Batman Forever
| Year: | 1995 |
| Studio: | Warner Bros |
| Director: | Joel Schumacher |
| Cast: | Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, Chris O'Donnell, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Drew Barrymore, Debi Mazar, Rene Auberjonois |
The entire Batman franchise was a process of evolution; from Tim Burton's dark, cyberpunk and gargoyle-laced vision to Schumacher's acid trip-inspired neon whirligig in the final tragic chapter.
This instalment sat squarely between them, with some of Burton's darkness but some of Schumacher's head tripping and at least some of the badly mistimed humour and quips that would characterise Clooney's Batman more as a pantomime clown than a deeply conflicted vigilante. Batman quantifying (Kilmer) Chase's (Kidman) attraction to him by saying 'It's the car right, chicks love the car' has to be one of the most misplaced lines ever spoken on film.
There's a lot more story than the dire follow up as we meet Robin (O'Donnell) for the first time. Funnily enough, his crime fighting costume is a similar style to Batman's but it's costume in her circus performing family that's the same as the one worn by Burt Ward in the TV series.
Bringing more iconic bat villains to life is Carrey, tailor made and somehow occasionally dredging up real menace as The Riddler, and Tommy Lee Jones as Two Face, a character I'd never heard of but who was the result of an acid attack on DA Harvey Dent from the first film (played that time by Billy Dee Williams).
Still some action, still some of the psychological darkness of the original spirit as Wayne realises he is Batman not because of an unstoppable compulsion but because of mere choice.
This instalment sat squarely between them, with some of Burton's darkness but some of Schumacher's head tripping and at least some of the badly mistimed humour and quips that would characterise Clooney's Batman more as a pantomime clown than a deeply conflicted vigilante. Batman quantifying (Kilmer) Chase's (Kidman) attraction to him by saying 'It's the car right, chicks love the car' has to be one of the most misplaced lines ever spoken on film.
There's a lot more story than the dire follow up as we meet Robin (O'Donnell) for the first time. Funnily enough, his crime fighting costume is a similar style to Batman's but it's costume in her circus performing family that's the same as the one worn by Burt Ward in the TV series.
Bringing more iconic bat villains to life is Carrey, tailor made and somehow occasionally dredging up real menace as The Riddler, and Tommy Lee Jones as Two Face, a character I'd never heard of but who was the result of an acid attack on DA Harvey Dent from the first film (played that time by Billy Dee Williams).
Still some action, still some of the psychological darkness of the original spirit as Wayne realises he is Batman not because of an unstoppable compulsion but because of mere choice.