Chad’s Grade: C+
Acclaimed director Tim Burton took the Batman franchise in a dark and strange direction with his 1992 sequel “Batman Returns.” Sadly, the creative gamble did not pan out as the highly anticipated follow-up to the 1989 original produced subdued box office receipts and polarized fans and critics. Also, Tim Burton’s more strange auteur tendencies threatened many of the licensing and merchandising deals lining the studio’s coffers.
Burton was developing a third entry entitled “Batman Continues,” focusing on the Riddler and a return of Michelle Pfeiffer’s fan favorite Catwoman. The director met with Robin Williams to star and wanted to introduce teen sidekick Robin to the franchise. But Warner Bros. mandated a lighter and more colorful tone for the new caped crusader, and Burton withdrew as a director but stayed on as a producer.
Warner Bros. eventually hired Joel Schumacher to helm the franchise. The stylish director of the vampire thriller “The Lost Boys” and the gothic ghost story “Flatliners” seemed like he would be a good fit for the Dark Knight mythos. But Schumacher took the more colorful mandate to heart and produced a mismatched tone of the campy 60’s TV series and the edgy gothic atmosphere of the first two Burton entries.
“Batman Forever” drops us right into the action as the caped crusader battle two villains, Two-Face and the Riddler. Once the city’s trusted D.A., Harvey Dent blames Batman for the court accident that mutilated half his body, resulting in a mad split personality calling themselves Two-Face, unleashing a wave of terror on the citizens of Gotham. When Two-Face attacks a traveling circus on T.V., murdering Dick Grayson’s acrobatic family, he catches the attention of disgruntled Wayne Industries scientist Edward Nygma. The crazy scientist begins to call himself “The Riddler” as he leaves Bruce Wayne threatening cryptic riddles.
As an act of compassion, Bruce Wayne takes in the surviving Grayson as his ward, hoping to temper the young man’s rage against Two-Face for the murder of his family. Wayne also catches the eye of the sultry Dr. Chase Meridian; a clinical psychologist brought in to help with the Two-Face case. But romance must wait as The Riddler teams up with Two-Face to build a device that drains viewers’ brain waves while watching TV, giving Nygma God-like powers. After they capture Dr. Meridian and threaten to out Bruce Wayne as Batman, the Dark Knight springs into action, with the help of Grayson as his sidekick Robin, to save the day and bring order back to Gotham City.
This is a ridiculous plotline worthy of a Saturday morning cartoon, and the over-the-top dialogue undercuts any dramatic potential. This is what happens when movie executives interfere with creative decisions, and you can feel the merchandising department pushing Schumacher to go bigger so they can sell more playsets and action figures. It’s a shame as there are a couple of interesting ideas here, like Edward Ngyma as a media-savvy Elon Musk figure, that is never fleshed out. And reportedly, Two-Face was a last-minute script addition, and it shows as Two-Face never moves the plot forward and competes with the more interesting Riddler.
Schumacher assembled an impressive A-List cast, and it’s a grab bag of various acting styles that never quite gel. And onscreen, everyone has ramped up their performance to the max. Tommy Lee Jones is a miscast Two-Face who gives such a one-note performance that it’s embarrassing to watch. The more exciting villain is Jim Carrey’s Riddler, mixing Frank Gorshin’s campy TV take with his hyper-manic Ace Ventura persona. Decked out in the traditional green suit with bowler hat and cane, Carrey’s performance is a cartoon character brought to life. I did enjoy Nicole Kidman’s horny psychiatrist Chase Meridian whose sexy double entendre dialogue is fun, and the actress understands the hyper-stylized wavelength that Joel Schumacher is operating on.
Ironically, Val Kilmer’s Batman and Chris O’Donnell’s Robin/Dick Grayson give you a reason to watch this cinematic mess. Both actors are subtle islands in a sea of excess. Kilmer is a dashing Bruce Wayne, and it’s a shame he was handed such a terrible script as he’s capable of many shades of grey. And in his first high-profile role, O’Donnell shines as Batman’s sidekick Robin, whose introduction is handled well. They thankfully played the character older with a bit of an edge, and O’Donnell brings a boyish charm that easily matches Kilmer’s darker sensibilities. The pair share natural chemistry; their scenes are the film’s most heartfelt.
Director Schumacher is often blamed for putting nipples on the bat suit, but his visual flourishes bring a new dynamic to the franchise. The close-ups on Two-Face’s scratched coin or the green Riddler question mark coloring the bat signal hint at the possibilities if he had a better script. He dips the monochromatic grey of Burton’s gothic style in a bath of neon technicolor, and the results are impressive. In the film’s best sequence, where Two-Face attacks the circus and kills Robin’s family, Schumacher stages the action like Vincent Minelli directing a classic MGM musical. There’s a theatrical relish to each shot that imbue this Gotham City with new energy.
“Batman Forever” carries over the circus funhouse vibe from the previous Burton-directed entries featuring over-the-top villains and hyper-staged action beats. Where Burton genuinely cared for his grotesque creations, giving them a beating heart, no one in Schumacher’s version is taking anything seriously. The actors overplay their characters and collect their paychecks. While Schumacher brings a circus showman flair to the proceedings, it’s an empty carnival filled with sugary cotton candy calories. During the climactic battle, Robin blurts out, “Holy rusted metal, Batman!” you can feel the franchise crumble.
Yet the new direction worked, and “Batman Forever” breathed new life into the franchise improving on “Batman Returns” box office, grossing a domestic $184 million and $336 million worldwide. The film significantly boosted the profiles of Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, and Chris O’Donnell. And for Warner Bros executives, the merchandise and licensing deals were through the roof. Batman Forever, indeed.
THE WAYNE FACTOR:
Reportedly, after Burton declined to direct the new film, Michael Keaton decided to bow out of the Batcave. The actor was tired of playing the superhero character and did not like Schumacher’s planned lighter version.
Val Kilmer was an interesting casting replacement, and fans were happy with the choice. Kilmer was the “Roger Moore” to Keaton’s “Sean Connery” and played the role with a slicker, more charming tone. And he’s more comfortable with the Bruce Wayne persona vs. the Dark Knight vigilante. But like his predecessors, he’s outshined by the villains and O’Donnell’s Robin. While Michael Gough as Alfred and Pat Hingle’s Commissioner Gordon return, creating the only continuity with the earlier films, their relationship with Bruce Wayne/Batman is nonexistent.
THOSE WONDERFUL TOYS:
Another disappointment is the terrible redesign of the Batmobile. Gone are the sleek, gothic curves, replaced by an ugly neon rib cage body with enormous fins. Where the Burton Batmobile was like a steel rocket, this new look is a rickety plastic toy. This is hands down the worst Batmobile of the franchise.
The climactic battle does feature a new Batwing and Batboat, but both have the ugly redesign of the new Batmobile. Ditto for the Batcave, which retains its boring cave structure. However, the rising spinning platform that houses the Batmobile is a nice touch.
GOTHAM CENTRAL:
Schumacher’s Gotham City keeps the German expressionistic feel on a much larger scale. The many statues are now skyscraper size, and the tall structures are gargantuan. The new Gotham is an eternal city with an explosion of unsafe bridges and walkways. It’s gorgeous to look at but doesn’t work on a practical scale. And there’s a heavy dose of neon lighting reminiscent of “Blade Runner.” The emerging CGI technology replaced the impressive model work from the previous entries, giving Gotham a bigger and more cartoon-like tone.