Batman Forever (Joel Schumacher, 1995)

Batman Forever (1995) - * (Has Redeeming Facet)

Directed by Joel Schumacher

Written by Akiva Goldsman

Starring Val Kilmer, Nicole Kidman, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, & Chris O'Donnell.

After Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975) opened the doors for summer blockbusters to take over the box-office, one of the earliest summer blockbusters was Richard Donner bringing the comic book character Superman to life in Superman: The Movie (1978). After four Superman movies, the franchise had run out of steam with critics and audiences. Distributing company Warner then chose to bring DC's other major superhero to life - and that became Tim Burton's Batman (1989).

The sequel to Burton's 1989 film, Batman Returns, was deemed too dark for kids and thus Warner made sure its third film would be made for a broader audience. Batman 3, released as Batman Forever, captured Warner's dream of being a huge financial success. That is until the next Batman film drowned at the box office and made the franchise lay doormat for eight years (why is it always the 4th entry that is the killer here?)

So where does Batman Forever rank up in terms of artistic merit? My favourite critic, Jonathan Rosenbaum, said that  he couldn't even tell the difference between the McDonald's advertisement for the film and the actual movie itself. Considering the movie opens up to Batman telling his butler that he'll get drive-through to eat, it's easy to agree with Rosenbaum here.

Batman Forever has Val Kilmer stepping in the shoes of the Dark Knight, who brings the same prestige that Michael Keaton brought to the role. Nicole Kidman is the femme-fatale of the film, who is surprisingly one of the highlights of the film. I initially expected her to be nothing but a James Bond-esque woman who is only on the film for eye-candy. But her role as the psychiatrist opens the doors to the first villain of the film...Two-Face. Portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones, Two-Face is a insane split personality criminal out to get Batman.

When I think of multiple personalities in film, I tend to think of Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). If you seen the film, you know why...and if you haven't, you better rent that film as soon as possible and give it a watch. Two-Face only role is to play an emulation of Jack Nicholson's role in Tim Burton's Batman (1989), and falls short of having any conflicting traits. The other villain, The Riddler (Jim Carrey), aspires to become the smartest man by draining people's minds via TVs. The Riddler is perhaps the more believable villain with a better goal, after all, TV does rot your brains. But even The Riddler is only brought to life by a Jim Carrey performance that emulates every other Jim Carrey performance of that era.

Batman Forever also brought Robin to the big screen, who wants to aid Batman after Two-Face kills his parents. Batman however is against Robin wanting to get revenge on Two-Face, as he believes that "killing wont take the pain away" and that revenge was not the answer. The social commentary would be the redeeming facet of the film, but even that one is defeated by the fact that Batman ends up killing Two-Face himself. I wonder if perhaps it was Batman himself who suffered from multiple personality disorder?

Personally, I would like to see a Batman Forever re-cut. My re-cut would include turning the film into black and white (thus getting rid of the neon colours), removing Two-Face/Robin, and reinserting the scene where Batman has an amnesia and remembers why he became Batman. Sure, the result may be wacky, but I'd still want to watch it.