What it did right

[Slash Man]

Batman Forever isn't bad. I said it. It seems like people like to clump it with Batman and Robin without fairly judging it, and dwell on the negative aspects. To me, this movie is a classic in its own right, and does the best it can with the theme given.

Gotham City was given a futuristic overhaul. It's not like the hellish gothic New York style seen in Burton's films, but fits the theme of the movie. The CGI opens it up and makes it seem more vast (having a smaller set was a drawback with 'Returns'). Speaking of which the film uses a lot of early CGI being in '95, but it has aged gracefully. It may stand out a little, but it wasn't overused and doesn't distrupt the film.

Val Kilmer is a great Batman. I think he comes in right behind Keaton, he's got a great bat-voice, and a good build. There's a lot of action sequences, and he puts up an impressive fight. Along with some cool new gadgets, the Batsuit is changed again. This time, it seems to be more influenced on the '89 suit (which is a good thing) but sleaker. Personality-wise, we get to see more of the billionaire-lifestyle of Bruce. I agree with Bob Kane that he was a good casting decision.

The supporting cast was solid as well. The character arc of Riddler was nice as well, he seemed to be the main focus. Meanwhile, Robin is played in a more realistic manner. He is the one who wants vengeance, while Batman isn't ready for a partner. And we see more of Gordon and Alfred, which is good.

The nitpicks are mainly Two-Face. While he does have the split-personality down, he sort of appears out of nowhere, and tends to overact. The rebuilt Batmobile also isn't as sweet as the original, but I can live with it. That's pretty much why I love Batman Forever in a nutshell.

[The Dark Knight]

What I liked about BF:

U2 and Seal bring good music. The score by Goldenthal suits the movie and gives us a hummable main theme.

We get to see Bruce Wayne the businessman inside Wayne Enterprises.

Two-Face's first reveal.

Jim Carrey's performance. I especially enjoy him before donning the green uniform, his "I'll make you understand" stalker mode ands killing Stickley.

Nicole Kidman providing beautiful eye candy.

Bruce getting into the batcave via that secret tunnel under the chair. Logic be damned, I've always liked that.

Michael Gough always delivered the goods as Alfred.

The deleted scenes. I like what they had there. Two-Face's escape, the big bat in the batcave. The Batmobile turning up at the wrong location, etc.

Batman jumping off large buildings (into the batmobile and also jumping into Two-Face's tunnel trap)

Batman using his intellect to some some riddles, even if they are quite simple.

Batman using a range of gadgets - (batarang, batbola, grappling gun, TV on his watch, batarang launcher, goo gun, etc)

Arkham Asylum's design with the dark sky expressionism.

The batcave design was fine.

[thecolorsblend]

U2 and Seal bring good music.

To this day, I really like the Seal song and video. The U2 thing, I can take or leave. But Seal? For some reason, that video epitomizes what that whole summer was all about for me.

Jim Carrey's performance. I especially enjoy him before donning the green uniform, his "I'll make you understand" stalker mode ands killing Stickley.

For some reason, the stalker thing never sunk in with me until this past week as I've gone through my Forever kick. I honestly have no excuse.

The batcave design was fine.

After Forever came out, I remember thinking that if the comics were to permanently adopt that design of the cave, I'd have been fine with it. A lot of Forever designs have held up pretty well and the Batcave is one of them.

That version of the Batmobile is another.

[GBglide]

Bruce's speech about the dangers of killing for revenge.

[greggbray]

The first time I heard the line "you need help, Harvey.  Give it up." I thought to myself---yep, that's Batman.

[thecolorsblend]

The first time I heard the line "you need help, Harvey.  Give it up." I thought to myself---yep, that's Batman.

I like it too... but, and this is nitpicky, I always thought that line had a strange ADR'ish quality to it. It could be production audio for all I know but it just sounds weird to me.

[greggbray]

Could be.

Strictly in terms of Batman-in-costume, I have very few complaints about how Batman is written or portrayed.  Even the goofy line "and now you've devised a way to read men's minds" works with Kilmer's performance, the angle of the shot, etc.  Oh, there are a few exceptions:  The bat-butt, "I'll get drive through," and the whole "are you trying to get under my cape, doctor/the car, right?  Chicks dig the car".  In other words, about 10 seconds in total bug me.

I still have some issues with Kilmer's Wayne--it's inconsistent.  There is some strong work with O'Donnel, but the chemistry with the broader performances isn't there.  He just looks wooden next to Carrey, but I'm not sure how much of that is on kilmer, and how much of that is on Carrey.

As this is the thread of 'what they got right,' I'd say 90% of how Batman is brought to screen is done quite well.

[thecolorsblend]

Strictly in terms of Batman-in-costume, I have very few complaints about how Batman is written or portrayed.  Even the goofy line "and now you've devised a way to read men's minds" works with Kilmer's performance, the angle of the shot, etc.  Oh, there are a few exceptions:  The bat-butt, "I'll get drive through," and the whole "are you trying to get under my cape, doctor/the car, right?  Chicks dig the car".  In other words, about 10 seconds in total bug me.

Yes, let's talk about that. Kilmer makes those lines work. I don't mean he somehow makes them serious and credible. But he delivers them in such a dry way that there's humor to it without an out loud chuckle. You smirk a little but it's not a knee-slapper. I've got the utmost respect for Val Kilmer as a film actor and oddly enough I think Batman Forever does a good job of showing some of his range.

I still have some issues with Kilmer's Wayne--it's inconsistent.  There is some strong work with O'Donnel, but the chemistry with the broader performances isn't there.  He just looks wooden next to Carrey, but I'm not sure how much of that is on kilmer, and how much of that is on Carrey.

I viewed that as Bruce being a chameleon. He's got a lot of his defenses down with Chase when he's Bruce. He takes on a softer tone of voice and speaks a little more slowly. When he's in public, he puts some authority and stiffness into his voice. "You've devised a way to read men's minds" and "it just raises too many questions" vs. basically anything he says to Alfred, Chase or Dick (after he learns the secret).

As this is the thread of 'what they got right,' I'd say 90% of how Batman is brought to screen is done quite well.

Agreed. One thing I've got to Joel props for is the stunts and action sequences. In comics, people jump off buildings, dangle off aircraft, fight dozens of attackers and all kinds of other death-defying BS without breaking a sweat. Schumacher brought all of that across pretty credibly in my opinion. On top of that, he reimagined Gotham City in a stylized and fantastic way that still works for the screen. You could argue the B&R Gotham City was too busy from a design standpoint but the BF Gotham works pretty well with those mixtures of models, CGI and location shooting.

[Batman88]

I like Batman Forever a lot. It definitely is better than Batman & Robin, it's darker and I like that. I like my Batman as dark as possible.

Loved the Batsuit. I have some issues with the whole film, though. "I'll get drive-through" is one of them. And the Batman smiling after meeting with Chase at her apartment, that I hate.

The whole feel of the movie is really good to me, though. Good for a Schumacher-directed Batman film.

[The Dark Knight]

I like Batman Forever a lot. It definitely is better than Batman & Robin

I'm not so sure about that any more.

If you completely turn off your mind and buy into the world of crow-B&R, it's the more honest all out experience.