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Batman Forever is not that bad

VulcanRaven

Member
I re-watched Batman Forever recently and I really liked it. Many seem to really dislike both Batman movies by Joel Schumacher. I admit that Batman & Robin was a big misstep but they are entertaining and I would watch them any day over Batman v Superman or Justice League. Forever was a lot darker than I remembered and Val Kilmer is very good as Batman. I wish he would have been in the sequel too. The movie looks great visually and it has a great soundtrack:



Also that Batmobile is my favorite after the Burton one. One thing they could have done better are the villians because they are too over the top and cartoony. I don't hate them because I like both actors. There are many funny scenes with them. I hope we get a new version of the movie some day because there are many deleted scenes:



Why they removed that? It would have made the movie better and darker.
 
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Holy rusted metal Batman!

I see without seeing,
To me, darkness is as clear as daylight.
what am I?

giphy.gif
 

GermanZepp

Member
Batman Forever OST has U2 and Seal songs that i like a lot. I saw that movie has a kid and it was fine (for a kids movie).

I really want a dark Batman Movie. Burton got the aesthetics, but some of the scenes of Batman and Batman Returns are a little goofy and don't aged well.

I want a Batman kinda crazy, you know? A super millionaire fucking smart dude who can kick ass but has some ill in his head. Maybe a little more violent.

As Bruce Wayne i want the character eccentric and unpredictable. Has Batman i want it badass. Less "Origin" kinda scenes and more reaction to the villains , i mean stop explaining his gadgets vehicles and motivations, we all fucking know Batman.
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
It's shit, but it's not Batman & Robin shit. Not many movies are. B+R was so bad it killed superhero movies for years.
 

VulcanRaven

Member
Batman Forever OST has U2 and Seal songs that i like a lot. I saw that movie has a kid and it was fine (for a kids movie).

I really want a dark Batman Movie. Burton got the aesthetics, but some of the scenes of Batman and Batman Returns are a little goofy and don't aged well.

I want a Batman kinda crazy, you know? A super millionaire fucking smart dude who can kick ass but has some ill in his head. Maybe a little more violent.

As Bruce Wayne i want the character eccentric and unpredictable. Has Batman i want it badass. Less "Origin" kinda scenes and more reaction to the villains , i mean stop explaining his gadgets vehicles and motivations, we all fucking know Batman.
Michael Keaton's Batman was like that. He felt a little eccentric and there was this scene:

 

cryptoadam

Banned
The villians were too over the top which dragged the movie down a bit. It was understandable after Returns and with the dark and weired direction Burton took that the studio wanted to do something that was more kid/toy friendly.

Carey was a huge star and it made sense, but the comedy was just a bit to campy. Reign in him and Jones and it probably stands up a bit better.

I don't think it deserves to be lumped in with B & R though.
 

The Snake

Member
Yeah I always thought it was pretty decent. Obviously it's far too campy to work as a sequel to Burton's films, but on its own it's a decent version of Batman and a fairly well-paced movie, with a lot of great art direction.

Really would have preferred to get a younger Robin, though. Chris O'Donnell does a fine job but the dynamic would have been way more interesting with a kid Robin, not a guy who's like 36.
 

Nymphae

Banned
He resembles Bruce Wayne the most out of any other actor.

BruceWayneVK.jpg


latest


Well?

Kilmer is a blonde Wayne in the movie, didn't work for me.

batmanforever-776759.jpg


Plus he acts the role like shit, he's so wooden and dull. Clooney wasn't much better but I felt he looked more like the character. I liked Keaton's version the most even though he doesn't look as close to the character as I would like. I just like his intensity.
 
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Michael Keaton's Batman was like that. He felt a little eccentric and there was this scene:


Yeah that was one of the things I liked about Keaton's Bruce Wayne. He came off like a disturbed eccentric that would consider a bat costume a good idea.


As for the topic...personally I don't agree and think the movie is pretty difficult to sit through. For some reason they also though the 60's Batman camp needed to return(And boy would it ever in the follow-up), which pushed the movie into full-on absurdity.
 

pramod

Banned
I actually like it more than any of the other 80-90's Batmans. It had the best action, and the most memorable scenes and quotes, at least for me. I actually hated the Burton Batman's,

And I don't know how people can say Forever was more campy or over-the-top when you had dumbass scenes like this in the original:

 
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Don't be foolish.

Kilmer is a blonde Wayne in the movie, didn't work for me.

batmanforever-776759.jpg


Plus he acts the role like shit, he's so wooden and dull. Clooney wasn't much better but I felt he looked more like the character. I liked Keaton's version the most even though he doesn't look as close to the character as I would like. I just like his intensity.

Hair colour was most likely in response to the family-friendly direction they were heading for. As for his performance, he was indeed wooden and depressing, with the most of the dialogue sounding as though an emotionally angst teenger had written it.
 

Nymphae

Banned
Hair colour was most likely in response to the family-friendly direction they were heading for. As for his performance, he was indeed wooden and depressing, with the most of the dialogue sounding as though an emotionally angst teenger had written it.

I actually don't mind Kilmer at all but his performance here was just so flatlined, and it really stands out played against the over the top Tommy Lee Jones and Carrey.

I actually like it more than any of the other 80-90's Batmans. It had the best action, and the most memorable scenes and quotes, at least for me. I actually hated the Burton Batman's,

And I don't know how people can say Forever was more campy or over-the-top when you had dumbass scenes like this in the original:



You're crazy, that movie was incredible. Best quotes? Are you shitting me? The original had, and this is off the top of my head:

"You wanna get nuts? Lets get nuts!"
"Where does he get those wonderful toys?"
"Never rub another man's rhubarb"
"You wouldn't punch a guy with glasses would you?"
"Ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

I actually can't even remember one quote from Batman Forever. Oh wait - "Riddle me this, riddle me that, who's afraid of the big black bat" I guess.

Burton's original essentially defined the dark knight we all know and love, and informed the awesome dark deco animated version. Look at what Batman was before that movie, and then watch it again and appreciate what they did for the character with that movie.

But yeah that gun scene was a little off, fans complained because it was the first time Batman sort of went against "his rule" and just tried to gun the joker down. And it's a little silly one fucking bullet takes out the Batwing.
 
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A guilty pleasure of mine, helped by the presence of prime hotness Nicole Kidman. Along with Cameron Diaz in the Mask, child me thought Kidman was the hottest woman alive.

I enjoyed it when I was a kid, although I do agree that Chris O'Donnell was maybe not the best Robin, and Kilmer was pretty bad as Wayne.

However, it features Batman with a ludicrous grin after he kisses Kidman, which I think is the first and only time Batman smiles while in costume. I honestly cannot remember another such scene.
 

The Snake

Member
For some reason they also though the 60's Batman camp needed to return(And boy would it ever in the follow-up), which pushed the movie into full-on absurdity.

You can definitely tell Joel Schumacher, like a lot of people then, only really had the 60's Batman as a reference for what Batman was all about. Which is funny because during the late 80's into the 90's, Batman had been returning to the hard boiled action star he started out as, and the comics were getting more serious. But these guys weren't reading comics; they just watched Adam West as a kid and thought a modern take on it would be a neat thing to do. I'm assuming Joel thought Tim Burton's take was simply a Burton-esque twist and an anomaly, which is sort of was, but it was a little closer to the comics by accident as a result.

I remember my friend's dad being really surprised at how "dark" Burton's movies were. He knew Adam West Batman and nothing else.
 

JimiNutz

Banned
Goddamn I'm remembering how fine prime Kidman was in this movie.
As a child I thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.
 
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#Phonepunk#

Banned
Loved he soundtrack so much. It introduced me to the Flaming Lips who became my favorite band as a teenager. I liked Jim Carey as a wacky silly guy. He was still known primarily for comedy roles like the Mask and Ace Ventura so this felt nice.

The movie is very very silly and pretty much on the level of the 60s tv show. But I love the 60s tv show :)

imo Batman has an inherently silly side they hate to embrace but I love it
 

lock2k

Banned
Loved he soundtrack so much. It introduced me to the Flaming Lips who became my favorite band as a teenager. I liked Jim Carey as a wacky silly guy. He was still known primarily for comedy roles like the Mask and Ace Ventura so this felt nice.

The movie is very very silly and pretty much on the level of the 60s tv show. But I love the 60s tv show :)

imo Batman has an inherently silly side they hate to embrace but I love it

This, so much. Love these both aspects.
 

Orenji Neko

Member
I'll agree. Not going to say it's a great movie or anything, but compared to what came right after it, Batman Forever was definitely a 50/50 affair where it was still obviously coming from the first two movies, but had some of the stuff that would come front and center, and be absolutely overbearing and insufferable in the next movie.

I didn't like it as much as Batman 89 or Batman Returns, but at the same time when it came out and I saw it, I didn't feel like the Batman movies were ruined yet and it was a better third movie to me than certain other sequels (Robocop 3.....Beverly Hills Cop III....TMNT 3....etc) which were just pure, absolute garbage. Of course, Batman and Robin came along and that was an atomic bomb level of a disaster.

Also since I mentioned Robocop 3 above, I don't want to suggest that Robocop 2 was great or good either; the first is legendary, and the second is really kind of lame with a few cool bits, but 3......oh man.......oohhhhh maaaaan, no, no, no.

Loved he soundtrack so much. It introduced me to the Flaming Lips who became my favorite band as a teenager. I liked Jim Carey as a wacky silly guy. He was still known primarily for comedy roles like the Mask and Ace Ventura so this felt nice.

YES. Though for me I'm a U2 fan and I still love "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me " to this day. You know, maybe it's me, but the song has always felt like something that could be used for a James Bond movie as well.
 

pramod

Banned
I guess we just have to disagree. I hated the first Batman. I felt the entire movie was ridiculous and played for camp. There isn't a single scene that I can take seriously. I am a fan of Tim Burton, but I just don't think his style fits a superhero action movie. And Returns was even worse and more Burton-esque,
I actually don't mind Kilmer at all but his performance here was just so flatlined, and it really stands out played against the over the top Tommy Lee Jones and Carrey.



You're crazy, that movie was incredible. Best quotes? Are you shitting me? The original had, and this is off the top of my head:

"You wanna get nuts? Lets get nuts!"
"Where does he get those wonderful toys?"
"Never rub another man's rhubarb"
"You wouldn't punch a guy with glasses would you?"
"Ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

I actually can't even remember one quote from Batman Forever. Oh wait - "Riddle me this, riddle me that, who's afraid of the big black bat" I guess.

Burton's original essentially defined the dark knight we all know and love, and informed the awesome dark deco animated version. Look at what Batman was before that movie, and then watch it again and appreciate what they did for the character with that movie.

But yeah that gun scene was a little off, fans complained because it was the first time Batman sort of went against "his rule" and just tried to gun the joker down. And it's a little silly one fucking bullet takes out the Batwing.

 

VulcanRaven

Member
However, it features Batman with a ludicrous grin after he kisses Kidman, which I think is the first and only time Batman smiles while in costume. I honestly cannot remember another such scene.
292cce3cb122c7334a6f8c1e4b5328715528a560.gif


He also smiles in the first movie before Joker falls in the acid if I remember right.

My favorite Batman movie is Batman Returns. I think its a lot better than the first one. Catwoman and Penguin are great villians.
 
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pramod

Banned
292cce3cb122c7334a6f8c1e4b5328715528a560.gif


He also smiles in the first movie before Joker falls in the acid if I remember right.

My favorite Batman movie is Batman Returns. I think its a lot better than the first one. Catwoman and Penguin are great villians.

I hated both Burton films. To me they weren't really "Batman" movies, more like movies from the weird TBU (Tim Burton Universe) featuring some guy called Batman (instead of Beetlejuice).
 

brap

Banned
>when you can't watch this movie without thinking of a certain member here

I like all the old batman movies. Own them all on vhs, dvd and blu ray. Don't care what anybody says.
 

ruvikx

Banned
I'd rather watch the Burton & Schumacher Batman movies than Nolan's. The caped crusader deserves & fun, light hearted popcorn flick which I enjoy whilst drinking & chomping on potato chips. Nolan's films are depressing, miserable & nihilistic. They have zero humor, take themselves far too seriously & Batman's voice is horrible.

In this instance it really depends on how seriously people treat the Batman universe, because Batman Forever is IMO a far more enjoyable ride than anything which followed. Oh & Nicole Kidman was absolutely hot back then. No question.
 

cryptoadam

Banned
There used to be a greying tower alone on the sea
You became the light on the dark side of me
Love remained a drug that's the high and not the pill
But did you know that when it snows
My eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen?

Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah
Now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey

Wonder how many dudes got laid thanks to seal LOL.
 
There used to be a greying tower alone on the sea
You became the light on the dark side of me
Love remained a drug that's the high and not the pill
But did you know that when it snows
My eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen?

Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah
Now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey

Wonder how many dudes got laid thanks to seal LOL.

Great song

Acapella version featuring Seal

 
How badly i wish that Michael Keaton had stayed on for one last time. Dude literally went to costume fittings and had molds made for his Batman Forever suit before dropping out at the 11th hour.
Tim-Burtons-Batman-3-suit.jpg

michael-keaton-batman-3-2.jpg

He has said he tried to hang on for as long as he could.

Batman Forever could have been awesome. Espescially If Robin Williams (which was the original plan) played a psychotic, more subdued, dramatic Edward Nygma. It could have rivaled the Christopher Nolan movies.

DpwLiWY.jpg
 
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MetalAlien

Banned
The movie is still watchable but only just. The soundtrack is awesome though. The Clooney Batfilm though is complte trash I cannot even sit through it.
 

lock2k

Banned
I'd rather watch the Burton & Schumacher Batman movies than Nolan's. The caped crusader deserves & fun, light hearted popcorn flick which I enjoy whilst drinking & chomping on potato chips. Nolan's films are depressing, miserable & nihilistic. They have zero humor, take themselves far too seriously & Batman's voice is horrible.

In this instance it really depends on how seriously people treat the Batman universe, because Batman Forever is IMO a far more enjoyable ride than anything which followed. Oh & Nicole Kidman was absolutely hot back then. No question.

This, so much.

90's Batman crushes Nolan's movies

Also, best Batman since Michael Keaton:

lego_batman_will_arnett_batman_-_h_2017.jpg
 
Batman Forever isn't too bad, but it was a huge missed opportunity not bringing Keaton and Burton back.

Just imagine if there was this whole long run with Keaton, culminating in a Dark Knight Returns movie, heck they could still bring Keaton back for DKR.
 

Soltype

Member
Wasn't a fan, it felt half cocked on all fronts.It wanted to be dark, but not too dark.I prefer Batman and Robin for going all in on the ham.
 

Fox Mulder

Member
I like the older films. They have issues and you have to like cheese, but I'd easily choose to watch them over the DCEU shit.

I still have those McDonald's mugs in my cupboard too.
 
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