"Batman: Forever" Review

“Riddle me this, riddle me that. Who’s afraid of the big black Bat?”

I got the pleasure of getting to watch Batman: Forever on my local big screen thanks to a Flashback Cinema event. Before we get cracking into the review, I’d like to start by sharing a bit of history I have with this film. Batman: Forever, was one of two movies that I’d always watch on repeat at my grandparent’s house when I was younger. They had both Forever and Batman (1989) on VHS. I don’t even want to imagine how often I’d watch them. Getting to finally watch it on the big screen felt like a childhood wish finally coming into fruition. Gosh, listening to Jim Carrey’s eccentric take on the Riddler through Dolby surround sound was surreal and captivating. Coupled with Kilmer’s underappreciated take on Mr. Wayne and the Caped Crusader, it was a truly magical event.

There’s just as much as to love in this movie as there is to hate. This’ll always hold a special spot in my heart but it’s not without its faults. So, let’s get into some of them. For starters, what even is the pacing on display here. For a runtime coming in at just over two hours, it moves at what felt like a breakneck speed. Choosing to mostly slow it down a bit whenever it decided to explore the Bruce, Bats, and Dr. Meridian love triangle. Which Nicole Kidman does a stunning job with and is truthfully one of the best parts of the film. But it was an interesting choice, none the less. At its core, this is a comic book movie through and through. Because of this, the pacing reflected that of a comic book. It’s a nice touch, but just doesn’t really work for a film.

However, Forever is not void of the “hero” moments that seem to be missing in the modern iterations of the man dressed like a bat. Whenever the titular Caped Crusader is on screen, he absolutely steals the show for the audience as if he was putting us all in The Riddler’s “box”. It’s just impossible to look away. Coupling that Kilmer’s outstanding performance as Wayne. We were blessed with something truly special. Even if his material wasn’t the best, Kilmer delivered each line as if it would lead him to an Oscar win. It’s a damn shame that Kilmer had to quit acting when he did, who’s to say how far he could’ve gone.

Other than the pacing and some slight narrative issues, I still thoroughly love this movie. The performances on display are all great fun. There’s a scene with Two-Face and The Riddler acting like playground bullies outside of Wayne Manor. It only lasts for a short while, but you can feel the amount of fun that the actors had while shooting the film. It’s the little things like those that make this take on Batman a special treat. Batman has been around for a while at this point in the universe, and this picture feels like an issue ripped straight from the pages and thrown onto the screen. There’s not really a set up as to why Harvey is Two-Face at point, he just is.  Tommy Lee Jones’ charismatic yet crazy Two-Face gives the audience a thrilling ride from the start all the way to the end. Even if his end is brought to him in a goofy, campy, and Batsy, way that’s just oozing with “villain of the week” energy. And it’s more than welcome here.

The last couple things I’d like to touch on is the soundtrack and the set design. Let us begin with the soundtrack first. Shortly after Dick Grayson makes his appearance and starts to live at Wayne Manor, he decides to steal the Batmobile for a joyride around Gotham. While doing this, he’s blasting The Offspring through the speakers and zipping through the streets. What’s not to love about that. It’s probably what started my love for their music that hasn’t faltered since first seeing that scene. It just screamed the rule of cool to me. In this scene we get the city of Gotham on display. Here Gotham feels lived in and truly nocturnal. Unlike the version of Gotham from a certain beloved Trilogy. Until recently with Matt Reeves’ “The Penguin”, Burton’s take on Gotham had been the only one that’s been able to capture the raw, uneasy feeling that Gotham is meant to portray. It was touching to see Joel Schumacher’s take again. Even if he loses me in his next attempt to bring Batman to the silver screen.

If we view this as a pure comic book movie, I think it’s great fun. But if we view it as just another movie, it misses the mark in places that it shouldn’t.  Because of this, Batman: Forever lands itself a solid 6.5/10 on the Mid-Tier Critique rating scale.