Very sad news.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/01/movies/val-kilmer-dead.html
Sad to hear it. RIP, Val.
I feared this day would come. Val was a charismatic actor and yes, a good Batman and Bruce Wayne. BF played a big part in my early Batman fandom and I'll continue to enjoy the film long into the future. RIP.
Poor Val. And just a few months before Batman Forever's 30th anniversary.
He was a terrific actor. It's only in recent years that I've fully come to appreciate just how talented he was. There are so many memorable performances I could highlight, but for now here are just a few.
Top Secret (1984)
I don't think this movie's on a par with the earlier Zucker-Abrahams comedies like Airplane or Naked Gun, but it has its moments. The highlight of the film is Kilmer's energetic performance as Nick Rivers. Val performed his own song and dance sequences and even released an album in character as Rivers. This isn't a great movie, but it's worth watching if only to see Val briefly share the screen with Peter Cushing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xeyjb21auxc
Willow (1985)
I think this must have been the first film I saw Val in when I was a child, before Batman Forever came out. It hasn't aged terribly well, and the Disney+ series didn't do its legacy any favours, but I still enjoy the final act. The excitement ramps up for the denouement and there's a satisfying battle scene where Kilmer gets to showcase his action hero skills.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmE7GD1qUN8
Top Gun (1986)
Val's best action movie of the eighties. He made a great foil for Tom Cruise and together they gave us one of the best rivals-turned-friends relationships of the decade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s-a1vp4LLk
The Doors (1991)
I'm not a fan of this film, or the band it's based on, but there's no denying that Kilmer gives a tour de force performance as Jim Morrison. Once again, he showcases his musical talent and performs several songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJu9nfVCQmk
Tombstone (1993)
I've seen many comments over the years from people saying that Kilmer should have got an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Doc Holliday, and I'm inclined to agree. Tombstone, while very good, is not Kilmer's best film, but it arguably contains his best screen performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfgQWvhu8s4
Heat (1995)
Michael Mann's magnum opus. This movie is a 10/10 masterpiece, plain and simple. It's one of the greatest crime dramas ever made, and one of the best films of the nineties. Heat has aged extremely well. If for any reason you haven't seen this film, go watch it now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrUPO0YO7Xk
Batman Forever (1995)
Anyone who's seen the extended cuts knows what a good Batman Kilmer was. If you've only seen the theatrical cut, you've only seen part of his performance. Now more than ever, we need an official release of the Schumacher Cut.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOxFMEtLjtg
The Prince of Egypt (1998)
Another masterpiece and the only other Kilmer movie besides Heat that I'd rate a perfect 10/10. I consider this one of the last truly great American animated feature films. Kilmer doesn't perform the songs, but he delivers a very human portrayal of Moses, tempering confidence with humility, strength with compassion. He also provides the voice of God, echoing Charlton Heston's dual performance in The Ten Commandments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3829oXRaIAY
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
I'm so glad Val got to make one last classic film before he passed away. There are precious few films of the 2020s that I've really enjoyed and wanted to re-watch, and this is one of them. The Iceman scenes, while brief, are incredibly moving. I imagine the emotional impact of those scenes will have multiplied considerably in light of Val's death.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQwgBBebq3E
There are other movies I could mention – True Romance, The Saint, Red Planet, Deja Vu and more – but I'll leave it there for now. In the coming weeks I'll try to catch up on more Kilmer movies I've yet to see. I'm particular keen to watch Thunderheart (1992) and Val (2021).
Rest in peace.
(https://i.postimg.cc/SR7C4J7c/05ea489a8d35a63bd01dc2b96716e8a9.jpg)
(https://i.redd.it/now-that-the-dceu-is-over-and-batman-is-probably-going-to-v0-w58dz4r18t6d1.gif?width=540&auto=webp&s=10a01a10e181ad78ecc79237d6622eb1e71dd46b)
Took me forever (no pun intended) to come around on Val as Batman, but I'm glad I did it while he was still here. Adored him in The Ghost and the Darkness, The Saint, At First Sight, Red Planet, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Déjà Vu, and so many others. He was a guy who deserved a renaissance as much as any actor ever has and I'm sorry that his final years were marked by ill health. Godspeed, Mr. Kilmer... I'll ask the commissioner to leave the signal on tonight...just in case.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GngmhTebcAA3j7f?format=jpg&name=large)
Nicely and eloquently stated, GK.
Here's a video that's a touching tribute to Val.
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/AWaMWN7XXS4?feature=share
Kilmer's Batman was introspective and haunted with a particular loneliness about him. That seems to be have been a real quality of the man himself. In his 2020 memoir, I'm Your Huckleberry, he wrote, "I haven't had a girlfriend in 20 years. The truth is I am lonely part of every day." Kilmer also said he saw himself as as a sensitive, intelligent human being, but with the soul of a clown. He was intense on set and lived his own way, which I respect. There's a lot I can relate with. I think viewings of BF and Heat are in order.