Batman Forever (1995)

Batman must battle Two-Face and The Riddler with help of an amourous psychologist and a young circus acrobat who becomes his sidekick, Robin.

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writers:

Bob Kane (characters), Lee Batchler (story),

Stars:

Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Val Kilmer	...	Batman / Bruce Wayne
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Two-Face / Harvey Dent
Jim Carrey	...	Riddler / Dr. Edward Nygma
Nicole Kidman	...	Dr. Chase Meridian
Chris O'Donnell	...	Robin / Dick Grayson
Michael Gough	...	Alfred Pennyworth
Pat Hingle	...	Commissioner James Gordon
Drew Barrymore	...	Sugar
Debi Mazar	...	Spice
Elizabeth Sanders	...	Gossip Gerty
Rene Auberjonois	...	Dr. Burton
Joe Grifasi	...	Bank Guard
Philip Moon	...	Male Newscaster
Jessica Tuck	...	Female Newscaster
Dennis Paladino	...	Crime Boss Moroni

Storyline

The Dark Knight of Gotham City confronts a dastardly duo: Two-Face and the Riddler. Formerly District Attorney Harvey Dent, Two-Face incorrectly believes Batman caused the courtroom accident which left him disfigured on one side; he has unleashed a reign of terror on the good people of Gotham. Edward Nygma, computer-genius and former employee of millionaire Bruce Wayne, is out to get the philanthropist; as The Riddler he perfects a device for draining information from all the brains in Gotham, including Bruce Wayne's knowledge of his other identity. Batman/Wayne is/are the love focus of Dr. Chase Meridan. Former circus acrobat Dick Grayson, his family killed by Two-Face, becomes Wayne's ward and Batman's new partner Robin the Boy Wonder.

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Plot Keywords:

gotham | circus | acrobat | acid | psychologist | 

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Taglines:

Courage now, truth always....

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Fantasy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for strong stylized action

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [us]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 June 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Batman 3

Filming Locations:

ARCO Refinery, Carson, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£4,703,430 (UK) (14 July 1995)

Gross:

£19,703,349 (UK) (15 September 1995)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Before appearing in this film, Nicole Kidman appeared in My Life opposite previous Batman Michael Keaton. She has since worked with all the subsequent live-action Batmans: George Clooney in The Peacemaker, and Christian Bale in The Portrait of a Lady. In Rabbit Hole she works with subsequent Two-Face actor Aaron Eckhart, and in Bewitched she works with Michael Caine, who also played Alfred the same year in Batman Begins.

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Goofs

When Batman cuts the chain holding the bank vault, the holes where the "breakaway" link was put together are briefly visible.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Alfred Pennyworth: Can I persuade you to take a sandwich with you, sir?
Batman: I'll get drive-thru.

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Crazy Credits

Unlike the two Batman films that came before, this one actually plays most of the opening credits over the opening action scene of the movie (the earlier two films had a dedicated opening credits scene.)

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Connections

Featured in Atop the Fourth Wall: The Dark Knight Strikes Again Part 2 (2010)

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Soundtracks

"There Is A Light"
Lyrics by Nick Cave
Performed by Nick Cave
Courtesy of Mute Records

User Reviews

Hit and miss

Batman Forever is a big time hit and miss effort. At times it's fast hitting, funny, vivid and interesting and at times the humor and dialogue are beyond hope, the action is too silly and the characters are too shallow. The scenery is also hit and miss, running from nicely colored for a change to completely garish. I love Val Kilmer but he's completely dull as Batman, continuing the trend in the series of making the title character the dullest character in the movie. Jim Carrey as the Riddler is allowed to swing all over the place emotionally and is actually outstanding at times in a role that he's made for. His character is scripted as strangely feminine and there are times when he comes off as being incredibly creepy but he takes the part and runs with it. Tommy Lee Jones as Two Face is a major disappointment, not because of Jones but because his role is shallow, stereotypical and completely uninteresting. The psychopathic edge of Two Faces personality is replaced by a giggling goof who seems to be having just a little too much fun. All the torment that should have gone to his character goes to Carrey's strangely enough. Nicole Kidman as Chase Meridian should also have been interesting as a psychologist paired with Batman should be but she comes off too much as being just a giggling groupie, falling for both Batman and Bruce and calling mentally ill people wackos, something that psychologists never do. Chris O'Donnell as Robin is ok and does a good job of playing his role with whining immaturity. He comes up a little short on the dramatic moments though. The scene where he takes the Batmobile out for a spin is one of the best in the film. The opener is fun, the circus where Robin's parents die is actually done very well and the moments where Bruce opens up to Chase are also interesting. The villains running amok together range from pretty funny to very weird as one starts to question their relationship and the ending is somewhat unfulfilling. Batman Forever is a bridge movie between the dark and good Batman Returns and the horrible Batman and Robin. It's not great, not awful, takes itself much less seriously but entertains pretty well.

6.9/10