Batman forever movie storybook
With Bruce (George Clooney) having forgiven himself for his parents’ death, he now struggles to be a parent himself, first to Dick Grayson and then potentially to Alfred’s niece (Alicia Silverstone), right as his surrogate father (Michael Gough’s Alfred, the only cast member alongside Pat Hingle as Jim Gordon to appear in all four Batman movies) faces a mysterious illness. With its superb visuals, low-key camp and high-energy action, it remains perhaps the idea “Eh, I just feel like watching a Batman movie” pick for general audiences and casual consumption.ĭespite changing creative teams and having three actors as Bruce Wayne for four movies, the 1989-1997 Batman franchise does have a narrative through line, one which would reach its climax in Batman & Robin.
#Batman forever movie storybook movie
It was the first modern live-action Batman movie which centered on Bruce Wayne himself, with Kilmer’s Bruce Wayne forgiving himself for egging his parents into going to the movies on the night they died. Thanks to a refreshingly agile Batman who could actually kick butt, Elliot Goldenthal’s rousing heroic score (which sounded like a theme kids would make up while playing with their Batman action figures) and kitchen-sink visual sensibilities, Batman Forever is a mix of the 1970’s “Caped Crusader” era (defined by Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams) and the frankly over-the-top fantasy/sci-fi 1950’s comics. It also featured a tone which emphasized emotional drama for the heroes and psychosexual camp for the villains. Like Batman & Robin, Iron Man 2 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the sequel offered two villains, one fixated on the superhero and the other on his alter-ego. Its Batman was driven but relatively decent, committed without being obsessive, and willing to work through his own issues in order to better himself as a person. It also featured a gonzo-bananas tie-dye hallucinatory production design while walking the fine line between dark character drama and kid-friendly action. It featured Jim Carrey as The Riddler (in love with Bruce Wayne), Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face (obsessed with Batman) and Chris O’Donnell as Robin. Batman Forever was a pop culture sensation in its day, offering what turned out to be an idealized hybrid of Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’ 1970’s Caped Crusader era and the post-World War II swashbuckling best defined by Dick Sprang. Joel Schumacher and Val Kilmer took over for Burton and Keaton, and what we got in return was a Batman movie that actually cared more about Batman than the villains. It’s a good thing too, since the outcry over Batman Returns’ violent, imagery and innuendo led to studio demands for a lighter, more family-friendly Batman movie. The extent to which Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne works through his own traumas while overcoming these adversaries makes him a happier and healthier businessman and crimefighter when Batman Forever rolls around. Batman Returns is a dark fairy tale horror story of a Batman movie, meaning it wasn’t that far off from the more foreboding (and also not appropriate for five-year-olds) comics of its day. Yes, all three villains represented potential “darkest timeline” personas and cautionary tales for Bruce Wayne and Batman, while offering ahead of its time pollical satire that now feels dated due to the whole “Gotham actually turns against the Penguin once he’s exposed” plot turn. Ditto Daniel Waters’ screenplay, which lowered the onscreen carnage but upped the gore, sexual innuendo and “disturbing imagery” to the point where it traumatized children and their parents nationwide.īatman Returns pitted a truly tormented Batman (whose Bruce Wayne persona has essentially faded from view) against Michelle Pfeiffer’s vindictive and uncaged Catwoman (murderous vigilante), Danny DeVito’s vile and anti-social Penguin (a vengeful, bitter orphan) and Chris Walken’s psychopathic Max Schreck (a heartless corporate tycoon). Strange’s mutated monsters weren’t just going to kill hundreds of people without a second thought) but the bloodshed was harsher and more personal. Alan Grant’s stories were less violent (Dr. The books of that time were deeply introspective and explicitly psychological, while also offering (courtesy of Norm Breyfogle) stark and sometimes horrific imagery. But if Batman was an ode to the pre-World War II (and pre-Comics Code) Dark Knight stories, then Burton’s truly ghoulish Batman Returns was both “full Burton” and a pretty accurate reflection of the late 1980’s/early 1990’s comics of the era.