I admit that the last two Batman movies 'Batman Begins' and 'The Dark Knight' have taken the gloss off this movie quite a bit fpr me.I watched 'Batman Forever' last night and was surprised as to how weak it seemed compared to the latest releases.Val Kilmer is quite dull as Batman,Tommy Lee Jones looks uncomfortable as Two Face,Nicole Kidman is shown as a soppy lovestruck girl when she is supposed to be a tough psycologist and Jim Carrey enjoys himself and probably steals the show as The Riddler.The sets are good,the music is excellent but I now prefer the darker tones that the Batman movies have moved into.
What lifts this DVD though are the extras.There are loads of them,most of them pretty interesting which probably makes this special edition worth getting.

Batman has returned with new director Joel Schumacher. Gone is Tim Burton's gothic style Gotham City and nasty villains. Instead we got a neon lighted Gotham City, stereotypic villains and comic style action.

How does this work? Not very well compared with Burton's first two films, but you might enjoy it very much if it is your first.

Val Kilmer has replaced Michael Keaton and makes a terrific Bruce Wayne/Batman; he underplays the role just as well as Keaton. The villains of the movie are an awfully overplaying Tommy Lee Jones as Harvey Two-Face and Jim Carrey in his typical stand up-style performance as The Riddler. Nicole Kidman seems uncomfortable as the psychiatrist, but Chris O'Donnell's Robin is introduced very well, though the character is not missed.

"Batman Forever" is a disappointment after "Batman" and "Batman Returns"; it is a slam-bam action-adventure highly above the ground, but nevertheless it is great fun if you can enjoy a Batman-movie in 100 percent comic style.

The studio were thinking about marketing than anything else with this day-glo head ache of a film.
Gone is the brilliant gothic gloom of Tim Burton, and in is the terrible bright colours and lighter tone. Keaton had the good sense to hang up his cape for this third adventure.
Val Kilmer is now the Batman and he shows none of the charm of Keaton, and Nichole Kidman is just a waist of space. The introduction of brat Robin is a huge mistake. But the worst insult of the film is Tommy Lee Jones as Two Face. This has to be one of the worst over the top performances ever.
The film's real saving grace is Jim Carrey as Riddler.I'm not a huge Carrey fan due to his on screen gurning and face pulling. But as The Riddler Carry does pull off a great turn, and is the only one on the cast who knows how to play the character.
Director Shumacher has made a total pigs ear of a movie.
But if you compare this to Shumacher's Batman and Robin, this is hardcore and gritty.

To be honest I did find this more watch able than Batman & Robin which I thought should never had been made. That aside I was able to enjoy this movie to a cretin extant (such as the comedic Jim Carey and the entertaining but sinister Tommy Lee Jones). No way did this Batman movie even begin to compare to the first two. But like I said from my Batman & Robin review. If your thinking of buying this then I seriously consider you check out Batman Begins first.

When I first watched this I was pretty amazed by the drastic makeover of the Batman franchise. Warner Bros abandoned Tim Burton's dark, psychological Batman for a lighthearted, immature Batman with nipples (why nipples?). I was outraged by the change of Gotham City. Gotham City is a dark, gritty city but in Batman Forever it is a very light and fantasy city. The only thing I liked about this movie was Jim Carrey's hilarious acting. **

Why is it people these days cant just watch a film to be entertained? ok so this or its sequel are not exactly oscar material but they were different and fun, ok so the dark night has all these gothic beginnings but that can get a little static after a while. Batman forever was better than Batman and Robin i agree but this film arguably had better pacing than even Batman Begins did, its entertaining and accessible and you wont get bored, like all comic book/fantasy movies it isnt meant to be taken seriosly. Remove your brain for 2 hours, set eyeballs to escape mode and enjoy!

Joel Schumacher has a lot to answer for. After Burton's 'Batman' thrilled audiences with its style and sophistication 'Batman Forever' saw the rollercoaster lose a couple of wheels and very nearly fly off the tracks. The tried-and-tested formula of bigger, better villains meant we had Jim Carrey as a suitably hyperactive Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones as Two Face. Sadly these were the movies high points - Val Kilmer replaced Keaton as Batman/Bruce Wayne and was grossly miscast, Nicole Kidman certainly looked good but little else, whilst the addition of Chris O'Donnell as Robin had the franchise beginning to smell very strongly of cheese. Even the production design wasn't as effective, with more neon on show than your average red light district and none of the Gothic might that Burton had brought to the streets of Gotham. The score as well sadly missed Danny Elfman's contribution and, whilst still enjoyable, could never reach the giddy heights of Elfman's iconic theme. Still, it wasn't all bad and the film was certainly enjoyable in places. And it was 'Citizen Kane' when compared to 'Batman and Robin'....