Batman Forever: the third movie in the 1989-1997 Burton/Schumacher quadrilogy of Batman movies.
Batman Forever brought an end to the sometimes Gothic & noir visual of Batman movie, directed by Tim Burton, and replaced by the more commercialised, modern-set and cheese-ridden Batman movie, directed by Joel Schumacher – yes, the dude who allegedly “killed the Batman movie” is the same person who directed The Lost Boys (1987), Falling Down (1993), and A Time to Kill (1996). Despite the Burton Batman movies being better (Batman & Batman Returns), I feel that as a stand-alone Batman movie, Batman Forever is alright. Without discussing much of the story, here’s a quick summary of the movie:
Ignoring a returning cast member or two, Batman Forever pretty much feels like a reboot of the Batman movie – unlike the preceding Batman movies, Batman Forever has both a modern-day setting and a much lighter tone.
Despite the criminal motives of both The Riddler and Two-Face being utterly ridiculous (like preceding villains in Batman movies), the performances by Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones as the main villains are at times both mildly entertaining and acceptably good, like the movie as a whole, but only if you view the movie as a movie adaptation of a more child-friendly comic book or a lighter episode of Batman: The Animated Series (particularly when Robin frequently appeared). The biggest surprise is Val Kilmer being an acceptable replacement in the roles of both Batman and Bruce Wayne – he doesn’t feel out of place on-screen (in my opinion). Chris O’Donnell (the kid from Scent of a Woman) plays a a Nightwing-aged Robin, whilst Nicole Kidman plays a made-for-movie character, Chase Meridian, like Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) in Batman Returns.
Enjoy this movie if not taken too seriously.
Thanks for reading,
Dom.
For John.
This article’s featured image is sourced from Batman Forever (1995) Warner Bros. / Dir: Joel Schumacher / Prod: Burton & MacGregor-Scott.
Dom on Film 
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