Batman Forever: the 30th Anniversary

The Blind Eternities forum

Posted on May 17, 2025, 11:20 a.m. by DemonDragonJ

This year is the 30th anniversary of Batman Forever, the first Batman film to be directed by Joel Schumacher and the third film overall in the series directed by Schumacher and Tim Burton.

After two very dark Batman films (although still with some campy elements) directed by Tim Burton, Batman Forever had a distinctly different style and tone from its predecessors, as the film featured bright neon lights, costumes and vehicles that were very flashy and stylish, and villains who were very hammy and frequently used puns in their speech; in many ways, the film was a throwback to the campy 1960's television series, but many members of the audience did not appreciate the drastic change in tone, nor the very different portrayal of the titular character, since Michael Keaton, who had played Batman in the previous two films, had left the role, following Burton's departure; instead, Val Kilmer played Batman in this film, and his portrayal was very different from Keaton's, but this film delved much more deeply into Batman as a character, exploring his past and also his continuing motivation for being who he was, and ended with him choosing to continue operating as a superhero. This movie was also the debut of Robin in the Burton/Schumacher films series, although he was portrayed as being slightly older than the age at which he typically begins his career, but he was a young adult, in this film, likely because the idea of a grown adult forcing a young child into dangerous situations was no longer popular with general audiences. Some people have criticized Kilmer's stiff and relatively bland portrayal of Bruce Wayne and Batman in this film, and I can understand that, but I also believe that Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey were amazing in their portrayals of the villains of the film, Two-Face and the Riddler (and, as far as I am aware, this was the first time that Two-Face appeared in a live-action production); Carrey was at the peak of his comedic prowess, at that time, so he brought a zany and deranged mentality to the character, perfectly capturing his neurotic obsession. Some people criticized Jones for playing Two-Face in too campy of a manner, failing to capture the full depth and subtlety of Harvey Dent's dual persona and fixation on random chance, but I do like how he actually displayed emotion, in this film, since he usually plays very straight-faced and stoic characters. And, of course, one of the best parts of this film was the focus on vengeance and how it ultimately is an empty pursuit, with Dick's story mirroring that of Bruce, and Bruce attempting to guide him down a different path from what he, himself was taking, but Bruce ultimately deciding to continue being Batman. And, of course, Michael Gough was one of the few actors to appear in all four films, playing Alfred with grace and poise, serving as a mentor and father figure to him, a point of consistency in a franchise that otherwise had a cast that was frequently changing.

I was only eight years old when this film was released, so I have very fond memories of it, and, although I do acknowledge that it certainly has numerous flaws, I still enjoyed it and can respect that it is very much a product of its time. Batman Begins is now my favorite live-action Batman film, but I still have a fondness for this film, as well as its sequel, whose own 30th anniversary is now not very far away, either, so I hope that DC does something to commemorate this anniversary, as well.

What does everyone else say, about this? How do you feel about this year being the 30th anniversary of Batman Forever? I certainly am interested to hear your feedback, on this subject.