BATMAN FOREVER. Directed by Joel Schumacher; written by Lee Batchler, Janey Scott Batchler and Akiva Goldsman; produced by Tim Burton and Peter MacGregor-Scott for Warner Bros. Starring Val Kilmer, Nicole Kidman, Jim Carrey, and Tommy Lee Jones. Rated PG-13
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Unless you've been secluded in your own primitive batcave (not equipped with TV) for the last few months, then you know the latest Batman adventure brings us a whole new (almost) cast, with not only new villains and a new hero, but a new director as well.
This last point is really the crucial one. When a movie puts its hero behind a mask most of the time, and in a cool, ultra-reserved persona all of the time, it doesn't matter too much who plays him, as long as he's good at playing cool. In three quarters of his scenes, I would defy you to guess if it's new Batman Kilmer or old Batman Michael Keaton at the wheel of the Batmobile or at home in stately Wayne Manor.
The new villains are a treat, although not as much of one as their fans might expect. More about this later. But a new director, when the original one was as much of an original as Tim Burton, well, that should make for some radical changes.
The good news is that Batman Forever is better than the last installment, Batman Returns. But, unfortunately, although it gets rid of the excessive grossness and overly dark tone of the second movie, the plot basically just rehashes the story of the first Batman. And without that movie's sophisticated freshness.
In addition to having nothing really new to say about the Caped Crusader (except to give him Chris O'Donnell as his Robin, who does add some extra entertainment value, but not a lot), Batman Forever makes rather a hash of what it does put on the screen.
The special effects are to die for, certainly, but more investment was needed in story development. There are too many loose ends left dangling, with several at least semi-interesting ideas and character points that go nowhere.
But back to those villains. As is not unusual in this kind of movie, they're the most interesting characters anyway. However, even from this angle, the movie's disappointing. Jones is not at his best as a comic book villain. He plays Two-Face, who was horribly scarred on exactly one side of his face (and his brain, so we're told) and consequently lives out the split personality syndrome in spades.
However intriguing his character is on paper, though, Jones' undisputed skills as a bad guy are better displayed in characters that require some development. His makeup and costuming are certainly intriguing, but we've learned to expect more from Jones, and just don't get it here.
Carrey, on the other hand, is in his element with the comics formula. He is a lot of fun to watch as the Riddler. Like Frank Gorshin in the same role on TV, he's both physically and verbally hyperactive, with the best lines and the best stage business in the movie. He should have had the bad guy side of the stage to himself, though.
If you never have seen the original Batman, you might not be as down on Batman Forever as I am. But, then, you could just rent the older movie. In the case of this series, they should have stopped with that one.
June 28, 1995