Quite a change wasn’t it?
It hadn’t been a long while like it was between Batman & Robin and Batman
Begins. Only three years separate Returns from Forever. I remember when I
saw this in the theater I was surprised at first but was almost immediately drawn
in and forgot about the previous two films.
My brain allowed me to hit the reset button on the franchise. I guess after the cold Returns it was nice to be presented with a much warmer
adaptation. And it seemed a lot of
people were cool with this as well because Forever
was a huge fucking hit. As I get older,
and now that more Batman movies have been made, this one only seems to get
better.
It’s such an entertaining experience. The design of Gotham is exaggerated
enormously and also beautifully. I dig
those gigantic statues of Greek gods or whatever the hell those are supposed to
be. It’s a unique and striking look for
a city. A lot of you might think it
looks too cartoony and you may be right but you sure as shit remember it. It’s remarkable when an impression is left,
good or bad.
They managed to have the lighting feel bright and dark at
the same time somehow. For instance
Two-Face’s hideout has so many shadows but it’s also flooded in this neon pink
light. I saw a making-of not long ago
and someone commented that the camera was constantly showing their own lighting
rigs but the audience never noticed.
That was a forehead smacking moment.
The sonuvabitch was right. If you
look at the circus scene or the Riddler’s lair you can see the lights that
would normally be off screen setting the mood.
And holy shit are those lights putting out a collage of colors.
The camera work is really well done. The first fight scene Batman has with
henchmen off the elevator was shot particularly great. You can understand what’s happening during
the action sequences too.
And because this was done before CGI had a stranglehold, most
things, except mainly some shots of the city, had to be done for real. That’s a big plus.
All of this stuff is a feast for the eyes. Visually this film is gorgeous.
As far as the acting goes I only have a couple of
qualms. I wish Jim Carrey wasn’t cast as
the Riddler because he made the character too jokey. Essentially we get a shitty Joker here. The way they did the Riddler in the animated
series from the early 90’s was the direction they should’ve gone. The outfit in Forever isn’t even right.
Was it because Two-Face was wearing a suit that they had to put the
Riddler in tights? But I have to admit
that this portrayal bothers me less as time goes on.
The only other real problem with acting I have is Chris
O’Donnell. First of all Robin is fucking
lame. I don’t think I ever want to see
him in a Batman picture. Secondly Chris
is not the best actor. All of his
emotions are too forced and I don’t buy the bad boy attitude. You seem like a nice guy ‘n all but sorry
man, you’re not good in this.
Everyone else does fine.
Val Kilmer slips into his role well.
He looks the part and is pretty stoic both in and out of the Bat suit. His performance may be lighter and cheesier
than Keaton’s but it’s way better than Clooney’s.
Nicole Kidman isn’t very good but it feels like she’s barely
in this so she doesn’t bother me.
Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face is definitely the best person in
this though. Jones looks like he’s
having a helluva lot of fun and Two-Face enjoys being evil so much that it rubs
off. From what I gather this is not what
this character is supposed to be like at all but this works for me. Sure they turned him into another Joker clone
but oddly enough the change is more successful on Two-Face who’s supposed to be
darker and more serious than the Riddler.
I can’t get enough of his brute force tactics either. Two-Face’s destroy-everything policy doesn’t
really ever work out but he’s tenacious and that’s great to see. I couldn’t ask for much more out of a villain
in a comic book movie. Everything from
the crazy split personality suit to him having to drink two different cocktails
and smoke two different cigarettes at once to the purple shit on half of his
face made out of fruit roll-ups, I fuckin’ love this guy.
The plot is actually really cool if you think about it. The Riddler wants to take over the city by
selling its citizens a device that secretly reads minds. Two-Face is completely unnecessary in this
scenario actually. The only reason he’s
there is because the studio said so (that goes for Robin too). Two-Face is relegated to being just a thug, a
very charismatic and amusing thug. I
mean his operation wasn’t going anywhere until the Riddler showed up. But even though this scheme is all about the
Riddler it feels like Two-Face gets more screen time than him.
My favorite scene is probably the opening robbery (which I
always assumed was a bank but why would the vault be located on the top floor
of a skyscraper?) and the ensuing helicopter sequence. The reveal of Two-Face is excellent by, of
course, only showing his regular non-mutilated side at first. And then when we get a gander at that makeup
job the light turns pink, Jones puts on that gravely voice and goddamn is he a sight. The henchmen look brilliant too with the
bi-color face masks, leather jackets, dog collars, piercings and neon on their
guns (genius idea). One aspect of an
action movie I adore is when a villain reprimands or kills one of his own guys (possibly
the best one ever is in Road House)
and we get one here. In the helicopter
Two-Face shoots at Batman but his pilot gets in the way. It’s always funny when a villain knows his
own guys are expendable and is willing to eliminate them himself so he can get
at his real target. If the film were
only the opening thirteen minutes I would be satisfied. It’s constructed wonderfully.
The new soundtrack is exciting and almost just as big as the
Elfman ones. It’s memorable too which is
not the case with most pictures. Also the
U2 and Seal songs are both very 90’s sounding dating the movie nicely.
It’s pretty interesting that Joel Schumacher was picked for
this gig. The two immediate films he did
before this were Falling Down and The Client. In all fairness comic book movies hadn’t exploded
yet so it was a little unclear who was the right choice to make one. Schumacher turned out to be, and I know
you’ll hate me for this, the perfect pick.
The man’s a chameleon who will change his style depending on what he’s
working on. Almost none of his pictures
look or feel the same. I don’t know if
there’s anyone else out there like him in that regard. He brought so much style and a fresh
perspective to Batman. Whether you like
that style and perspective is another thing entirely.
Forever truly is forever in my book. It’s that Alien
vs. Aliens thing where I say I like Batman and Returns better but most of the time I’d rather watch Forever.
It’s such an easy film to get engaged in and it’s not ashamed about the direction
it chose. One of the most important
qualities this piece possesses is that it’s unpretentious (which comes from
Schumacher’s personality). It fully
embraces the wacky ass shit that it puts in front of your eyes. I don’t even know if it belongs in the
so-bad-it’s-good category. I honestly
can’t tell. It’s a well crafted piece of
art that has its fair share of good, bad and ugly shit.
This is pretty fucking great film guys. It’s an anytime anywhere movie for me. It feels refreshing with every watch somehow. If you haven’t seen it in a long time do
yourself a favor and check it out again.
Fun fact: Tim Burton produced this.
Batman (1989)
Batman Returns
Batman Forever Laundry Scene
Batman & Robin
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