Review of Batman Forever

Introduction

After two movies with Tim Burton at the helm and Michael Keaton donning the Batman costume, Batman Forever had the directing reins passed to Joel Schumacher and Val Kilmer becoming the caped crusader. I have very mixed feelings about this, the third film in the Batman franchise. Commercialism and kitsch has crept in, diluting the dark vision as developed by Tim Burton, but in Val Kilmer, there is an actor more suited to playing Batman, if only by the fact that he isn`t Michael Keaton.

Batman Forever starts in the midst of a crime-wave perpetrated by Harvey `Two-Face` Dent (Tommy Lee Jones). He`s robbing the 2nd Bank of Gotham when Batman decides to crash the party, foiling the heist. Harvey gets away, vowing revenge. The next day, Bruce Wayne visits his electronics division and meets an employee, Edward Nigma (Jim Carrey) who wants to develop a brain-wave machine. Bruce Wayne doesn`t agree, and cans the project, much to Nigma`s distress. He also vows revenge. Later at the Gotham Circus, Bruce Wayne takes police psychologist, Chase Meridian (Nicole Kidman) for a night out, when Two-Face bursts in with a big bomb, demanding Batman appear or there will be mass mayhem. The daring trapeze artists, The Flying Graysons save the day and dispose of the bomb, but all but one are killed, the survivor, Dick Grayson (Chris O`Donnell). Bruce Wayne takes the tragic orphan in but Grayson vows revenge on Two-Face. By now, Nigma has developed his machine so he can grow smart on other people`s brain waves and he markets this as interactive entertainment. He adopts the moniker, The Riddler and teams up with Two-Face in an attempt to kill the Batman once and for all. Facing them are Batman and his new partner Robin in an explosive climax at the Riddler`s island.

Video

With a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer, you should expect a half decent picture, and that is what you get, half decent. The transfer is competently enough done, with no glaring problems. For such a dark movie, all the action is well presented and image clear. The film shows a little sign of age, with scratches and blips apparent in a few scenes, but nothing of consequence. However while the picture is clear and the colours are strong, you get the feeling that the image isn`t quite sharp enough. The picture seems to be a compromise between VHS and a decent DVD. It`s definitely an improvement over video though.

Audio

Sound is a DD 5.1 track. This is competently done, despite some misgivings about the music (see conclusion), everything sounds clear and where it should be. Sometimes it`s hard to hear what the characters, especially Two-Face are saying, but I had that problem in the cinema as well. It`s probably the tendency for action movies to emphasise explosions and crashes over dialogue. I still like the U2 tune "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" though.

Features

The only special features on this disc are some filmographies for the main cast. Besides that there is nothing to speak of. To tell the truth, I wouldn`t really like any extra topping on this particular pizza. Deleted scenes and commentaries would be a case of making a silk purse out of a sow`s ear.

Conclusion

I could never accept Michael Keaton as a plausible Batman. I always saw him as a comedian first, not a superhero and Val Kilmer is far more suitable in the rubber cape. He`s got the stone-face down pat and is enough of a cipher that you project your own expectations onto his portrayal of the superhero. It`s a shame then, that he made this movie and not the first two. Chris O`Donnell is adequate as the rebellious Dick Grayson, but he just looks too old to be the orphan he`s supposed to be. It just doesn`t seem plausible that he needs to be made a ward of Bruce Wayne. Nicole Kidman plays the sultry Chase Meridian, who seems to throw herself at Batman at every opportunity. To say her role is shallow and two-dimensional is an understatement. Think Bond-girl and you get an idea of her importance to the plot. Jim Carrey gurns and gestures inanely as The Mask, I mean The Riddler. Tommy Lee Jones laughs maniacally and mutters inaudibly as Two-Face. Thank God for Michael Gough who provides some class and style as the butler Alfred. The characters are more comic than ever and pale shadows of the depth of characters created by Michelle Pfeiffer and Jack Nicholson in the previous films.

The story is ridiculous and not worth following. There are so many plot holes that it`s better just to watch the action and set pieces. The narrative is disjointed and the motivations of the characters never fully explored. Tim Burton`s Gotham was a masterpiece of design and glorious to look at. At least this remains in this film and the gothic sets hark back to the original films. Unfortunately, director Schumacher has decided to use twisty camera angles, leaving the viewer with a crick in the neck. It`s pointless and harks back to the Adam West Batman TV series, you half expect Zap! and Pow! bubbles to appear during the action. The same problem exists with the orchestrated music. It sounds more comic than before and doesn`t suit this Batman character at all. The commercialisation of the franchise means that there are costume changes aplenty for the characters, the film has more gadgets than a Bond movie, car, boat, plane and sub. So what`s to like about the movie? As I said, Val Kilmer is better suited to Batman than anyone before or since and despite the dismal story and gaping plot-holes, you can sit down and just watch it as mindless fluff. It makes for great eye-candy and you can always console yourself that it`s not Batman and Robin.

Batman Forever. If you`ve two hours to kill and absolutely nothing better to do, you could do worse than this film. It`s mindless action and fun. You have a pretty decent Batman, and some fun stunts and pretty things to look at. Just don`t expect subtleties of plot, or Oscar winning performances.