By Robert Scucci
| Published
Of all the Batman movies that have been released over the past several decades, 1995’s Batman Forever receives what I consider to be a lot of unnecessary hate. Losing points among die-hard Batman fans for being incredibly campy and over-the-top when compared to Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman returns (and Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight series), Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever isn’t remembered fondly because it’s not dark and brooding like its predecessors or successors, but rather bright, explosive, stylish, and corny, much like the 1960s iteration of Batman that featured Adam West as the Dark Knight and Burt Ward as Robin.
I don’t necessarily see this stylistic pivot as a reason to hate on Batman Forever because when you look at any movie critically, you need to consider one very important aspect regardless of what critics and audiences say: did the movie accomplish what it set out to do?
I think yes.
Not The Best, But Definitely Not The Worst
I’m going to first extend an olive branch because I need to go on record saying that Michael Keaton is the best Batman, bar none, because of his dry wit and deadpan delivery. Christian Bale working under Chistopher Nolan’s direction in the Dark Knight Trilogy is a close second for me because of how Nolan spent a considerable amount of time building up the backstories and emotional through lines that carried a significant amount of weight throughout the film series, all of which having tremendous payoffs that will stand the test of time.
I also need to go on record saying that Batman Forever’s ill-fated followup, 1997’s Batman & Robin is wholly deserving of its 12 percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes for bringing George Clooney, who has publicly (and rightfully) disavowed his portrayal of Batman, into the mix.
But watching Batman Forever in a vacuum instead of comparing it to other adjacent intellectual properties makes for a better viewing experience because it did exactly what it set out to do. Remember, Batman Returns, my personal favorite Batman flick, was so heavy and dark that kids left the theater crying. In fact, Roger Ebert thought Batman Returns’ PG-13 rating was a joke because of how not kid friendly it was.
In other words, Batman Forever’s more light-hearted and campy approach, while not received well by long-time fans of the franchise, made logical sense from a financial standpoint because Batman Returns was considered a box office disappointment despite its $266 million earnings, as 1989’s Batman earned about $150 million more, making it the sixth-highest-grossing film in history at the time of its release.
Batman Forever’s Marketing Hype
Growing up, I distinctly remember Batman Forever’s release being a cultural event – there were McDonald’s collaborations, Six Flags Great Adventure amusement parks had themed tie-ins and rides, its soundtrack reached the number five spot on the US Billboard 200 (even with that god awful U2 song leading the charge), and several video games related to the movie all saw releases to get everybody hyped.
Knowing how over-hyped projects tend to get the wind taken out of their sails upon their release because there’s no possible way they can live up to the lofty expectations made by their own aggressive marketing campaigns, I have reason to believe that Batman Forever was a victim of its own promotional material because everybody I knew was absolutely pumped ahead of its release, and gravely disappointed when they didn’t get what they expected.
Appreciate It For What It Is
Behind the scenes, Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones, who played the Riddler and Two-Face respectively, did not get along, to the point where Jones told Carrey to his face, “I hate you. I really don’t like you … I cannot sanction your buffoonery.” As Batman Forever’s two adversarial antagonists, this dynamic played out tremendously on-screen because both villains reluctantly worked together to take down Batman, and some of that animosity we see between the Riddler and Two-Face in the final cut was coming from a genuinely adversarial place behind the scenes.
Val Kilmer’s portrayal of Batman and Bruce Wayne also actually has some depth to it, as he experiences vivid flashbacks about his parent’s murder while unpacking his personal demons with Nicole Kidman’s Dr. Chase Meridian, his love interest and de facto psychologist in Batman Forever. Perfectly foiling Bruce Wayne/Batman’s secretive, lone-wolf disposition is Chris O’Donnell’s Dick Grayson, the young acrobat who wants to avenge the death of his parents after their run-in with Two-Face, and forces Bruce’s hand to allow him to suit up, call himself Robin, and become his partner.
The Batman/Robin dynamic in Batman Forever ends up paying off because Bruce explains in no uncertain terms to Dick that becoming a vigilante for the sake of revenge will corrode one’s soul, leaving them with a profound feeling of emptiness if they can’t find it within themselves to rally for a larger, more universal cause like keeping the streets of Gotham safe so other ruthless crime lords don’t have the opportunity to tear more families apart. Dick’s stubborn unwillingness to listen to Bruce pays off because when Batman finds himself in an impossible jam in Batman Forever’s third act, he comes to the realization that he can’t go alone in his crusade, and a partnership is finally forged to save the day.
Streaming Batman Forever
At the end of the day, Batman Forever isn’t among the best of the best Batman movies, but its successful in establishing easily digestible backstories, is visually charming in the sense that its fluorescent aesthetic makes it a perfect popcorn movie full of action that has no right being so colorful, and has a form of over-the-top charisma that makes you want to yell “ZIP!” and “POW!” whenever our heroes start throwing hands with their common enemies. For whatever reason you may want to dunk on Batman Forever, you might want to reconsider giving it a rewatch one of these days because it’s hypnotically campy, endlessly entertaining, and never fails to embrace its own inherent silliness.
Batman Forever, which is currently streaming on Max, should be loved for what it is, not hated for not being what it’s not trying to be.