Batman's back in a brighter, more kitschy Gotham City. With the aid of a sultry psychiatrist Dr. Chase Maridian and a recently orphaned acrobat who takes on the persona of Robin, Batman must contend with not only Two-Face, a former district attorney turned into a psychotic criminal when half of his face was hideously scarred by acid, and the Riddler, a mad genius determined to outdo both Bruce Wayne and his caped persona, but his own identity issues as well.

Many, many diehard comics fans bitched and moaned (and rightfully so) when the Batman film franchise was ripped from the hands of Tim Burton and placed in the trust of Joel Schumacher. For the purpose of making the franchise more "kid friendly" (and honestly, after Batman Returns, a film that had to be very jarring to some parents perhaps expecting something more akin to the "Super Friends," who can blame them?) Schumacher took the movies away from the film noir-esque world portrayed in the modern comics to something more like, God help us, the campy 60s TV show. This change wasn't entirely unwelcome, at least not among mainstream circles. The outraged fanboys screamed out their outrage, but as with Cassandra of Troy, their prophecy of disaster for the franchise went ignored, but would find fruition in one terrible monstrosity, a monstrosity known as Batman and Robin.

But let's take on the task at hand, shall we? If anything, Batman Forever is rather pretty. A lot of thought and energy went toward set design, and, even if it is a bit tacky at moments, it's rarely anything less than impressive and imaginative, especially the shots of the Riddler's giant "brain drain" tower, the Gotham City circus, and Two-Face's hideout. Sadly, though, this film could have improved ten-fold if half of that effort went toward "little things" like character development and dialogue. Here's one excruciating example from an exchange between Batman and the Requisite Love Interest:

I actually wrote down the entire romantic exchange in my notes, out of sheer masochism. Retyping it, however, has reminded me of the trauma of hearing it to begin with, and thus it brings back that strong urge to gnaw through my wrists, so I'll stop there. Sadly enough, both Val Kilmer and Nicole Kidman seem to be the only ones not letting themselves get in over their heads here. Jim Carey, at least in his comedic roles, will never be known as "that subtle guy," but I can't help but wonder if Joel Schumacher slipped him something during a few scenes. It's for Tommy Lee Jones, however, that I truly feel pity. In the comics (the well-written ones, at least), Two-Face is a tragic, psychologically complex character who has through the decades evolved beyond "that villain who can't make up his mind unless he flips that damn coin." And I'm sure in a role more true to that, Jones would have done a good job. Here, though, the script (and possibly Schumacher as well, it's hard to say) forces Jones to act only as a fourth-rate version of Nicholson's Joker, a role definitely unsuited to an actor like Tommy Lee Jones. Even one episode of the animated series that was running about the same time this film was released holds a more in-depth, mature take on the same characters.

Only Val Kilmer and Nicole Kidman seem to keep themselves unscathed from all this. Kilmer does a fairly good job as Bruce Wayne/Batman, although he can't seem to drop a mild look of disgust that follows him through out most of the film (it's no wonder he was absolutely adamant about not appearing in a sequel). Nicole Kidman knows damn well she's just Vicki Vale 2.0, and plays it up with a bit of dignity. In fact, to her credit, she's one of the few P.L.Is I've seen who don't at some point allow themselves to be reduced to senseless screaming fits. It's safe to say she probably pulls off the best performance in the film. It's certainly the most sedate compared to Jim Carey and Tommy Lee Jones' bizarre hysterics and Chris O'Donnel's garish attempts to be the Bad Embittered Kid WIth a Heart of Gold (the Character-o-Matic, gotta love it).

I know the tone of this review is harsh, and probably harsher than it needs to be. It comes from being happy with the first two films in the series, and then seeing the third taking a drastically different and less interesting route. This really is in many ways a genuinely entertaining film, even if it requires dealing with some terribly embarrassing dialogue and characterization. Essentially, what you have is good brain candy for some, but a bitter pill for a few others. Also, in hindsight from a post-Batman and Robin world, I can honestly say....Batman Forever really wasn't that terrible, and that's the best recommendation I can make.