Batman Forever (1995)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writers (WGA):

Bob Kane (characters)
Lee Batchler (story) ...

Release Date:

16 June 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Fantasy | Thriller

Tagline:

Courage now, truth always....

Plot:

Batman must battle Two-Face and The Riddler with help of an amourous psychologist and a young circus acrobat who becomes his sidekick, Robin.

Plot Keywords:

Batman | Gotham | Acrobat | Circus | Sidekick

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Val Kilmer	...	Batman / Bruce Wayne
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Two-Face / Harvey Dent
Jim Carrey	...	Riddler / Dr. Edward Nygma
Nicole Kidman	...	Dr. Chase Meridian
Chris O'Donnell	...	Robin / Dick Grayson
Michael Gough	...	Alfred Pennyworth
Pat Hingle	...	Commissioner James Gordon
Drew Barrymore	...	Sugar
Debi Mazar	...	Spice
Elizabeth Sanders	...	Gossip Gerty
Rene Auberjonois	...	Dr. Burton
Joe Grifasi	...	Bank Guard
Philip Moon	...	Male Newscaster
Jessica Tuck	...	Female Newscaster
Dennis Paladino	...	Crime Boss Moroni

Also Known As:

Batman 3 (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for strong stylized action.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:PG (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | UK:12 (video re-rating) (2005) | Brazil:10 | Italy:T | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:6 (re-rating) | South Korea:All | Norway:11 (DVD rating) | Norway:11 (heavily cut) | Norway:15 (Original rating) | Norway:15 (re-rating, cut) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG (cut) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #33850) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:10 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

ARCO Refinery, Carson, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Early concepts of the final showdown on Claw Island had a huge, muscled, Riddler sitting on his throne when Batman finds him. The Riddler twists the two skulls on his armrests and the Riddler's muscled body is revealed to be a shell which splits in two, from which the real Riddler (wearing his white and green jumpsuit) steps out. This description made it into the junior novelization of the movie by Alan Grant, and was also featured in the video game based on the movie.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the Riddler first enters Two-Face's hideout, the Riddler can be seen standing behind the wall waiting for his cue to enter.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Alfred Pennyworth: Can I persuade you to take a sandwich with you, sir?
Batman: I'll get drive-thru.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in U2: PopMart Live from Mexico City (1997)

Soundtrack:

Nobody Lives Without Love

Hit and miss

Batman Forever is a big time hit and miss effort. At times it's fast hitting, funny, vivid and interesting and at times the humor and dialogue are beyond hope, the action is too silly and the characters are too shallow. The scenery is also hit and miss, running from nicely colored for a change to completely garish. I love Val Kilmer but he's completely dull as Batman, continuing the trend in the series of making the title character the dullest character in the movie. Jim Carrey as the Riddler is allowed to swing all over the place emotionally and is actually outstanding at times in a role that he's made for. His character is scripted as strangely feminine and there are times when he comes off as being incredibly creepy but he takes the part and runs with it. Tommy Lee Jones as Two Face is a major disappointment, not because of Jones but because his role is shallow, stereotypical and completely uninteresting. The psychopathic edge of Two Faces personality is replaced by a giggling goof who seems to be having just a little too much fun. All the torment that should have gone to his character goes to Carrey's strangely enough. Nicole Kidman as Chase Meridian should also have been interesting as a psychologist paired with Batman should be but she comes off too much as being just a giggling groupie, falling for both Batman and Bruce and calling mentally ill people wackos, something that psychologists never do. Chris O'Donnell as Robin is ok and does a good job of playing his role with whining immaturity. He comes up a little short on the dramatic moments though. The scene where he takes the Batmobile out for a spin is one of the best in the film. The opener is fun, the circus where Robin's parents die is actually done very well and the moments where Bruce opens up to Chase are also interesting. The villains running amok together range from pretty funny to very weird as one starts to question their relationship and the ending is somewhat unfulfilling. Batman Forever is a bridge movie between the dark and good Batman Returns and the horrible Batman and Robin. It's not great, not awful, takes itself much less seriously but entertains pretty well.

6.9/10