Joel Schumacher (1939–2020)

Two-Face and the Riddler seek to join forces to defeat Batman and Bruce Wayne respectively -- unaware that they're one in the same. Meanwhile, Batman takes an orphaned young man under his wing as his crime-fighting sidekick Robin.

Oh, how quickly it falls. There were signs of the more goofy side of Batman coming out in Returns, but nothing prepared me for how much it would collapse in Forever. Joel Schumacher replaces Tim Burton in the director's chair, and while certain elements of Burton's design filter into this new take on the Dark Knight, a lot of it changes and becomes more bright and whacky. Val Kilmer does put forth a good performance as Batman that feels like a natural continuation of Michael Keaton's, but that's not enough to save this film. I just don't find Jim Carrey or Tommy Lee Jones compelling as their characters at all. And in the area of Robin, I will say that I personally found parts of Chris O'Donnell's performance enjoyable, but as a whole, I couldn't buy him as a young, brand-new Robin -- if they tried to sell him more as a Nightwing-aged Robin then it might've been better, but as an orphan being adopted? Not quite. I wouldn't bother watching this one unless you, like me, are a die-hard Batman fan and wish to see them all at least once.

Content Concerns: Some slapstick violence and a handful of milder profanities.

(December 2023)… (mehr)