Batman Forever (1995)

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

16 June 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Fantasy | Thriller

Tagline:

Courage now, truth always....

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Batman | Gotham | Acrobat | Circus | Sidekick

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Batman 3 (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for strong stylized action.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:PG (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | UK:12 (video re-rating) (2005) | Brazil:10 | Italy:T | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:6 (re-rating) | South Korea:All | Norway:11 (heavily cut) | Norway:11 (DVD rating) | Norway:15 (Original rating) | Norway:15 (re-rating, cut) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG (cut) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #33850) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:10 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

ARCO Refinery, Carson, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Rene Russo was originally cast to play Dr. Chase Meridian when Michael Keaton was still attached to the project as Batman. However, when Keaton dropped out of the project and was replaced by Val Kilmer, Russo was deemed too old to play his love interest and was replaced by Nicole Kidman.

Goofs:

Continuity: Young Bruce Wayne drops his father's diary when he falls into the cave, but lands with it in hand.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Big Bang Theory: The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary (#3.5)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

8

And now for something completely different

I loved the first two Batman movies, and honestly would have loved to see Burton go on to direct more entries in the series, but Joel Shumacher's Batman Forever is not at all an unwelcome change. I think some people recollect this film and automatically associate it with Shumacher's awful second Batman attempt, Batman & Robin. That is the bad movie. This is not. People also seem to forget how big of a hit it was. Artistically, there were things it got wrong and didn't do as well as the others, but there were things it did so much better, too. For one thing, this is the only 'Batman' with a decent soundtrack to its name (including 2 great songs by U2 and Seal).

In some ways you can look at this as a transition from the dark, tortured Batman to a Batman who has finally conquered his personal demons and gone on to be happier in being a man who fights crime in the night dressed up in rubber. For this one it was good, 'cause that's essentially how it ends, but the result of this led to the campy and just plain boring 4th episode.

But I really was surprised at how psychological of a movie Batman Forever is. I'm not saying it's particularly deep, but when you look at Edward Nygma's obsession with Bruce Wayne (stalking him, to imitating him right down to the mole), Harvey Dent's schizophrenia as Two-Face, and the fact that both Bruce Wayne AND Batman end up romancing the same psychologist is all enormously amusing. The romance isn't to be taken that lightly, though. I thought out of all 5 films Chase Meridian was Bruce's best girlfriend. The whole Vicky Vale relationship was pretty stale if you cut out all of the conflict with the Joker, and obviously Selina Kyle didn't work out so well for Bruce. Having this woman who could understand the mind of the tortured Bruce Wayne was a great idea, and I don't need to tell you that the gorgeous and talented Nicole Kidman pulled it off well.

Something I liked (and would have liked to have seen more of) was the competitive relationship between Bruce Wayne and Edward Nygma. They're enemies as Batman and The Riddler but also as regular people in everyday life. Take that scene at the Nygmatec Ball when Edward gloats about how well off he is, but Bruce is totally unflinching. Jim Carrey does a great job with a character that is so obsessed with this person; who idolizes him but hates him at the same time and is generally evil, but still can make us fall on the floor laughing.

This is a rousing and dynamic picture. It's basically the lighter side of being Batman. It was exciting with some great action sequences: I loved the end where both Robin and Chase are dropped and he saves them both. That piece of Elliot Goldenthal music when Batman finally grasps Robin's arm is excellent.

I liked Burton's 2 films and obviously Batman Begins better than Forever, but when you're in the right mood for it, it really is a fantastic movie that, if nothing else, thoroughly entertains.

My rating: 7/10