I'll be honest. When this film first came out, I thought it was a travesty. Unlike many here, I was not a kid when it came out. I was already in my early 30's, so my perspective was not going to allow for a kid-moment in the franchise. But my own kids have grown up watching it, and now even my grand son is watching it (and they all love it). So I've been able to see it through their eyes and that's allowed me to bridge that gap and just appreciate it on it's own terms. Also through watching it soooo much with each child, I've noticed this installment is actually the most watchable, despite it's flaws.
I've concluded that while the film's dialogue and script may be a work out on the brain, it's visuals are extremely easy on the eyes. It's a good looking movie for it's genre', and therefore a very easy film to sit through. My grandson will go through binges where he'll want to watch this movie every day for a week. He'll take a break and then months later he'll want another dose. And I think therein lies the secret to why it's never entirely cast aside by even the most critical of fans. It's an all out attack on the visual senses and there's something redeeming about that. No other movie remotely looks like that. And the fact it doesn't take itself serious pretty much keeps the movie timeless.
That movie looks as good today as it did in 1997. Yes, I still cringe at some of lazy editing done on this film. The back looping of Robin in the water is amateurish. When Robin came up out of the water, they could have moved to Batman cutting the vines and then gone back to Robin going back under and there would have been no need for the reversal. Very sloppy. And the poor camera angles on the wire work is completely on Schumacher. He got lazy, but once again, simple editing could have fixed all of that. So when I pull back and look at the totality of everyone's contributions, there were allot of talented people bringing their 'A' game to the project. But what hurt them was the utter failure of others, like Schumacher, to do their part correctly.
But for all it's faults, I accept and respect it's treatment. It speaks to generations of kids (past & present). And although some have grown out of it as they have gotten older, others can still retain their fascination for why they liked it as kids. Plus I have the unique position of seeing that same excitement with new generations like my grandson. So there's definitely a redeeming quality to the film that other movies in the franchise can not offer. At the end of the day, I think this movie is perhaps the most honest for just looking at the concept for what it is - It's a guy dressed up as a bat using bat-themed devices to fight crime. How serious should you really take that concept if you can't have fun with it as well? I think Schumacher made an indelible impression on the character that will one day find majority acceptance for what it is and not what some wanted it to be.
So while the dark and gritty Batman certainly has it's place in Batman lore, I think there's still plenty of room (and audience) for the lighter side of the concept. It's probably the most often quoted film in the series. And if people hated those lines THAT much, they wouldn't remember them.
