What’s Good About BATMAN FOREVER?

Of all the movie critics around the world, comic book fans are the worst.  We expect so much and tolerate so little.  We remember our childhood and our first encounters with the great characters and stories of comic history.  And so, like a personal portrait, we scrutinize it and pick it apart for every flaw only to always hate what we see.  So, the internet burns with the malcontent of the fans and any movie that does not pass its rigorous tests will forever be scorned and hated.

This is the way of the comic book movies.  Many are forever to be hated and paraded around as the troll fodder of the day.  One such movie that has drawn the ire of the fan-boys is the third installment of the Batman cinematic legacy: BATMAN FOREVER.

And THIS is

WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT BATMAN FOREVER.

When Tim Burton headed up the first BATMAN movie, fans everywhere looked forward to the dark, gritty Dark Knight and his menacing rogues gallery.  Batman and Batman Returns had done well in the box office, but Warner Brothers felt they were losing ground with family audiences.  The torrid, nearly perverted behavior of Catwoman paired with the disgusting awkwardness of The Penguin left a sour taste in the mouth of many parents.  The movie company decided they needed a change; one that would bring the families in.  SO, they kept Burton on as producer (YES, he was partially responsible), but brought Schumacher in as the director.  To most purist Batman fans, this was the beginning of the end and a vast mistake, although the financial take from the change, a whopping $336.53 million, spoke volumes.  Batman Forever, although maligned for decades later, was deemed a success and spurred an ill-fated sequel that, although did over $282 million in box office worldwide, did not do well in the American theaters.

It was so bad that Joel Schumacher actually apologized for it later:

If there’s anybody watching this, that…let’s say, loved Batman Forever, and went into Batman and Robin with great expectation, if I’ve disappointed then in any way, then I really want to apologize.  Because it wasn’t my intention.  My intention was just to entertain them.

We’re not talking about this…..

But this article isn’t WHAT’S BAD ABOUT BATMAN & ROBIN, it’s about the good stuff that can be gleaned from the movie that changed the pace of Batman movies and will stand out as my favorite until this day.

Ok, I can hear you now screaming “WHY?”  You see, it is my contention that since Schumacher directed both of them, they get lumped together and hated equally.  But, although I can find no redemption for Batman & Robin (and I won’t try), I have to argue on many grounds that Batman Forever should be taken on its own merits which I think are amazingly breathtaking and must be considered.

The first thing that stands out in Batman Forever is the amazing use of color.  Schumacher put behind him the drab, gloomy shadows of Burton’s direction and decided to explode into this new venture with the old comic colors and eye catching neon.  Walking through Schumacher’s Gotham, one can feel the influence of Burton with the dark, gothic architecture and oversized statues.  What was added was the use of color as a theme.  The Riddler always kept to his greens and whites while Two Face echoed the purple to reds of his scared face through his wardrobe and his thugs themes.  It brought some life to the sets and gave it a bigger than life look that kept the attention.  It also helped to make ever set different and not just another dark alley.

Which segues into the next point.  Every scene came with an over-the-top set with its own costumes and color schemes.  From the big top to the Nygmatech debut to the finale with the plunge to watery death, every change of scenery was like another world.  There was always plenty of movement and extras to fill these amazing sets and with them came life.  Burton’s sets brought a dark, ominous feel that would swallow the soul.  Schumacher built an immense feel and bit of energy and excitement.  Both have their merits and should be admired and experienced.

That brings a good point.  I’m not one of those Facebook guys who always want to categorize things.  I won’t be talking about who was the best Joker.  That’s nonsense.  They all brought something to the table.  And I won’t sit here and tell you that Schumacher’s Batman was better than Burton’s Batman.  That’s absolutely insane.  They both bring something to the story and should be viewed as equals.  I WILL admit that, with Batman and Robin, Schumacher went off the tracks, but you just can’t say that about Batman Forever.

Akin to the great backdrops is the multitude of unbelievably awesome scenes.  The heroic deaths of the flying Graysons.  The meeting of Two Face and Riddler.  Dick Grayson going toe to toe with the neon-clad gang.  Robin saving Batman from Two Face’s trap.  Scene after scene, we get to see iconic moments in these amazing sets.  These moments also set up some great lines.  It always seemed like the dialog fit and was funny or sultry or menacing in just the right place.  This is something that was lacking in the sequel that I will no longer name out of respect for this incredible movie (Batman Forever).

Another plus was the fact these iconic scenes never veered off the source material.  Schumacher never felt the need to remake or reinvent the characters.  He felt they stood on a long tradition of comic canon.  There was no need for a super cool rework of the originals.  They were who they were.  So the fans never had to try and figure out where they were.  The story was the story as it had always been.  From the death of the Flying Graysons to the burning of half of Harvey Dent’s  face, scarring both his skin and psyche.  It was textbook, and personally, before directors and writers venture into new waters with an age old character, they need to, at least once, give us what we came to the movies to see.  It still burns me to this day that we still have never gotten Doctor Doom the way he has been presented to us.  Here’s crossing fingers.

Nicole Kidman and Val Kilmer headed up a perfect cast

Added to the epic sets and the iconic scenes and picture perfect lines was cast that was to pull it off.  I personally believe the cast was perfect for the time.  Many of us are still suffering the loss of Robin Williams and can remember that with Burton, we may have gotten to see his Riddler.  I mourn that too, but not because Jim Carrey didn’t give us a great performance.  No, Carrey exploded onto the scene and gave us a mentally disturbed Edward Nygma with a pension for riddles.  Tommy Lee Jones played the classic Two Face to a ‘T.’  The two personalities warring in one head.  “We are of two minds on the matter” was his mantra.  The writing was perfect for him and Carrey.  Of course, they pushed it over the top at times but it worked.  And you know why?  You could tell they enjoyed playing the characters.  Their fun translated into our fun.  Chris ODonnell was a perfect Robin.  Val Kilmer took on the cowl with a bit of majestic fear. And we got to see him as Bruce Wayne, the businessman and playboy a bit better than movies before. Nicole Kidman was a bit swoony through the movie, but that was her character.  Unlike Vicki Vale and Selina Kyle before her, she was totally infatuated with the Bat.  She was a living obsession.  The cast was perfectly picked and the writing did them well.

Adding to the cast and the sets, there were plenty of amazing entrances.  Every time Batman swooped in to save the day it was epic.  The Riddler appeared and suddenly there was energy and a tense levity.  Two Face brought moments of uncertainty and chance.  He was never seen with his trademark coin; another nod to continuity.  Dr. Chase Meridian walked in and with her came a sensual emotion somewhere between sexuality and clinical obsession.

“Your entrance was good…His was better. The difference? SHOWMANSHIP!”

Another thing that accentuated the cast was the amazing wardrobe.  Harvey ‘Two Face’ Dent always wore the two sided suits cut down the middle exhibiting one mind’s conservatism with the other’s psychotic slavery to chance and chaos.  The Riddler had the best costumes of the show.  He showed up with a multitude of changes showing everything from the Frank Gorshwhin’s green leotards to the green suit with flashing question marks (apparently for jogging) to the finale with a white jumpsuit with green question marks.  They even added the trademark question staff that Carrey carried with the expert moves of a martial artist.  It was just one more bit of eye candy that made the movie exciting to watch.

The final point I will make is Schumacher’s use of gadgets, the least of which is the Batmobile, the Batplane and a never seen before Batboat.  Yes, this harkened back to the old television show, but with a sophistication and technical savvy eye that made us ooo and ah from beginning to end.  We got to see the Batmobile steer sideways and even escape up the side of a building.  Even Two Face never saw that coming.  On top of that, we got to see Batman use his personal gadgets on his infamous utilitiy belt to escape impossible situations.  He used a blow torch to cut through chains.  He used a tech shield to protect him from an explosion.  And, in the last scene, he used an experimental bat suit to use sonar to feld the Riddler’s master plan.  We just got to see more gadgets in this version and it made the experience of the movie better.

Now to tie this entire thing up, am I saying it’s the best Batman movie?  I don’t believe in such a thing.  It is my favorite, and the quotes and the scenes will forever (lol) be embedded in my mind, but I just don’t see ranking them and cutting apart those that don’t match up to my favorite.  I remember seeing Keaton in the first and second movie and loving it.  I remember seeing Batman Begins and cheering the coming of a more real, darker Batman.  I stood in awe of Heath Ledger as he became the Joker.  But I won’t rank the Jokers; I loved them all.  Same with the movies.  All I’m saying here is that Batman Forever doesn’t deserve the hate it gets and it definitely deserves a second look.  And, when you DO give it that second look.  Let it stand on its own.   It should never have suffer the scrutiny of comparison to whatever YOUR favorite is.  And THAT’S WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT BATMAN FOREVER!