The UnPopular Opinion: Batman Forever

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

THE UNPOPULAR OPINION is an ongoing column featuring different takes on films that either the writer HATED, but that the majority of film fans LOVED, or that the writer LOVED, but that most others LOATHED. We're hoping this column will promote constructive and geek fueled discussion. Enjoy!

****SOME SPOILERS ENSUE****

DC Comics adaptations, until recent years, typically focused on Superman and Batman. With the box office success of JOKER, it should reason that we will keep seeing more and more films that center on other heroes and villains from that vast comic book universe. But, looking back at the original films in the Batman big screen franchise, we often overlook the non-Tim Burton sequels to 1989's BATMAN because they are campier and less serious than Michael Keaton's run as the Dark Knight. The first of the Joel Schumacher directed sequels, 1995's BATMAN FOREVER, remains the perfect blend of Tim Burton's dark and noir-ish Gotham City with the technicolor brightness of a comic book come to life. In many ways, BATMAN FOREVER is the template for what Batman should look like on the big screen.

With the departure of Tim Burton, Danny Elfman, and Michael Keaton from the franchise, Warner Bros brought in Joel Schumacher to try and right the ship. With a budget of $100 million, BATMAN FOREVER was nowhere near the violence and sexuality of BATMAN RETURNS but also expertly positioned itself as an avenue for selling toys and tie ins. It also continued the trend of the 1989 Batman franchise where the villains overshadowed the hero, from a casting standpoint. Taking a cue from BATMAN RETURNS, BATMAN FOREVER has two bad guys in the form of Tommy Lee Jones' over the top Two-Face and the zany Jim Carrey at the height of his popularity as The Riddler. Tack on the debut of Robin (played by Chris O'Donnell) and you have a movie that was literally too big to fail.

Nominated for three Academy Awards and generating U2's hit "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" and the now iconic "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal, BATMAN FOREVER gives us Val Kilmer in his one and only performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman. With Nicole Kidman's Dr. Chase Meridian as a love interest, Kilmer gives us a Batman that is as dead serious as Adam West's take in an equally campy universe like the 1960s TV series. BATMAN FOREVER, the film known for giving us nipples on the batsuit, has pure and unadulterated fun with this story. Behind the scenes strife between Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones are legendary now, but what we get on screen is a a focus on the fun. The most serious moments in this film are on par with the dramatic scenes in Tim Burton's films, but when the heroes and villains are in costume, this movie never ceases to throw everything at the screen. It almost always works, too.

BATMAN FOREVER is not designed to be a cinematic achievement or even the best Batman movie. Rather, Joel Schumacher provides enough safe fun here to appeal to younger kids while giving the movie enough edge and sexiness for the adults. Hollywood always strives to balance these qualities in a movie and it rarely adds up to appease fans of the source material, but BATMAN FOREVER is much like the transition from Sean Connery to Roger Moore in the James Bond franchise. Sure, Connery had fun but Roger Moore took the film to another level that would change the trajectory of future sequels. BATMAN AND ROBIN, the polar opposite of 1989's BATMAN, takes things too far for most fans, but BATMAN FOREVER balances the dark and light brilliantly.

While I enjoyed Val Kilmer's more tortured take on Bruce Wayne and even found Chris O'Donnell serviceable as his ward and sidekick, this movie rests on the shoulders of the chemistry between the two. Kilmer and O'Donnell share far more chemistry than Clooney and O'Donnell did in the follow-up film and I cannot see Michael Keaton's take on Batman having worked as well with a sidekick. Nevertheless, BATMAN FOREVER feels more like a reboot than a true sequel since this Bruce Wayne is far different than Burton's. When I first saw this movie in theaters, I was indifferent to Kilmer's performance (especially since you can hear him exhale loudly out of his nose between lines of dialogue. Seriously, turn up your volume and listen for it), but revisiting the film two decades later, I appreciate the pressure of Kilmer's performance and the nuances he added to give the role more dimension, even in the face of two villains who command the screen.

While Tommy Lee Jones' portrayal of Two-Face is possibly the most intensely cheesy villain in comic book movie history, Jim Carrey's Edward Nygma may be my favorite Batman baddie from any of the feature films. Because of his popularity, we get a full origin story for Nygma which allows Carrey to play with the level of his mugging and sarcasm. Carrey has since proven his acting ability, but here he never breaks from playing The Riddler as the most important role of his life. I would imagine that if Carrey were to tackle the role today he would do so very differently, but this Riddler is a product of where Carrey was in the mid-1990s and it helps make BATMAN FOREVER more fun than any movie in the franchise.

While the score is reminiscent of Danny Elfman's instantly recognizable theme, BATMAN FOREVER never takes itself to seriously or realistically. With callbacks to the 1960s series, copious one-liners, and a neon-encrusted take on Gotham City, BATMAN FOREVER holds up better than any of the BATMAN sequels simply because it takes itself out of time and becomes an event unto itself. While Schumacher is not the visionary that either Tim Burton or Christopher Nolan are, he knows how to have fun. BATMAN FOREVER is the embodiment of a fun movie. While it will never compare to the Dark Knight trilogy in cinematic quality, I defy you to find any DC movie that has as much fun existing as BATMAN FOREVER does. I wish we had seen Kilmer return to don the mantle of the Bat at least one more time, but I will enjoy the one we got.