Batman Forever
 DJ Hufford  rates it:    Community rates it:
   270 of 546 readers found this review helpful.

Ah yes, another entry into the Batman mythos. This version stars Val Kilmer as the caped crusader and stars Chris O’Donnell as the boy wonder. The biggest deviation from the previous Batman chapters is in the direction. It is now helmed by Joel Schumacher rather then Tim Burton. We’ve given up dark and brooding for campy and cheesy. They also felt the need to make anatomically correct Bat suit. Yes, this suit now has defined nipples on the outer shell. Nobody is quite sure why. Add to that the fact that Robin now sports a big ole’ pirate earring and we have all the makings of a spectacular crapfest.

Schumacher wasn’t done destroying the franchise yet however. He had to add an all star cast and give these actors thee worst job of their respective careers. He added Jim Carrey as the Riddler, Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face and threw in Nicole Kidman as a love interest nobody really cared about. The only redeeming factor of the entire cast was they managed to dress up Drew Barrymore in lingerie for about 15 seconds of screen time.

Now the plot itself is just ridiculous. Apparently the Riddler has invented a television converter box, that beams signals directly into and out of the brain. What bothers me about this is that they didn’t even remotely try to make this realistic. It is obvious to anyone with even a fifth grade understanding of physics that this would be impossible. Two Face, being diabolically insane and apparently intellectually stupid, agrees to help the Riddler. Along the way Batman discovers Robin at a circus and trains him in the ways of the bat. It’s all very boring and predictable.

Kilmer himself plays a very poor Batman. His face always has the same stone look on it. His eyes do not hold any intrigue or mystery like Michael Keaton’s did in the same role. This franchise has suddenly become all about flamboyant villains, and the heroes are played as an afterthought. The most interesting thing Robin did in this whole film was the laundry. In a moment straight out of the cheese factory, we see Robin doing laundry and swinging the clothes around like nun chucks and ninja weapons.

I suppose it’s up to me to find even one redeeming quality about this film. If I had to pick one aspect of this that actually made sense, it would be the set designs. They were very gothic and moody and created the perfect environment for a sadistic vigilante. Too bad the rest of the movie was junk. On the DVD cover it boldly states that this film was nominated for 6 Oscars. They were the so called “little” Oscars like set-design and art direction. It amazes me that classics like Pulp Fiction and the 1989 Batman get overlooked by the Academy, yet this craptacular exposition gets nominated. What a joke.

To summarize, this is a movie that should have never been made. It does not follow the spirit of the original creation as inked by Bob Kane. When Tim Burton decided to quit, everyone else should have followed. DC Comics apparently never learned their lesson from the 60’s, that campiness will only take you so far. The only reason this movie did not completely kill the franchise is due to it’s Oscar nod’s, which were uncalled for to begin with. Ohh Warner Bros. why do you torment me with this drivel?

Added:  Thursday, April 19, 2007
[ Did you find this review helpful?  Yes  No ]
[ Back to reviews index ]

Want to comment on this review?
Register here for a free user account, and you'll be able to.