because Leo I feel was destined for better things. Because Schumacher's style is quite a bit different from Tim Burton's, "Batman Forever" almost feels like a reboot but the only reason why this is yet in the same franchise as the Burton films is the presence of Michael Gough and Pat Hingle as Alfred and Commissioner Gordon respectively. Burton has producer credit on this film but it is hard to see his contribution. For screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, this was one of his first movies and he would later make other movies that I love. Multiple Oscar winner Rick Baker did the makeup and as you may have guessed, I love the score by Elliot Goldenthal. It is on my long list of favorite film scores. For example, I love the shot when Batman jumps from the top of the Ritz Gotham. The music really sells the heroic nature of it. As a final note, future Oscar winner John Dykstra supervises the special effects in this movie.

Thanks to "Batman Forever", we have the song "Kiss From a Rose" by Seal. The movie received Oscar nominations for Cinematography and for both sound awards. You can have a lot of fun watching this movie thanks to Jones and Carrey. You would never expect them to star in a film together. There is also a nice balance between drama and camp. In this movie, we get a verbal explanation of the origin of Batman and this is something the first movie did not have. It creates said drama. The subsequent sequel failed because the drama wasn't as sincere, even though it tried. "Batman Forever" is one of my top twenty favorite comic book movies and even though the reboot is more entertaining, I will always remember this movie because it was my first.

4 Stars