Batman Forever - Special Edition [DVD]

Right off the bat (believe it or not, no pun intended) I'd like to say that I'm awarding the DISC 4 stars. The film itself I would rate at a three (possibly 3 and a half).

Historically speaking Batman Forever appears to have dropped off the pop culture radar. While not quite as divisive as Batman Returns, as important as Batman, as popular as Batman Begins or as reviled as Batman and Robin the film is a mixed bag that is fairly and commendably scrutinized in this excellent SE offering from Warner Home Video.

After the dust settled following the release of Batman Returns, a film that retains a fiercely loyal fan base but profoundly upset the Mcfranchise mentality that surrounds most comic book films the consensus was that some changes were in order.

Tim Burton's darkly expressionistic tones were replaced by the larger than life pop arty aestheticism of Barbara Ling painted with Schumacher's now trade mark multi-coloured neon. Michael Keaton (who after umming and aahing about the possibility of donning the Bat Armour for the third time jumped ship after his initial costume fittings - perhaps he saw the nipples-) was replaced by the capable and affable Val Kilmer who gives a passable performance of a seasoned yet vulnerable and broody Batman. Rising star Chris O'Donnell joined the party as orphaned acrobat Dick Grayson and eventually Batman's sidekick Robin (the 25 year old "boy" wonder) and a motley crew of villains were introduced in the form of Jim Carrey's typically outrageous Riddle and Tommy Lee Jones' risible Two Face who, between them, dole out lashings of pantomime villainy.

While Batman Forever may lack the complexity of its predecessors it still functions perfectly well as a generic popcorn superhero romp serving up just enough psychology and emotion for us to invest in the characters while still flouting Schumacher's taste for gaudy spectacle with some (to this day) impressive set pieces and memorable action sequences.

As with the Special Editions of the previous two Batman films, picture and sound quality far surpass the previous vanilla discs and while I have not sampled the DTS track on any of the discs the 5.1 track does justice to Elliot Goldenthal's stirring score and the surround effects get a pretty good airing. Joel Schumacher's diverse palette (like it or loathe it) is rich and vibrant here and whatever your opinion of the change in direction of the franchise it is indisputable that this superhero pop-opera has never looked better. The cut of the film is also slightly different to that of the previous vanilla release with a few sequences extended here and there.
The commentary track is a pleasant mixture of fond reminiscences and interesting factual nuggets and to be fair Schumacher really comes across as a likeable character in his yak-track, justifying the decisions he made about "lightening up" the Batman franchise plausibly while explicitly stating his respect and admiration for what Tim Burton had done before him.

The Special Features disc does not disappoint and again I have to thank Warner Brothers for really putting the effort into making these Special Editions really special. The ongoing documentary Shadows Of The Bat is back with Part 5 : Reinventing a Hero which offers some tantalizing insights into the changeover from Burton to Schumacher and from Keaton to Kilmer with Val Kilmer being the only Batman actor of the film series to come back to do an interview. Again the documentary takes us through the whole process of production from inception to reaction and it is with some modesty that Schumacher relates how surprised he was that the film did as phenomenally well at the box office as it did.
A schmaltzy period promotional doc entitled "Riddle Me This, Why Is Batman Forever" hosted by Chris O'Donnell is also included on this disc. While it offers nothing that isn't covered in greater detail elsewhere on the disc it is still a wryly amusing addition.
The Batman Beyond documentaries are also present and as with the previous releases every element of the monster production is lovingly chronicled and peppered with talking head commentaries that vary in interest with the most fun to be had in the stunts, costumes and visual effects documentaries.
It is also worth mentioning that a "darker" director's cut of Batman Forever has been rumoured for a very long time amongst the fan community. Sadly this DVD boasts no such cut although the bonus disc does include a few deleted scenes which to be fair were right to be left on the cutting room floor but are certainly welcome additions to the disc expanding in places upon the psychology of Bruce Wayne, his relationship with Dick Grayson and his motivations for donning the bat armour.

While I have something of a love / hate relationship with Batman Forever this disc represents an entertaining and comprehensive diversion for all but the most puritanical Bat fan.

Divided amongst most Bat-Fans, this film was released in 1995, nearly 6 years after Tim Burtons original graced our screens. Many are quick to relegate this film to the "Campy, Crappy Schumacher Era", but upon closer inspection the film very nearly could have had the right balance of Burtons dark, haunting vision and the 'pow! wam! splat!' summer blockbuster status of this films follow-up, "Batman & Robin". The reason I say this is because during the countdown to its release, the film was apparently re-edited by studio executives in order to gain a much more popcorn-friendly feel to the piece. This meant cutting out entire sequences that would explain plot and in certain cases make the film alot daker. Thats why this release is so refreshing as we get to see a handful of material that was taken out nearly 10 years ago. Unfortunately, we have no directors cut, so it appears unlikely we will ever see the film in its original (glory?).. Also included on this release are several documentaries detailing production, and a Joel Schumacher commentary, which I'm sure many will agree is probably worth the price tag alone for both this film and "Batman and Robin", if only to play a game of 'how many times schumacher says "i'm sorry" in a commentary'..

After the supremely dark and atmospheric films with Tim Burton at the helm, the studios decided to try and go for a younger audience and hired director Joel Schumacher to helm the third film. The tone is lighter from the outset, though with Burton's hand still on the tiller in the form of producer it manages to reign it in a bit and gives a film that is the right mix of dark and camp. Val Kilmer dons the cape for this outing, and he proves to be an able Wayne/Batman, here mentoring young Dick Grayson and trying to prevent him following the same dark path. He manages to bring across all the facets of the character very well. Tommy Lee Jones has gleeful manic fun as Two-Face, the ultimate split personality. He's a bit camp and schoolboyish at times, but it's all good fun. Jim Carrey almost steals the show as the Riddler, in a role that was just perfect for his brand of OTT mannerisms. With a host of great one liners and some good ideas, this is a decent film, and probably the most entertaining of the series. It's not as dark as the first two to be sure, but it does what it sets out to do effectively and delivers a couple of hours solid entertainment. I kind of prefer the darker tone of the first film, but that's just a matter of taste. 4 stars.