Movie Review : Batman Forever (1995)
People take Batman very seriously. Even if you’re one of them people who cried at the end of Avengers: Endgame, you will instantly take Bruce Wayne more seriously than Tony Stark because he’s a tragic character in essence. He deliberately chose to spend his life chasing a wrong he can’t right, so there’s this aura of superhero sainthood around him. He’s an existential martyr if you will. It’s both his most interesting trait and the most controversial aspect of Batman movies. that inherent tragedy is almost completely absent from Batman Forever.
That’s what makes it both interesting and unsuccessful.
Technically a sequel to Batman Returns, Batman Forever has a different tone, cast and art direction than its predecessor. It could’ve been a reboot and you wouldn’t notice the nuances. There’s really two stories riding coattails in this film: Batman (Val Kilmer)’s singleminded (and arguably disastrous) pursuit of Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) and the tragedy that transforms young Dick Grayson (a sweaty and oily Chris O’Donnell) into a masked vigilante of his own and Batman’s official sidekick: Robin. Both narratives are similarly underrated and undercooked.
No one remembers Batman Forever fondly and there are reasons for that. The main problem is that Two-Face and The Riddler (Jim Carrey) are merely accessory to what the film is trying to say. They behave like secondhand Cesar Romero-era Jokers, twirling and giggling in their colorful costume, like my attention deprived 11 years old nephew on Halloween. They have paper thin personalities and don’t engage Batman in a meaningful battle in any way. They’re just token bad guys doing token bad guys like robbing banks and jewelry stores because they can.
Wait… this is not COMPLETELY true.
Edward Nygma is the more developed character in Batman Forever. If Batman is such a unique and interesting superhero, it’s because he is defined by relationships to his antagonist. They each are a dark reflection of his character and The Riddler reflects’ Bruce Wayne genius intellect and strong belief in technology. It would’ve worked if Batman gave two shits about Nygma in the movie. He is consistently too busy with chasing Two-Face and coaching Robin to fucking care. Batman Forever would’ve been a lot better, had it chosen one villain instead of two.
The real interesting part of Batman Forever is Bruce Wayne’s relationship to young Dick Grayson, though. In many ways, the pathos we constantly associate to Batman is reflected through him. The latter barely has an origin scene in Batman Forever and we’re instead treated to the demise of the flying Graysons, which is by far the best scene in the film. There’s a dreamlike sense of trauma and a brutal efficiency to it even if it is spearheaded by a beet faced Harvey Dent. I’m sure it followed hundreds of sensitive kids out of theaters and into their nightmares.
Batman Forever is unsuccessful because it’s crowded and tone deaf, but it’s underrated because unlike other movies in the franchise it is not about Batman solving problems he created. It’s about him trying not to create a new one with Dick Grayson. He’s consciously confronting his own brokenness and while it is not treated very deeply, it’s a cool idea on paper. It makes Batman Forever different and not just because it’s colorful and features giggling, twirling villains. In a bizarre way, it understand the character as a reflection of Gotham City better than other adaptations.
5.9/10
