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Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever - A Misunderstood Masterpiece (video)

VulcanRaven

VulcanRaven

Member


That video title might be too much but the movie is much better than people say. It might be disappointing when you compare it to the Burton movies but I have always liked it. Its fun and Val Kilmer is great as Batman. They cut some really good scenes from the final movie so it could be even better. I hope Warner releases the 3 hour director's cut at some point:

comicbook.com

Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever 170 Minute Cut Reportedly Exists

A super-sized version of Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever reportedly exists in the form of a [...]
comicbook.com comicbook.com

"I have it on pretty good authority that there exists in the Warner Bros. vault a 170-minute cut of Batman Forever," Bernardin told his co-host Kevin Smith. "I think that it went much deeper into his childhood psychosis and his mental blocks and that it was a more serious, darker version of that movie that was one of the first assemblies that Joel filed with the studio and they eventually cut it down because they were like 'it's too dark for kids. We gotta sell these Happy Meals, so maybe let's not invest ourselves in the trauma of childhood murder. We've got Jim Carrey, let him do some s--t."

Smith said that while WB might doubt it, he strongly suspects fans would like to see the extended cut, noting that post-laserdisc and DVD, audiences are smart enough to understand the differences between cuts.

"In a world where Joel Schumacher just passed away, what an interesting, wonderful testimony that would be to his work, to get to see a totally different version of Batman Forever," Smith said.
Click to expand...

I wish they hadn't cut this scene:
 
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Rockondevil

Rockondevil

Gold Member
I agree. Great movie. Kilmer did a pretty good job. I find myself watching it more often than Returns as much as I love Keaton.

A lot of people hate on Harvey and Nygma but they achieved the vibe they were going for well. They certainly weren’t the most comic accurate villains shown on the big screen, but neither are any of Nolan’s who get so much praise.
 
Hulk_Smash

Hulk_Smash

Banned
VulcanRaven said:


That vdeo title might be too much but the movie is much better than people say. It might be disappointing when you compare it to the Burton movies but I have always liked it. Its fun and Val Kilmer is great as Batman. They cut some really good scenes from the final movie so it could be better. I hope Warner releases the 3 hour director's cut at some point:

comicbook.com

Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever 170 Minute Cut Reportedly Exists

A super-sized version of Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever reportedly exists in the form of a [...]
comicbook.com comicbook.com



I wish they hadn't cut this scene:
Click to expand...

I’ve never seen this cut scene before. Easily the best part of the movie and it wasn’t even in the movie.
 
Amory

Amory

Member
The Hamburglar said:
It was great.

He out did his own work with Batman and robin.
Click to expand...
Batman Forever is indeed very good.

But Batman & Robin is, without exaggeration, possibly the worst movie I've ever seen. Somehow it doesn't ever enter 'so bad it's good' territory. It just gets worse and worse.
 
mansoor1980

mansoor1980

Gold Member
qaXgpEk.gif

on a serious note why was kilmer left out for batman and robin
 
Soltype

Soltype

Member
Forever had such a strange feel to it, the film swings too much between serious and camp. He fixed it with Batman & Robin though, that movie is definitely a more pure experience, and I think it's better for it.
 
Bridges

Bridges

Member
Still my favorite Batman movie

Campy as hell for sure, but it was much more fun than the Nolan trilogy (though they obviously weren't going for "fun" with those) and holds up way better than Batman & Robin imo.
 
ManaByte

ManaByte

Gold Member
mansoor1980 said:
qaXgpEk.gif

on a serious note why was kilmer left out for batman and robin
Click to expand...

He didn't like Schumacher, and Schumacher didn't like him. He was making The Saint when they were starting Batman & Robin and wanted to do Island of Dr. Moreau more. As for that movie check out Lost Soul (I think it's still on Amazon Prime) for the trainwreck that was.
 
mansoor1980

mansoor1980

Gold Member
ManaByte said:
He didn't like Schumacher, and Schumacher didn't like him. He was making The Saint when they were starting Batman & Robin and wanted to do Island of Dr. Moreau more. As for that movie check out Lost Soul (I think it's still on Amazon Prime) for the trainwreck that was.
Click to expand...
i liked the saint , never heard of lost soul , tf is that
 
EverythingsOverrated

EverythingsOverrated

Member
Batman Forever gets shit on a little unfairly. It's a solid popcorn flick. The only thing that really bothers me is how two face and the riddler just seem to be playing the same character in a slightly different way. Not sure what Shumacher was thinking with Batman and Robin though. That movie is such a turd lol.

ManaByte said:
Click to expand...

I randomly had this song stuck in my head about a month or two ago. Classic.
 
QuantumZebra

QuantumZebra

Member
Calling Batman Forever a "masterpiece" is a leap I just can't take.

Batman w/ Michael Keaton, Returns, and the entire Nolan trilogy are all far better.

But I do love the camp of Forever and B&R... but even then if I want a campy flick I prefer Arnold's whacky Mr. Freeze to Riddler/Two-Face.
 
GnomeChimpsky

GnomeChimpsky

Member
It's pretty weird, but also one of the most visually interesting movies ever. As far as story and characters it's like they took the camp from 60s Batman and put a 90s emo spin on it. Most of the acting is unbearable though, especially when Valium Kilmer and Chris O'Donnell interact. Seeing Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones trying to out-goof eachother is also really strange.
 
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VulcanRaven

VulcanRaven

Member

Reality Czar said:
The first line Batman says in this movie is "I'll get drive through". Just something to keep in mind during reappraisal of it as a "masterpiece".
Click to expand...
Its still the best opening scene in any Batman movie:


They could have left out that line. They probably included it so they could use it in the McDonalds commercial.
 
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Virt McPolygon

Virt McPolygon

Banned
That family of fucking dweebs at the beginning of the video "Batman Returns was a total attack against kids!" and "McDonalds has apologized to us. They're embarrassed" lmao

Val Kilmer was a good Batman and Nicole Kidman was hot.

Also got this music video
 
VulcanRaven

VulcanRaven

Member
I wonder why they decided to make Two-Face the way they did. He is funny but Tommy Lee Jones deserved better. He was too similar to Riddler.
 
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K

Kimahri

Banned
Virt McPolygon said:
That family of fucking dweebs at the beginning of the video "Batman Returns was a total attack against kids!" and "McDonalds has apologized to us. They're embarrassed" lmao

Val Kilmer was a good Batman and Nicole Kidman was hot.

Also got this music video
Click to expand...

It had a great soundtrack. PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, and even Michael Hutchence doing a cover of Iggy Pop.
 
Nikana

Nikana

Go Go Neo Rangers!
I actually really liked this movie as a kid. I thought it looked visually really neat and was too young to really grasp the entirelty of the story. It was my go to batman movie in my younger years over batman and batman returns.

I actually havent seen it since I was probably 11 or 12 so maybe I will give it a watch with Adult eyes.
 
Cravis

Cravis

Member
I hated Jones’ Two Face. Producers told him to go watch Nicholson’s Joker and that was the extent of his crash course on the history of Two Face.

Still the movie has this gem of a line....

 
Xenon

Xenon

Member
As a fan of the TV show it was fun. As a fan of the comics and the Animated Series it's a bit painful.
 
VulcanRaven

VulcanRaven

Member
*Nightwing said:
Recently rewatched them all.... the fucker who made that video can fuck off and OP can fuck right off as well for being associated with trying to spin any positivity to any of of Schumacher batflicks. Fuck right off with that shit


Heathen cunts
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The darker Batman is the best but there is room for other interpretations of the character too. I'm glad that both Forever and B&R exist.
 
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FunkMiller

FunkMiller

Gold Member
Er... no. It was terrible. Not really that much better than Batman and Robin. Horrible characterisations and poor story.

But, you know, if you’re okay with a thirty year old man playing Robin, shithouse dialogue, Two Face with blueberry pie all over half his face, a drag queen as the Riddler, and the entire thing looking like someone fucked a neon tube and gave birth to a celluloid retarded baby, then that’s fine as well.
 
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drganon

drganon

Member
I didn't hate forever, but it's not a misunderstood masterpiece either in my opinion. The best part of the movie is "kiss from a rose".
 
Hulk_Smash

Hulk_Smash

Banned
The problem with all 4 Batman movies (though the Burton ones were better) was they kept wanting to do big screen adaptations of the TV show. Burton’s was more of a twisted take but it was there. Shit all Nicholson did was copy Caesar Romero.

I was in middle school when Batman 89 came out and was super into comic book collecting. So I was the prime target for that movie and I was very disappointed in it.

Almost no fighting. Very little action. Too much focus on the Joker. Weird changes like the joker killing the Waynes, Harvey’s black, Gordon is a moron, Vicki Vale wasn’t in the comic.

By this time too, The Dark Knight Returns was out, so was Legends of the Dark Knight. I wanted THOSE interpretations put on the big screen. Even the regular monthly was darker and more serious than the campy Burton movies.

Forever just made things worse. I remember before BF came out reading a comic that dove into Two-Face’s past and thinking how dark and violent that shit was for a comic. And then I read Dark Knight, Dark City which featured the Riddler dressed in a suit and seriously putting the screws to Batman. It was an awesome little story that to me showed the potential the Riddler had.

Literally none of it was in BF.
 
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J

JeremyEtcetera

Unconfirmed Member
GnomeChimpsky said:
It's pretty weird, but also one of the most visually interesting movies ever. As far as story and characters it's like they took the camp from 60s Batman and put a 90s emo spin on it. Most of the acting is unbearable though, especially when Valium Kilmer and Chris O'Donnell interact. Seeing Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones trying to out-goof eachother is also really strange.
Click to expand...
The visuals and usage of colors in Batman Forever is definitely something that should have been applauded but for some reason it is widely avoided in the making of today's comic book cinema. I would visually love to see a Dr. Strange movie in this style.

Also, it's weird how Batman Forever and Batman and Robin are always attached at the hip in people's minds when the movies are definitely different in multiple ways. The public opinion of B&R always drags down BF with it. I can't think of any other Franchise where this is a thing. It sucks because you don't see people dragging Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 for Secret of the Ooze's amount of bullshit, or dragging MK 1 because Annihilation was trash. However they do it with these two Batman movies because they share a too similar visual DNA.
 
VulcanRaven

VulcanRaven

Member
JeremyEtcetera said:
The visuals and usage of colors in Batman Forever is definitely something that should have been applauded but for some reason it is widely avoided in the making of today's comic book cinema. I would visually love to see a Dr. Strange movie in this style.
Click to expand...
I really need to buy these on 4K Blu-Ray when I get get a player. Forever and B&R should look great with HDR because they are so colorful.
 
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E

Enjay

Banned
JeremyEtcetera said:
The visuals and usage of colors in Batman Forever is definitely something that should have been applauded but for some reason it is widely avoided in the making of today's comic book cinema. I would visually love to see a Dr. Strange movie in this style
Click to expand...
The only other films I think have that sort of aesthetic were Dick Tracy and Punisher War Zone.
 
HE1NZ

HE1NZ

Banned
It's okay. I'd rather rewatch it than Nolan shite. But I don't think it deserves a reappraisal. Batman Returns does.
 
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