Batman Forever

After the cold reception Tim Burton’s “Batman Returns” received from some audiences and critics, the Caped Crusader was faced with a new cinematic foe that would prove to be his greatest adversary yet: Joel Schumacher. Armed with a new man behind the mask, “Batman Forever” took flight in 1995 with Burton serving as producer.

Much like the previous entries in the series, Gotham City is under siege from a colorful duo of villainous psychopaths: Two Face (Tommy Lee Jones) and The Riddler (Jim Carrey) and only our man in black can save the day… with a little help from boy wonder Robin (Chris O’Donnell).

Unlike the previous entries in the series, “Batman Forever” is a straightforward action-adventure romp with little to no subtext and lots of big crashes. Director Schumacher reinvents (however, not for the better) Gotham City as a colorful and glittering amusement park, abandoning Burton’s brooding gothic metropolis. The change in locale is also indicative of the change in tone in this transitional film. While Burton’s “Batman” films (the first sequel in particular) were layered with myriad psychological character elements, the most we are given in “Forever” is a smoldering sexpot psychologist played by Nicole Kidman. When analyzing the themes in this third film and how they are presented, one has to wonder if Burton was merely producer in name only on this project as the final result has little, if any, of his trademark sensibilities.

While “Batman Forever” has its share of thrills and chills, Schumacher’s first entry in this series fails to live up to the high standards set by “Batman” and “Batman Returns.” What else can you say about a movie where its biggest impact on the franchise was the addition of nipples on the batsuit?

Joe Cortez, 2004