Review - Batman Forever (1995)

          Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, today we're diving back into the world of Batman with honestly one of my favorite Batman movies from when I was a kid: Batman Forever. Coming off of the divisiveness of Batman Returns, we got us a new lead actor, new villains, a new director, pretty much new everything. It's a fresh, new Batman movie from the ground up. 

         So we open with Batman being called to thwart a robbery at the Second National Bank of Gotham, which is being committed by Harvey Dent aka Two-Face. Two-Face flies in his helicopter, with Batman trying to catch him, bit the helicopter ends up crashing into the Lady of Gotham (which, for some reason, is modeled after the Statute of Liberty in this movie), with both Two-Face and Batman getting out before it explodes. We later learn that Dent, former District Attorney of Gotham, had acid thrown onto the left side of his face, scarring him as well as warping his mind to the point of wanting revenge against Batman. 

       The next day, Bruce Wayne goes to check in on his employees at Wayne Enterprises, and it is here where he meets Edward Nygma, who has an invention that beams TV signals directly into the human brain. Bruce passes on the project, because it has the potential to be used to manipulate people's minds and taking secrets from their brains. Bruce then uses a secret tunnel from his office to the Batcave, where he goes to meet who he thinks is Commissioner Gordon, but is actually Dr. Chase Meridian, who mentions about Two-Face's coin, which is a weakness that can be exploited. Chase also starts to hit on Batman, until the commissioner arrives and Batman heads off. Later that evening, Edward tests his invention out on his foreman, Fred Stickley, whom Edward then drops out of the window to his death. 

         The next morning, Bruce goes to look at camera footage from the previous night, where it appears that Stickley jumped out of the window, committing suicide. Bruce also receives a parcel containing the following riddle: "If you look at the numbers on my face, you won't find 13 anyplace." Bruce figures out that the answer is a clock, and then begins to wonder who would leave him a riddle. Edward, meanwhile, returns to his dank-ass apartment, where he creates another riddle for Bruce, who the next day, takes both riddles to Chase, who reads the second riddle: "Tear one off and scratch my head, what once was red is black instead." Bruce figures out that the answer is a match, and Chase diagnoses that whomever is sending Bruce riddles is a total wacko, with an unhealthy obsession with Bruce. Bruce then invites Chase to the charity circus, where they enjoy the trapeze artist family The Flying Graysons. Unfortunately, the circus is taken over by Two-Face, who brings out a bomb, setting it to blow in two minutes if Batman doesn't reveal himself. Bruce then goes to fight the goons, while one of the Flying Graysons, a young man named Dick Grayson, goes to get the bomb out of the circus and into the Gotham river. Unfortunately, Two-Face shoots the scaffolding, causing Dick's parents and older brother to fall to their deaths. With nowhere to go, Dick then goes to stay at Wayne Manor with Bruce, who tries to help Dick ease the pain by warding him from trying to kill Two-Face. 

           So, Edward then makes a costume for himself and goes to meet Two-Face, introducing himself as The Riddler. Edward then tells Harvey his plan: if Harvey helps place his invention, the 3D Box, on every TV in Gotham, Edward will help Harvey learn the truth about Batman. Harvey agrees to this, and the two set off on a massive crime spree, stealing from a diamond exchange and a casino.  They also send a third riddle to Bruce: "The eight of us go forth, not back, to protect our King from a foe's attack." Bruce deduces that the answer is chess pawns, but is unable to find the connection between the three riddles. Dick, meanwhile, discovers the Batcave, and takes the Batmobile out for a joyride, running into a gang of neon-painted street punks, whom he gets into a fight with, before Batman shows up, taking both Dick and the Batmobile back to the Batcave, with Bruce refusing to let Dick join in his crusade to protect Gotham. 

      At a gala event at the Ritz Gotham, where Edward is presenting his upgraded 3D Box, which can project fully interactive holographic images, Two-Face arrives to stir things up as bait to draw out Batman, leading to a fight in the Subway, which results in Batman being buried in pebbles, only to be saved by Dick, who still wants to fight by his side. On Halloween night, Bruce decides to retire the Batman, and confess to Chase the truth about himself. Dick then heads out, and Riddler and Two-Face arrive and Riddler destroys the Batcave. The pair kidnap Chase, leaving behind a fourth riddle: "We're five little items of an everyday sort. You'll find us all in 'A Tennis Court.'" Bruce deduces that the answer is vowels (don't ask me to explain it, because it's really convoluted, but I, myself, figured out the meaning of this riddle.). He also notices how each of the four riddles has a number: 13, 1, 8, and 5. Believing they could represent letters of the alphabet; M, A, H, E, but again, nonsense. Bruce then considers the possibility of 1 and 8 being 18, which would be R, changing it to M,R,E, or Mr. E. Alfred then looks at it as "mystery," a synonym for which is "enigma," and Bruce finally figures it out, the Riddler is Edward Nygma, who forged the suicide tape of Stickley. Bruce then suits up in a previously unused Batsuit: a prototype with sonar modifications. Dick, in a new suit, also shows up, calling himself Robin, and joining Bruce to fight both Riddler and Two-Face. With Robin in the Batboat, Batman flies off in the Batwing, and the two head for Claw Island, where Riddler and Two-Face are based. Riddler and Two-Face then use water mines, and a custom Battleship game set, to destroy the Batboat, and then Riddler shoots down the Batwing. Batman and Robin arrive on the island, but get separated when part of the island goes upwards. Batman then heads inside to reach the top of the lair, while Robin fights Two-Face, but spares him, getting captured. Batman then confronts Riddler, who then plays one last game: will he save Chase or Robin from falling to a watery grave. Batman instead gives Edward a riddle of his own' "I see without seeing. To me, darkness is as clear as daylight. What am I?" Edward responds by telling Batman that he's as blind as a bat, to which he responds "Exactly," activating the sonar upgrade and throwing a Batarang at a weak spot in Riddler's lair, destroying the machine that powers every 3D Box in Gotham. Batman then saves both Chase and Robin from falling to their deaths, and has one last confrontation with Harvey, who then thanks Bruce for always being a good friend. After flipping his coin, Harvey then tries to catch it among all of the coins tossed by Batman, losing his balance in the process. Batman has one last confrontation with Edward, who then screams at the sight of the bat that inspired Bruce to become Batman. At Arkham Asylum, Chase goes to see Edward, who had been screaming about knowing the true identity of Batman, only to flap his arms like wings, answering Chase's question by saying "I'm Batman," laughing like a lunatic afterwards. Chase after telling Bruce that his secret is safe, departs Gotham, which is now under the watchful protection of the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin. 

        So, where do I start with Batman Forever? Okay, let's start with the cast. First off, I like Val Kilmer in this movie. He was a really good Batman. His Bruce Wayne was average, but his Batman was really good. I like the sense of duality you get with Val as both Bruce and Batman. Secondly, there's the villains of Riddler and Two-Face. Starting with Two-Face, Tommy Lee Jones is really over-the-top as Two-Face, but definitely does a great job here. While it's not completely accurate to the comics, per se, it's still a hell of a lot of fun to watch even today. Jim Carrey, on the other hand, was excellent as the Riddler. He was really funny, and he made the character work. And again, this was peak 90's Jim Carrey, around the time of Ace Ventura, Dumb and Dumber, and The Mask. 

        Now, a lot of fans complain that Chris O'Donnell was too old to be portraying Dick Grayson/Robin. However, I would counter with the argument that it was the 90's and actors who looked to be college age were playing high schoolers on TV all the time. So, I don't see the big deal in age, but I do agree that he was a little too whiny at times, who's was just... whatever, man. Now, there are three extremely attractive women in this movie. Although Nicole Kidman's Chase Meridian is the main romantic interest for Bruce Wayne, I think that both Drew Barrymore and Debi Mazar look pretty hot in their attire in this movie as Two-Face's two henchwomen, Sugar and Spice. 

        Now one complaint fans have with Batman Forever is the brightness of the movie compared to the previous two movies. However, while not as dark as Batman and Batman Returns, there was a bit of darkness in Batman Forever, especially when compared to its sequel, which I'll be getting into another time. Also, not a lot of fans liked the designs of the Batmobile, the Batboat, or the Batwing, with all the blue neon, but you know what? These were the designs I grew up with, and I still enjoy them, so get over it.

        All of these changes in the Batman series are due to the change in directors from Tim Burton to Joel Schumacher. Joel Schumacher definitely added a lot of color to the Batman series with this movie, and made a film that parents can show to their kids without scarring them or anything like that. Aside from some mild language and violence, I think that this movie could have been rated PG instead of PG-13 and it wouldn't have made a difference. 

         One other major part of the movie is the music. While Danny Elfman's themes from the previous films were iconic, I enjoyed the score composed by Eliot Goldenthal for this movie. I also really like the soundtrack, which includes songs like "Kiss From a Rose" by Seal, "Bad Days" by The Flaming Lips, and "Smash it Up" by The Offspring. I highly recommend picking up a copy of the soundtrack, it's definitely worth it.

         I loved this movie as a kid, and now as an adult, I look at it as a fun memory of being a kid that loved Batman.  It's not a perfect movie, but it's definitely entertaining. I'm going to give Batman Forever a rating of 4.25/5. Now, before too long, I'll be taking a look at Joel Schumacher's follow up to this movie, which is 1997's Batman & Robin, but that'll have to wait for a while, because I would have to be in serious rant mode about that movie. Anyway, this is Chuck signing off. See you guys next Wednesday when I take a look at Star Trek.