Batman Forever is a dazzling display of style over substance. The plot is so paint-by-numbers that it barely registers any measure of interest. The characters are pure caricature, with hardly any depth to them whatsoever. Add in singularly amateurish camera movements, chintzy close-ups, bad acting, and a stylized Gotham that is so cartoonish it might as well be a theme-park ride, and you’ve got a film with almost no value whatsoever beyond, perhaps, a tripped out viewing of neon colors and explosions.

To say that this film is abysmal is hardly an understatement. We all know that the follow-up to this picture, Batman & Robin is widely vilified as the movie that brought the Batman film franchise to its knees. What I don’t get, though, is how this film was ever praised to begin with. Sure, it made its share of money when it was released – which is probably B&R got the go-ahead. But if Tim Burton’s Batman Returns brought the franchise to the brink, Batman Forever pushed it over the edge (B&R is the inevitable Wile E. Coyote “thud” as the franchise hits the canyon floor).

Director Joel Schumacher takes the reins in this film and it’s obvious right from the start that the directive was to go with a lighter, more lightweight tale than the dark, creepy Returns. While the decision itself might be debatable, the means by which Schumacher “brightened” the franchise are horribly misplaced. Apparently, Gotham has enough energy, and enough of a sunny disposition, to bask *every* building with brightly colored floodlights, making the whole place something like a kaleidoscope of bright rainbow colors. Methinks Schumacher took the “brighten things up” directive a bit too literally.

Then there are the characters. Tommy Lee Jones, as Two-Face, is all cackle and inane insanity. But he’s nothing more than a shell of Jack Nicholson’s Joker. Worse still, Lee’s Two-Face has a horribly designed half-suit to match his two faces (the disfigured one presented as comically as possible). But the real problem is with both the writing and the performance. Admittedly, Lee isn’t given a whole lot to work with here. But the performance is excruciating to watch. It’s so nonsensical and misguided that it greatly diminishes the film.

But, of course, Tommy Lee Jones has a lot of company in that regard. Jim Carey does a “Jim Carey as The Riddler” routine which was all about being as garrulous and gaudy as possible. Carey’s hyper-kinetic affect can be entertaining in an otherwise bad film (see: The Mask), but here The Riddler is just as much of a distraction and liability as Two-Face. Then there’s Nicole Kidman’s character who seems mindlessly attracted to Batman for no other reason than to undermine the one female role presented in the film. Her motivations are so weak that one has to conclude that she’s just so smitten by a dude in black leather (and a face mask!) that she just cannot help herself.

As for the Dark Knight, Val Kilmer’s turn is somewhere between vanilla and dry toast. He has unemotional responses which are only interrupted by quirky close-up smiles. There’s no gravitas, no sense of inner turmoil or conflict. No character. Whereas Two-Face and the Riddler are overplayed, Batman/Bruce Wayne is horribly restrained.

So what does the film do well?

There are a handful of cornball moments that do elicit some laughs – such as Alfred’s comment that Robin is joyriding in “the car … no, I mean … *the* car.” And there are a couple more laughable moments.  But the legitimate laughs are few and far between. And they certainly aren’t present enough to compensate for the rest of the film’s mistakes.

The only (albeit minor) success was giving Robin, played by Chris O’Donnell, a bit of angst and edge – the result of watching his family die at the hands of Two-Face. But as with everything else, this angle is wasted in favor of style over substance – to the point where Robin literally stumbles into the Batcave.

Overall Grade: D

On the whole, Batman Forever is about as close to failure as a film can get.  There’s no redeemable quality beyond a mindless escapism.  And even in that regard, I can easily think of a whole lot more films which would be more enjoyable to experience.  How this film ever got a pass, let alone achieved success, is beyond me.  The best possible explanation is that it was living off the entrails of Burton’s efforts.  Still, this film is so obviously bad that I cannot fathom how anyone could have possibly praised it … ever.

Batman Forever – Film Review2.051

Topics: Comics, Film Review
Filed under: Batman

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