Warner Brothers decided to change the look of the Batman films following "Batman Returns", and signed up Joel Schumacher to direct. Tim Burton stayed on as a producer, and what followed was nothing short of a travesty.
In "Batman" and "Batman Returns" Tim Burton had rendered Gotham City as a sinister gothic stage. The villains Joker and Penguin were dark and wicked and although Michael Keaton is my least favourite Batman, he was nevertheless a decent portrayal of the Dark Knight. All of that was changed for 1995's "Batman Forever". Schumacher renders Gotham as it would appear in the comic books of the 1960s - flashing neon lights, bright colours and vividly flamboyant - it is a treat for the eyes that eventually becomes exhausting and headache-inducing.
This time around Batman (Val Kilmer, in a portrayal of Batman that is neither bad nor good) is up against Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) and the Riddler (Jim Carrey). Jones is completely miscast and his Two-Face is hard to take seriously. Jim Carrey, true to form, becomes extremely irritating before long and adds to the nausea of the neon lights. Just as irritating is the Robin portrayed by Chris O'Donnell, who we are introduced to in what is probably the best scene in the film in a well-choreographed trapeze performance in the circus. For what it is worth, I think this is worse than "Batman and Robin", its much-maligned successor.
In "Batman" and "Batman Returns" Tim Burton had rendered Gotham City as a sinister gothic stage. The villains Joker and Penguin were dark and wicked and although Michael Keaton is my least favourite Batman, he was nevertheless a decent portrayal of the Dark Knight. All of that was changed for 1995's "Batman Forever". Schumacher renders Gotham as it would appear in the comic books of the 1960s - flashing neon lights, bright colours and vividly flamboyant - it is a treat for the eyes that eventually becomes exhausting and headache-inducing.
This time around Batman (Val Kilmer, in a portrayal of Batman that is neither bad nor good) is up against Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) and the Riddler (Jim Carrey). Jones is completely miscast and his Two-Face is hard to take seriously. Jim Carrey, true to form, becomes extremely irritating before long and adds to the nausea of the neon lights. Just as irritating is the Robin portrayed by Chris O'Donnell, who we are introduced to in what is probably the best scene in the film in a well-choreographed trapeze performance in the circus. For what it is worth, I think this is worse than "Batman and Robin", its much-maligned successor.