DC movies nowadays are considered as the gritty counterpart of the lighter Marvel offerings, but younger fans will be surprised to know that we used to get campy Batman movies back in the day, where Batman Forever was the third offering in this series.
Due to the negative reception of Batman & Robin, the four-part franchise has been retroactively lambasted, but we feel that’s unfair on this movie which has some credible moments of its own. Of course, due to the progression of the superhero genre, a few elements of Batman Forever really haven’t aged well. Some of these were never good to begin with, which leads us to the 5 things that are poor about this film, and 5 that are timeless for various reasons.
Updated by Saim Cheeda on March 22, 2020: The release of Joker has allowed other Batman media to bask in the film’s popularity, which has led to previous movies featuring the superhero to be revisited by fans. While Joker wasn’t present here, the villains in Batman Forever have been compared to him quite a bit.
While it’s easier to poke fun at this movie than to praise it, we’ve still managed to extract a few more positives from it to make your viewing more enjoyable. This has also resulted in more negative aspects to come to light, so read on further to see for yourselves.
Poor: In Comparison With The DCEU
The success of the DC Extended Universe has brought notice over to the earlier installments in the series, with Batman Forever being one of them. Younger fans want to know the live-action depictions of the villains and protagonists here, but the camp factor of the film pales in comparison to the DCEU Batman.
Watching this film make something of a joke out of the generally dark atmosphere of Batman media has the effect of Batman Forever coming across as something of a misstep, and it just can’t hold to the DCEU offerings.
Timeless: Furthering Alfred’s Role
Alfred is easily one of the most beloved figures in all comic book history, but he’s been out of focus over the last decade. The Dark Knight Rises was the last film to give Alfred a meaty role, with the DCEU one only having a minor input.
Watching Batman Forever, though, proves that Alfred is a vital piece to Bruce Wayne’s world. While he’s still in the background for the most part here, Alfred’s frequent advice and presence is a comfort both to Batman and the audience.
Poor: Lack Of Focus On Batman
It was from this film that the original quadrilogy started to really get into putting focus on the villains than Batman himself. A lot of time is wasted setting up The Riddler and Two-Face, with Batman getting glossed over instead.
Ever since The Dark Knight Trilogy made Batman out to be an interesting character who deserved to take center stage, Batman Forever certainly looks poor as it makes the protagonist seem unneeded toward the audience. Now, the villains’ sequence can be considered a bit of a chore to sit through.
Timeless: The Riddler’s Riddles
Sure, these riddles might not have been Grade-A quality, but you can’t deny they definitely were intriguing. On top of that, they also captured Riddler’s characterization as these riddles were more annoying than menacing.
Plus, there’s a sense of satisfaction when a riddle is heard and you happen to know the answer to it without needing to listen to the answer from Batman. Finally, the riddles also have the effect of drawing the viewer in to become involved in the conflict.
Poor: The Overall Negative Perception Of The Original Series
To be fair, Batman Forever is hardly a bad film, and it is quite enjoyable as a superhero flick. However, since Batman & Robin completely destroyed all the credibility from the series, this movie has also faced the brunt of the shame.
For the most part, fans tend to lump up Batman Forever with the ridicule the quadrilogy generally receives, and unfortunately this tag has stuck with it. Over the last two decades, the film’s negative aspects have been more striking than the positives, and the shortcomings of the other three movies also fall on Batman Forever simply for sharing continuity.
Poor: Tommy Lee Jones Playing The Joker
No, we haven’t written that heading wrong, because Tommy Lee Jones really was playing the Joker rather than Two-Face. At the time of the film’s release, Mark Hamill’s fantastic Joker from the DCAU was only gathering steam and – today – that version is considered a masterpiece.
If you compare Hamill’s Joker to Tommy’s Two-Face, you’d think the latter was trying to replicate the former’s performance. Despite there being two personalities to Harvey Dent, Tommy played him off as being totally crazy instead. Now, anyone who watches Batman Forever would figure Tommy got confused over which villain he was supposed to be playing.
Timeless: Jim Carrey Chewing The Scenery
Even though one might argue that Jim was also acting like the Joker at points (and Jared Leto’s Joker certainly seems to copy him), there’s no doubt that his performance really grows on you. His hammy qualities made us laugh in films like Ace Ventura and he brought a hilarious mixture of those performances with the Riddler.
Given the style of direction Joel Schumacher went with, Carrey’s Riddler really was the best kind of villain that could’ve gone with the film. Watching him go crazy with his many puzzles and antics is good enough to hold us for 26 years before The Batman comes about to give us our next film version of the Riddler.
Poor: The Gimmicky Suits
Christopher Nolan’s Batman proved that less can be more with the Dark Knight’s armor, but that didn’t strike Joel Schumacher, whose Batman seemed too rigid to even move his neck. Along with that, we’ll point out the shapely figure of both Batman and Robin’s suits without going too much into specifics.
Worst of all, it clearly looked like Bruce Wayne had to be bolted into the suit rather than it being form-fitting, and the Dark Knight Trilogy’s Batman and his maneuverability has made this version’s suit look way too gimmicky.
Timeless: The First Mainstream Robin
Sure, Robin was portrayed about 30 years earlier in the Batman movie in the 1960s, but that venture has always been seen more as a comedy act rather than a true superhero offering. For this reason, Chris O’Donnell’s version is considered as the first true live-action Robin we’ve seen in film.
While he acts too much like a pretty boy, he does encapsulate the youth and enthusiasm that Robin is known for. The film also did a good job in showing that Batman did indeed require a sidekick by this point, and this version of Robin fits the bill perfectly.
Poor: One Dimensional Love Interest
The Batman tetralogy featured interchangeable love interests who appeared and disappeared with each film, of which Nicole Kidman’s Chase Meridian might be the blandest and most one dimensional.
Her whole characterization hinged upon her being (rather inappropriately at times) obsessed with Batman while also being in love with Bruce Wayne. Now that times have changed drastically and we’ve had female-led franchises become the norm, Chase seems like a throwaway damsel in distress who was inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Not to mention it’s really quite uncomfortable to watch her be so openly attracted to Batman.
Timeless: The Classic Bruce Wayne
Playing Batman isn’t the same as playing Bruce Wayne, and few actors have been able to pull this off very well. Even Christian Bale, who was at the helm for the most famous Batman movies, can’t be considered as the apex Bruce Wayne.
Val Kilmer, though, was perfect in this role, even more than his role as Batman. He oozed the effortless charm that Bruce Wayne is supposed to carry, while also maintaining the kind of stature that makes Bruce a cut above everybody else in terms of sheer class. Kilmer had the suave, cool demeanor – with a penchant for wit – of Bruce nailed down and it’s still one of the best takes on the character.
Poor: Cheesy Comedy
Adding in comedy in superhero movies is something the Marvel Cinematic Universe is mainly known for today, but the earlier Batman films had a heavy reliance on dark humor, which eventually turned into cheesy humor by Batman Forever.
Even scenes involving Batman looked like they were inspired by Roger Moore’s James Bond, where cheesy lines like Batman claiming he would “get drive-thru” along the way on his Batmobile were thrown in. Watching these scenes today would make anyone want to hit their palms into their face as hard as possible; it’s like a bunch of dad jokes were added into your superhero movie.
Timeless: The Final Shot
You can’t help but fanboy over the final shot of the two heroes running in tandem over to their next adventure, as this reminds us of the classic animated series and comic books that made the characters so iconic in the first place.
Even though the aforementioned cheesiness had been in place right before this scene, the ending does hype you up for what’s to follow (don’t hold your breath, though, because it was Batman & Robin) and that’s something every superhero movie should aim for. Today, replaying this scene reminds you how far we’ve come in the genre, and that it was moments like this that set the stage.
Poor: Gothic Soundtrack
The soundtrack was one of the highlights of the film, that is until it went overboard. You can’t go two seconds in scenes featuring Batman without the speakers blaring in your ears, to the point where it starts getting annoying.
There’s also the feeling that the soundtrack was used in such excess to drive home the fact that we were watching a Batman film, which seems like a lazy way to get the viewer interested. The action scenes, in particular, were ruined to an extent due to the gothic soundtrack jumping to life whenever Batman moved an inch.
Timeless: The Batmobile
Just look at that thing of beauty; it’s almost impossible not to pause and admire the Batmobile to this day. While the gothic soundtrack might not have aged well, this version of the Batmobile certainly is timeless because it captures the feel of this Batman universe.
Watching the Batmobile flare up and rev into gear is a total treat that is one of the best parts of Batman Forever. Even the soundtrack doesn’t feel excessive when paired with Batmobile scenes, as the fine work behind bringing the Caped Crusader to the big screen pays off whenever the vehicle shows up during the movie.
