Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Batman Forever (Joel Schumacher, 1995) Review

IT BEGIIIIIINS!!! The downfall of Batman. Tim Burton was kicked off directing duties and was left supervising. Now filling in for director was Joel Schumacherwho has proved that he can do some very very good films. One should note that ALL the darkness is gone. I mentioned in my review for Batman Returns that the darkness was slowly leaving the films...well...now it's gone for good. Hope you liked it because you're not going to see it again for a LOOOONG time.

Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) is terrorising Gotham City and Batman (Val Kilmer) is out to stop him in his tracks. After invading the circus, Two-Face and his henchmen completely wreck the place but manage to kill a group of performers known as The Flying Graysons...all but one, Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell). Dick is left with Bruce Wayne as his legal guardians but eventually learns Bruce's dark secret - HE'S BATMAN (Read that in Christian Bale's voice)! Dick now takes on the role of Robin and becomes Batman's sidekick since he wants revenge on Two-Face for the death of his family. Meanwhile, Edward Nygma (Jim Carrey) wants recognition from Bruce Wayne, his boss. He finally decides that he's had enough and wants to rule over Gotham in order to gain respect and becomes the great villain known as The Riddler. Now Batman and Robin have to take down Riddler and Two-Face (a villain each, I guess).

Let's talk about the villains. First things first: Two-Face. Ooohhh...mmmyyy...gooodd..WHAT HAPPENED?!?!? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED WITH TWO-FACE?! Ohhh...I initially thought that Tommy Lee Jones was a very good choice since he can do very good and very serious roles that would work for a tragic and serious villain like Two-Face...I'm sorry did I say tragic and serious? I meant it's the Joker. Basically, he's a VERY silly villain. Not the Two-Face I want...at all and since he's my favourite character, I feel hurt. As for The Riddler, again, I thought Jim Carrey was a good pick but he ALSO ended up just being the Joker. They must have written it for the Joker in mind and then picked the villains afterwards. It's the only explanation. Now, to their credit, Riddler and Two-Face are VERY funny and the actors are clearly enjoying themselves. The film gets points for being entertaining as well.

The film features ALOT of things that do ruin it. The extras are TERRIBLE. They are some of the worst extras i've seen next to Spider-Man 2 (seriously, what happened there?). The worst is definitely the guy in the vault at the beginning due to the fact he was doing a terrible job of acting..ehhhh. Batman is about darkness (his other name is THE DARK KNIGHT) so when you take that away, what do you get? A mediocre film with some questionable acting. Val Kilmer was a good replacement for Michael Keaton but he just isn't as good because his Bruce Wayne is so forgettable that you'll forget him instantly (I'm having a hard time remembering him while typing this!) but Robin saves this because they actually made Robin cool! It's hard but it was done but he is clearly there just for the kids. That's another reason it fails in comparison to the other ones, it's aimed at kids. Why? Why are comic book films like this. The darker the comic book film, the better the outcome as proved with The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight.

Batman Forever is not to be taken seriously. Don't run into this thinking it's another dark Batman film like Burton's ones. It's not. The villains are too over the top and just WRONG (Two-Face still hurts, Schumacher!), the extras are terrible, the plot is a bit too cliché, Bruce Wayne is forgettable and I have no idea what's with the costumes (bat nipples....really?) but the amount of humour in this film is enough to keep me coming back. This is a guilty pleasure because it's funny and, while they did screw up the villains, they are my two favourite villains so it's the thought that counts...I guess. Right then...what's next? *sees schedule* No...no...Oh God no.....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Verdict:
6/10
A decent film that should not be taken seriously. The humour keeps bringing me back to this film.

2 comments:

  1. I remember watching this on television when I was younger... God it was awful. x_x

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    1. It's just scary that there's one worse! *shudder*

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