Batman Forever
Dir: Joel Schumacher
1995
**
Initially, Joel Schumacher didn't seem like such a bad choice of replacement after Tim Burton made it clear he was done with the Batman franchise. He'd made some pretty good movies, including The Lost Boys, Flatliners, and Falling Down. All are entertaining thrillers with a darker side to them. The problem that became clear after the film's release is that he had absolutely no idea who or what Batman really is. Batman Returns was deemed too dark by the studio who received many complaints by angry parents. Schumacher's job was to make it a bit more family friendly and a little lass darker. It is fair to say that Warner Bros. are just as much to blame as him for the woeful end result. Schumacher thought he was making his version of Batman but the reality was that he was simply mixing Burton's Batman with Adam West's Batman. I'm not sure Bob Kane's Batman is anywhere to be seen. The story is nothing special but could have worked given the right treatment. It's certainly not one of the main problems with the film. Schumacher's visual changes are nothing short of awful. I'm not sure anything really needed changing, the company who made the Toys would disagree but there was still no need to give Batman nipples or mess with the Batmobile. If you have to change it then do it properly, H.R. Giger designed an amazing Batmobile but it was deemed 'too sinister' by the studio. One of many ridiculous mistakes. The other big mistakes were the cast. Keaton walked out of loyalty to Burton, only Michael Gough's Alfred linked the three films together, so in many respects we should all consider Schumacher's Batman films as separate films to Burton's. I dislike Jim Carry immensely, in 1995 he was at the height of his annoying success. Tommy Lee Jones was pretty good as Two-Face Harvey but again, I would have liked to have seen Billy Dee Williams in the role.Nicole Kidman's performance was forgettable and Chris O'Donnell's Robin was poorly written, making it feel quite unnecessary, just as Burton said it would. Val Kilmer was a great Bruce Wayne but was a far cry from Keaton's Batman. Keaton was never a Batman like Reeves was Superman but Kilmer was a poor replacement. Essentially, Batman was dumbed down for people it wasn't originally made for. It is regarded by most as a complete failure and it still angers Bat-fans but the sad truth is that it made a ton of money for the studio. It's a perfect example of what is so wrong with Hollywood.