What do you actually LIKE from the Schumacher films?

[DocLathropBrown]

Also, during the news report on GNN recounting the moment Harvey got scarred, if you listen to the newscaster when they cut away to see Bruce's reaction (great moment from Kilmer, he's watching the footage of his failure to save Harvey from that event and he looks very distraught at seeing it again), you hear the newscaster say "Dent's left-brain damage transformed him..."

According to About.com in an article about the brain's hemispeheres (take it as you will, this is just spitballing)...

The Left Brain

The left-side of the brain is considered to be adept at tasks that involve logic, language and analytical thinking. The left-brain is often described as being better at:

Language
Logic
Critical thinking
Numbers
Reasoning

(Found here: http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/a/left-brain-right-brain.htm)

Hmmmm.... if he did indeed take any damage to the left side of his brain, it explains his need for the coin to reason and think critically. The coin has taken the place of his reasoning about the most serious tasks. And numbers, huh? 2 is a number!

Now, valid? Not really. If the acid managed to get through to his brain, he'd be dead. But it shows even more that the Batchelors thought deeply about Two-Face's psychology as well. Or perhaps physiology.

[BatmAngelus]

Great points.

This also reminds me that this Two-Face's makeup was a little more traditional and in line with most comic art, too.  We didn't see bone.  It was one uniform color.  And he had the wild discolored hair on his scarred side.  I loved the look of Eckhart's Two-Face, but again, there's a lot more of the traditional Two-Face in Forever, which gets ignored in most discussions these days when people mostly just complain about Tommy Lee Jones.

[thecolorsblend]

I'm willing to overlook a lot of stuff when it comes to the Two Face makeup. I don't think mo-cap was even technology possible back when Forever was in production... and honestly, I don't think it's necessarily a good effect to use on the character. Acid burns wouldn't necessarily go all the way to the bone. He just wouldn't be as fvcked up as that. Yes yes, Nolan's version was burned with fire, not acid, but there it is. Point is though that the Jones Two Face was more in line with the comics and more in line with the "reality" of how Two Face ought to look in my opinion.

Speaking of which, the prosthetic and makeup effects were cutting edge at the time and hold up really well today. Jones could be expressive while still remaining visibly disfigured. I'm sure it was an incredible pain in the neck to go through that laborious makeup process each morning but the end result was a top notch, very high quality effect.

[The Laughing Fish]

This should be controversial but some guy on another site listed his reasons about why he prefers Schumacher than Nolan:

Joel Schumacher's Batman: 6 Things He Did Better Than Nolan
http://whatculture.com/film/joel-schumachers-batman-6-things-he-did-better-than-nolan.php#45Dxcdla2tjLskTK.99

It's a long post so here is an excerpt of his reasoning:

Schumacher's Batman films were far from perfect but they don't deserve half the hate they receive. If people were to step back and take the Bat blinkers off they would see that both Schumacher Batman films have their strengths as well as their weaknesses. Since we never hear about anything but weaknesses, I've chosen to highlight 6 things that I believe Joel Schumacher did right in adapting Batman for the big screen, and 6 things that consequently make him a better Batman director than Christopher Nolan.
Read more at http://whatculture.com/film/joel-schumachers-batman-6-things-he-did-better-than-nolan.php#45Dxcdla2tjLskTK.99

Some of his reasons include:

He Cast Jim Carrey As The Riddler
If I may say so, Carrey took the role of The Riddler and knocked it out the of park. Yes, he did bring his trademark rubber-faced humor to the role but, contrary to popular opinion, I don't see that as such a bad thing. After all, isn't the Riddler considered to be one of the more jokey character in Batman's rouge gallery (he does tell riddles after all)? And yes, I know he's supposed to be a psycho (although technically his diagnosis is that of extreme obsessive compulsive disorder) but I ask you, what form of psychosis is not without a little bit of humor? It has always been my observation that crazy equals funny.

I'm not the biggest fan of Carrey in the role (like I was when I was younger, although there were a few scenes that I still like), but he makes a valid point about humor being important to a character like the Riddler. Which is why I enjoyed the Riddler panicking when Batman outsmarts him the Arkham games.

He Cast Val Kilmer As Bruce Wayne/Batman

Okay, I know I said I wasn't crazy about Kilmer's performance, but the reasons the author expresses make sense. Especially when you compare Kilmer and Bale, the former doesn't embarrass himself more than the latter.

The Final Shots Of Batman Forever And Batman And Robin

He regards the closing shots of both Schumacher movies capture the essence of Batman, compared to Nolan.

Amongst other things includes how he liked Uma Thurman's campy Poison Ivy (I can't agree with  that ), he favors the Goldenthaal score than Zimmer's (which I might have agreed with him but I really do like TDKR's music), and the "Holy Rusted Metal" remark for its humor and homage to the '60s show.

Overall, not a terrible observation, although I'm still not a fan of either director's take on Batman.

[thecolorsblend]

^ The above is more evidence for my theory that the geek culture is starting to turn against Nolan. He pushed his luck with TDKRises and it looks like fanboys are starting to catch on. One article may not change anybody's mind; the important of it is that it serves kind of as a barometer of where fan culture is going. I don't think geek sentiment going forward will be kind to the Nolan legacy.

Meanwhile, Burton and particularly Schumacher are the beneficiaries of that. It is undeniable that they are and have been gaining new currency in the past year or two. It may take more years yet but I now truly believe B&R will find some level of acceptance among fans. "Flawed but fun" may be the final verdict... which is a huge step up from the prevailing fan sentiment since 1997.

Either way, good find. Thanks for posting.

[DocLathropBrown]

Just popping in because I watched BF again, and decided to look at the opening fight (Batman Vs. Two-Face's thugs) again in slow motion, and was blown away.

Now, I'm unable to post screen grabs but if you do as I did and go frame-by-frame on that opening fight (assuming you've got an HDTV and the Blu-ray), you'll see that Val Kilmer did that entire fight himself, aside from (maybe) the spin kick that's viewed from above. Anyone familiar with Val's lips (he actually kind of has distinctly shaped lips) will be able to tell that it IS him. As I said, it's him in every shot.

I only thought about this because when you do the same for any of the other 3 films of that bunch, you can see it isn't the lead guy. Keaton does some cool insert shots in BR and the whole Catwoman fight himself, but otherwise it was plainly Dave Lea. Not only is the opening BF fight the best Batman movie brawl to-date (IMO), but it's also the most complex and that only gives me more joy out of Kilmer's performance to know he put in that much work.

[Edd Grayson]

I like most of Batman Forever, and Poison Ivy's costumes form Batman & Robin.

[thecolorsblend]

Just popping in because I watched BF again, and decided to look at the opening fight (Batman Vs. Two-Face's thugs) again in slow motion, and was blown away.

Now, I'm unable to post screen grabs but if you do as I did and go frame-by-frame on that opening fight (assuming you've got an HDTV and the Blu-ray), you'll see that Val Kilmer did that entire fight himself, aside from (maybe) the spin kick that's viewed from above. Anyone familiar with Val's lips (he actually kind of has distinctly shaped lips) will be able to tell that it IS him. As I said, it's him in every shot.

I only thought about this because when you do the same for any of the other 3 films of that bunch, you can see it isn't the lead guy. Keaton does some cool insert shots in BR and the whole Catwoman fight himself, but otherwise it was plainly Dave Lea. Not only is the opening BF fight the best Batman movie brawl to-date (IMO), but it's also the most complex and that only gives me more joy out of Kilmer's performance to know he put in that much work.

I always thought the bit where Batman tosses Two Face's thug into the electrocuting thug was a stunt double by the shape of his chin and lips. That was Kilmer too? Wowzers, I always respected him but it might have doubled just now...

[DocLathropBrown]

I always thought the bit where Batman tosses Two Face's thug into the electrocuting thug was a stunt double by the shape of his chin and lips. That was Kilmer too? Wowzers, I always respected him but it might have doubled just now...

Well to be fair, if it's a shot where you can't see his chin it could easily not be him; unconfirmable. But every spot where you can see his face there, I can attest that it is indeed him. The low angle shot when he finishes the roundhouse kick (the one shown from above) appears not to be him, but every other move (even the complex bit where Batman hooks his leg around a thug's shoulder and topples him) was Kilmer!

Shame he didn't do the fight at the Nygmatech party though. You can easily see it ain't him. Aside from the crash landing and backflip, he could have done all that, so I think that fight was maybe shot second unit, so Val was elsewhere?

[The Dark Knight]

I'll have to watch this scene again later. I have always liked it. The goons spraying lead into the elevator only for Batman to appear and kick their ass. For it to be Val for a solid portion of that would be impressive. The electric gadget is pretty cool too. That's the type of thing I like to see Batman use. Something innovative and not boring.