If Batman Returns is like a chilly walk in the park at night, Batman Forever feels like a jaunt through Times Square.

But even I felt a disconnect from the exceedingly dark and moody Batman Returns to Batman Forever, with its comparatively warmer tones and ostentatious production design. In 1995, I was a little too young to grasp things like auteur theory and franchise continuity. Chase Meridian, a sultry psychologist played by Nicole Kidman. Thankfully, Batman has new allies to stop them: Robin (Chris O’Donnell), an orphaned celebrity acrobat who suits up as his sidekick, and Dr. When Wayne refuses to back Edward’s project, Edward becomes “The Riddler” and teams up with Two-Face to obtain funding. Later, as Bruce Wayne, he meets an eccentric employee of his company: Edward Nygma (Jim Carrey, at the apex of his career), who has an invention that can manipulate brain waves through television.

A bank heist carried out by Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones, another major casting change from Billy Dee Williams) is thwarted by Batman. It’s almost a stand-alone, an episodic entry that begins in media res. It’s the movie you need to stream on HBO Max before it (along with Batman, Batman Returns, and Batman & Robin) leaves on January 31.īecause of the significant changes in casting and direction, it’s not fitting to say Batman Forever “picks up” after Batman Returns. Released after the Burton era and a harbinger of what was to come with 1997’s Batman & Robin, the 1995 feature Batman Forever is worth another look now. They were replaced by Val Kilmer, a major Hollywood leading man in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and the late Joel Schumacher, whose camp and queer artistry with Batman later encouraged Warner Bros.

After 1992’s Batman Returns, both Keaton and director Tim Burton left the franchise for greener pastures.

This is why it’s a good time now to revisit one of the more overlooked movies in Batman’s cinematic history. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SCI-FI MOVIE? Tell us now for a chance to get paid to write an article for Inverse. Batman will dominate the conversation for the next eleven months.īetween The Batman in March, with Robert Pattinson expected to deliver the performance of his career, and November’s The Flash with both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton reprising their respective Batmen, 2022 will be eclipsed by a Dark Knight.

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