Batman Forever (1995)
Directed by Joel Schumacher
Batman faces off against two foes: the schizophrenic, horribly scarred former District Attorney Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, and the Riddler, a disgruntled ex-Wayne Enterprises inventor seeking revenge against his former employer by unleashing his brain-sucking weapon on Gotham City's residents. As the caped crusader also copes with tortured memories of his parents' murder, he has a new romance, with psychologist Chase Meridian.
22 connections found
View:
22 connections, in both directions
What critics compared Batman Forever to
Coming with his own nerdy-comic theme music, Max is uncomfortably reminiscent of Jim Carrey’s closeted Riddler in Batman Forever.
A less-than-worthy sequel to the 2012 picture, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is more reminiscent of Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997), which, in the franchise’s directorial wasteland between Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan, believed that the series could be extended simply by signing big stars to play new villains: Jim Carrey as the Riddler, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze.
However, his character is painfully underdeveloped, borrowing elements of hero-worship-turned-revenge-seeker we saw in the Riddler in “Batman Forever” and Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) in “Iron Man 3.”
Unfortunately, he’s even less interesting than the villain from the first movie, with an origin story that’s oddly reminiscent of The Riddler’s from “Batman Forever” and backed by a headache-inducing dubstep anthem.
Original Review: William Bibbiani calls The Amazing Spider-Man 2 "the Batman Forever of the Spider-Man movies."
These aren't modern comic-book bad guys, they're leftovers from "Daredevil" or — ugh — the awful "Batman Forever."
Maybe Sony drew inspiration from Christopher Nolan’s reboot of “Batman,” with Nolan wading into waters made murky by Michael Keaton (“Tim Burton’s Batman”), Val Kilmer (“Batman Forever”), and George Clooney (“Batman & Robin”) and paddling off with Christian Bale in his own, darker direction.
Deliberately shallow in plot and with a setup that recalls the “Batman Forever” (1995) aesthetic, this “Venom” follow-on as directed by Andy Serkis is brassier, more playful and funnier than it has any right to be.
Harrelson and Harris are a little distracting at first, the two bringing in the Surge-fueled energy of Batman Forever extras.
Billy Dee Williams played Harvey Dent with the goal of becoming Two-Face later, so one wonders how upset he was when the studio bought out his contract and offered the role to Tommy Lee Jones for " Batman Forever ."
Batman and Robin ended the profitability of a franchise that had been teetering since installment #3, Batman Forever.
Yet somehow, perhaps because of the costume, it still feels like the same Batman we've gotten to know in two previous films.
The set contains Tim Burton's "Batman" (1989) and "Batman Returns" (1992), both with Michael Keaton as the Caped Crusader; Joel Schumacher's "Batman Forever" (1995), with Val Kilmer taking over the lead role; and Schumacher's disappointing "Batman & Robin" (1997), starring a curiously bland George Clooney, which temporarily stalled the franchise until Christopher Nolan rescued it about eight years later.
Advertisement
Yet it’s also an origin story for the Avengers Initiative—that is, an origin story for the paperwork behind the MCU’s marquee superhero team—that just happens to be set in 1995, the summer of Batman Forever , when comic book movies were still goth-industrial, campy, or some unsightly combination of the two.
That’s not to say it’s particularly impressive – he’s imagined the Joker as a tattooed reject from Joel Schumacher’s first neon-drenched Bats movie, “Batman Forever” – but he never gets in the way, content to dominate his own little corner of the movie.
Through the dispersal of a mind control device – a plot point that seemed tired in 1995’s “Batman Forever” – Valentine wishes to turn the world’s population against itself in an unprecedented explosion of violence.
And Burton's two films are far darker and more daring than Joel Schumacher's two films that would follow, Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997).
"Batman Forever" ultimately feels like a thorough rehashing of " Batman Returns ," with almost all of the same elements from the previous sequel.
There's a lot going on in Batman Forever -- probably much more than in either Batman or Batman Returns -- yet Joel Schumacher keeps things on an even keel, moving swiftly without creating such a strong undertow that the viewer loses his or her footing.
The set contains Tim Burton's "Batman" (1989) and "Batman Returns" (1992), both with Michael Keaton as the Caped Crusader; Joel Schumacher's "Batman Forever" (1995), with Val Kilmer taking over the lead role; and Schumacher's disappointing "Batman & Robin" (1997), starring a curiously bland George Clooney, which temporarily stalled the franchise until Christopher Nolan rescued it about eight years later.
Batman is transformed in to Flesh Gordon with a phallic bat mobile, Bat nipples and sexual chemistry with his young ward while Schumacher delivers a follow up to “Batman Returns” that manages to be over the top and dull at the same time.
Did not this very film's immediate predecessor, Batman Returns , offer up the sight of Michelle Pfeiffer in one of the most objectifying leather catsuits that could ever be?
Advertisement
3 1/2 Stars (out of 4) Tweet Alloy Cat By Jeffrey M. Anderson Actor/director Jon Favreau co-starred in the awful comic book adaptation Daredevil (2003), and even had a small part in Batman Forever (1995).
This is manic Carrey energy we haven’t seen in decades; it reminded me a lot of an angrier, less giggly version of his Riddler from Batman Forever .
With echoes of Ace Ventura and Batman Forever ‘s Edward Nygma, Carrey returns to the goofy comedic stylings that made him a huge star over 25 years ago.
It’s a surprisingly intense, rage-laced performance for a kid’s film: this isn’t the Carrey of Batman Forever , it’s the one who went method in 1999’s Man on the Moon or who rattled conservatives with his unflattering caricatures of Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Donald Trump.
Kids are watching Sonic the Hedgehog to see a talking blue mammal run fast, deliver funny quips, and beat the evil Dr. Robotnik, played by the absolutely ridiculous Jim Carrey, who channels the kind of energy he brought to his over-the-top comedic roles in the ‘90s with Batman Forever and Ace Ventura .
This is the Carrey you remember from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective , from Batman Forever , where wild gestures or theatrical line reads define so much of the mustachioed “Eggman’s” presence.
Marsden’s hapless small-town sheriff with the heart of gold is the laziest of archetypes, and Carrey spends the entire film basically recycling outtakes from the Ace Ventura films, The Mask and Batman Forever .