Batman Forever The Official Batman Forever Thread - Part 2

[LuiAlbZondo]

The Burton films are vastly superior in pretty much every way but that doesn't necessarily make Forever all that bad. I've always found it underrated and yes perhaps mediocre in comparison but on it's own I feel it's a fun and interesting batman movie. A good balance mix of silver age comics and some of the modern batman comics at the time

 

[Herofan]

I think BF still comes off as more enjoyable if you watch it pretty soon after The Mask (and OTOH haven't watched TAS recently with its Two-Face which makes TLJ's worse and more painful).

 

[C. Lee]

I've seen it dozens of times over the years, but re-watched it again yesterday for the first time in years. Overall I still say it's a fun movie....not good, but fun. Kilmer was good as Bruce but not as good as Batman. Carrey was totally wacko as Joker and TLJ was bad as Two Face. Kidman was absolutely beautiful and O'Donnell was good as Robin. I had forgot that Don "the Dragon" Wilson was the psycodelicly painted gang leader.

 

[Mistah K88]

I've heard rumors that Tommy Lee Jones acted goofy as Two Face as he was annoyed with Jim Carrey's Riddler... If this is the case he definitely missed the mark as he should have put THAT into his acting and remained the "straight man" to the manic Riddler. I remember Two Face's final speech before falling to his death giving off the vibe that he HATED working with Nygma but lost the coin toss "no more curtains number 1 and 2, just plain curtains!"

 

[Nardz937]

 

[The Caped Knight]

 

[Gothamsknight]

Oh man those are fantastic! I'm glad they're getting around to making some for Joels movies.

 

[Nardz937]

The Schumacher cut is real and it sounds like it may be coming!

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

 

[Doctor Jones]

I'll watch it in a second, but I hope it's not bloated like the rumored three hours. I'd like it to function as an actual alternative cut of the movie if possible and that means a good sense of pacing.

But three hours or not, I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Captain Tired]

Well we all knew this was coming...

 

[Matt.S99]

This better happen!
Tbh, I’d rather see a push for this than the Snyderverse.
I rewatched the film the other day, and you can definitely see the potential. I feel like the theatrical cut we have doesn’t do the best job of balancing the darker parts with the campier parts, so I hope this alternate cut does a better job of that.
But yeah, it’s still an enjoyable movie. And honestly, I would say it’s a good Batman film.

 

[Mani-Man]

Always thought Forever had a lot of potential visually and from the story aspect.
Would love to see what Schumacher had actually in mind, so i would be all for that.

Reminds me...its time to rewatch Batman Forever.

 

[Matt.S99]

I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I’ve read that Burton personally approved of Schumacher taking over for him. If true, there’s obviously a good reason for that. Schumacher was a good filmmaker. His Batman films were just victims of studio meddling/manipulation.

We all know it is still happening today, but I imagine it was even worse back then because there was no internet communities like we have today. No one was petitioning to see a directors true vision back then.

with BF, clearly there was a lot of interference. With B&R, it seemed like it was completely dictated by the studio and Joel just did what he was hired to do. He did his job. I wish people would stop placing the blame solely on him. And I wish people would either just embrace them for what they are, or forget about it. We’ve had soooo many incarnations of the character since 1995-1997. I still see so many people crying about the nipples or how cheesy the films were. Get over it.


I’m glad there has been a little bit of a change of heart from so many. It seems like as time goes on, more people are embracing them, which is wonderful.

 

[Galactus123]

The Schumacher cut is real and it sounds like it may be coming!

I really hope this means that they will release it.

 

[OutOfBoose]

I really want to see this version too. Always liked Forever.

 

[Dark Raven]

What's special about the Schumacher cut? What does it have in it?

I have to say that Nicole Kidman never looked better than in this movie. Well, maybe apart from "To Die For", but this was definitely her best look in any film before or since.

 

[Kane52630]

Basically more of the stuff that was in the deleted scenes

 

[J.Drangal]

Basically more of the stuff that was in the deleted scenes

Wow, I never saw or heard of the bit with the hairdressers before. Pretty funny.
I have to say that I find a lot of things visually interesting in Batman Forever. There's a little something from the '90s comic book. That deleted Arkham scene per example, with the psychiatrist going to Dent's cell, could have easily been drawn by Kelley Jones. Those tortured faces and harsh lights ... There's definitely strong choices.

Anyway, more generally, I don't dislike that movie at all. In fact, without wanting to start a controversy, I feel like its bad reputation is a bit unfair when the film is more or less using what is now called the “Marvel formula”. A colorful and family action-adventure flick, paying homage to the source material and sometimes putting a certain irony or a second degree to it. There is sure some adjustment that could be made but, all in all, I think it's a pretty enjoyable movie. Especially for the demographic targeted by the studio back then.

Now, put the focus back on Bruce's psyche by restoring some of his darker deleted scenes, tone down TLJ's performance a bit to counter Carrey's madness, and I'm sure that movie could have been something special. I won't say a classic, but in my opinion, it wouldn't end up that far from a pretty valuable Batman movie.

 

[Doctor Jones]

I agree. I don't need a three hour cut for it to be better or complete. Just add more of those psychological nuggets for Bruce to unearth the themes of duality and guilt more, add the opening scene with Two-Face escaping and reshuffle the original script order in the first act, put back the amnesia and bat scene, trim down Jones as Two-Face and you have a good movie. Not as good as the first two, but I think you have something solid for what it is.

 

[Dark Raven]

If they desaturated the colours so it's not so bright glowing neon it could become the Snyder-Schumacher cut.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

I'd love to see what Joel really intended for the film to be.

 

[Dark Raven]

This film reminds me of that Batman live arena show, or rather they've copied the style of Batman Forever:

 

[Matt.S99]

Wow, I never saw or heard of the bit with the hairdressers before. Pretty funny.
I have to say that I find a lot of things visually interesting in Batman Forever. There's a little something from the '90s comic book. That deeted Arkham scene per example, with the psychiatrist going to Dent's cell, could have easily been drawn by Kelley Jones. Those tortured faces and harsh lights ... There's definitely strong choices.

Anyway, more generally, I don't dislike that movie at all. In fact, without wanting to start a controversy, I feel like its bad reputation is a bit unfair when the film is more or less using what is now called the “Marvel formula”. A colorful and family action-adventure flick, paying homage to the source material and sometimes putting a certain irony or a second degree to it. There is sure some adjustment that could be made but, all in all, I think it's a pretty enjoyable movie. Especially for the demographic targeted by the studio back then.

Now, put the focus back on Bruce's psyche by restoring some of his darker deleted scenes, tone down TLJ's performance a bit to counter Carrey's madness, and I'm sure that movie could have been something special. I won't say a classic, but in my opinion, it wouldn't end up that far from a pretty valuable Batman movie.

All of this.
It’s understandable why they wanted to make the third film not so dark. And you’re right that Forever is more inline with what Marvel is doing now. Accessible to all, but they didn’t sacrifice the darker parts.

Agreed about TLJ. I have no problem with Riddler being over the top, but Two Face was almost acting exactly the same as him.
I think if they insert more of the darker stuff, it will make Riddler seem more unhinged. Like he’s completely wild and crazy.

To me, Forever is *almost* a perfect balance between comic books and real life. They deal with some pretty dark stuff, but it’s still quite vibrant like a comic.


Even though I did love them as a kid, The Burton films were very adult. Forever is a lot more geared to a wider audience.

Batman is a really unique character because he can really exist in both those worlds. You can make him dark and completely ‘adult’, but you can also make it more family friendly in a way. There’s room for both. We have a ton of “serious” Batman films, so I don’t mind seeing something more whimsical once in a while. Like I said, I think this film has an almost perfect balance. Not as dark as the Burton films, but not as over the top as B&R or the 66 series.

I appreciate the Schumacher films more and more as time goes on. The Burton films will always be my No. 1, but the Schumacher films have a very special place in my gear and I genuinely think Forever is a good Batman movie verging on great.


I think Kilmer was a worthy successor to Keaton and if given the chance, he really could have reached Keaton levels IMO.

 

[Galactus123]

What's special about the Schumacher cut? What does it have in it?

I have to say that Nicole Kidman never looked better than in this movie. Well, maybe apart from "To Die For", but this was definitely her best look in any film before or since.

It would be 170 minutes long:
'Batman Forever' Had a "Much Darker, More Serious" 170-Minute Cut from Joel Schumacher

I'm sad that they cut this scene from the final movie: