Batman Forever DVD

Advantages: Alfred, the end
Disadvantages: Crap acting and story

The Batman Franchise went through three distinct phases: in the beginning was the dark and edgy creation pieced together by the Michael Keaton-Tim Burton axis. By the end of the line there was the farcical and shallow campery of George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman as we went for animated cartoon played by real live people, although they exhibited slightly less animation and depth than their two dimensional forebears. In between ...
...were supreme embodiment of the Batman legend, as depicted in the haunted later comic strips of the 70’s, glorying in the inner torment facing its main protagonist as the darker version of the cartoon had done. Michael Keaton somehow managed to pull off a perfect reading of the Bruce Wayne/Batman dynamic, with moody and distant charm and grandiose mania. It had been a risky choice, but had been in retrospect a masterstroke. However, by Episode Three ... Read review

Advantages: Good performances by Carrey and Lee Jones. Kidman and Barrymore look better than ever.
Disadvantages: Not the gretatest of plots. Shifting the target audience was a bad move - the series has lost its edge. No Tim Burton

...he can find out who Batman is with the aid of the Box. At Two Faces lair, we are briefly introduced to his two wonderful women, one for each of his sides, and conveniently called Spice and Sugar (Drew Barrymore, who also looks gorgeous!) Meanwhile, Bruce is still trying to gain the attention of Chase, and takes her to a charity event at the Gotham Circus, where Two Face decides to take over and leave a bomb behind, just before a performance of a ...
...Batmobile, and tries to fight Batman when he next sees him! Dick now has his heart set on becoming Batman's partner and getting revenge by killing Two face, but Bruce tries to explain that the death of his family's killer will not relieve the pain. At the launch of the new improved Box, the Riddler manages to read Bruces' mind and finds out that he is Batman, and thus manages, with the help of Two Face, to get into Wayne Manor and destroy the Batcave ... Read review

Advantages: Riddler's Dialogue, Val Kilmer's Performance
Disadvantages: Chris O'Donnell's Weak Acting, Disappointing Sub Plot Where Batman And Robin Are Arguing

...that this is the best Batman movie to date. The plot is for both 'baddies' revenge. Harvey Two Face blames Batman for his mutation and Riddler blames Bruce Wayne for not giving him funding for a memory device he has designed. This film has a range of one liners in it's script that will make you laugh. The idea of having Riddler and Two Face together was an inspiring idea, as it gives the perfect balance of a humorous 'baddie' and a maniacal 'baddie'. ...
...O'Donnell's weak acting was the rather weak argument Batman and Robin keep having about them being partners, frankly it drags to long and becomes just annoying. I now must have watched it around 20 - 30 times and each time it still leaves me satisfied and content at the end. ... Read review

Advantages: Action and thrills all the way through.
Disadvantages: Perhaps too much of the same old thing.

Batman Forever…indeed! Now, I know what you’re going to say: #3 in the series, enough Batman is enough, but I truly believe that this character is a timeless classic, and I am a very big fan. And this is the point really: you need to be a die-hard fan in order to own, much less watch the Batman series. In this chapter of the Batman chronicles, our hero is played by Val Kilmer, a very interesting choice indeed, since he is suitably steel ...
...looks equally as tasty as Batman in his rubber suit. The plot is the general taking over the world saga, this time rather cleverly, I thought, by inventing a small device that sits on top of a television, much like a cable box, and that transmits the brainwaves of the viewers to the high tower on the hill, for The Riddler and Two-Face to absorb. As per usual, our winged friend is on the case, and with his new partner, Robin, they manage to stop ... Read review

Advantages: Jim Carrey
Disadvantages: Camp

...prequels. We get a new Batman (Val Kilmer), he gets a sidekick, Robin (Chris O'Donnel), and the whole thing goes a bit camp! Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones play the villians The Riddler and Two Face. Carrey is remarkably good in the role, and if it wasn't for his performance, this could have been unwatchable! It's more Batman the bad TV series, than the dark Batman of the comics that Burton was aiming at. The story is not important, there are bad ... Read review

Advantages: Chris O'Donnell and Male castings
Disadvantages: running time

...What a remarkable film! Batman forever is one of my all time favourites and a must buy. Every time I watch this DVD I seem to enjoy it more! Batman forever is the third batman film. The plot of the film consists of Batman having to fight off two villains, the riddler and two face. The riddler is a technical wizard who invents brain sucking T.V and two face is a guy scarred down one side by a acid attack, leaving him with two faces and two personalities. While batman is trying to fight the two bad guys, he also ends up falling for the lovely Dr Chase Meridian, a sexy abnormal psychologist. However when two face kills the family of a young acrobat, he vows revenge, leading to the ever so fit Chris O’Donnell teaming up with batman. The director is Joel Schumacher. He is not one of my favourite directors as I have not really heard of any... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Smart, funny movie with a great cast
Disadvantages: No DVD extras!

...Director: Shane Black (Lethal Weapon series) Starring: Robert Downey Jr (Zodiac, Good Night and Good Luck) Val Kilmer (Batman Forever, The Saint) Michelle Monaghan (The Bourne Supremacy, Mission Impossible 3) Production Year: 2005 Running Time: 103 minutes Certificate: 15 DVD Extras: None Cost: Play.com - £4.99 Plot overview: This is very complicated so try and keep up. Harry (Downey Jr) is a thief, who accidentally ends up being taken to Hollywood after his partner is killed and when escaping stumbles into an audition. He is swept off to LA to audition seriously for a police drama film and is paired up with Private Detective Gay Perry (Kilmer) to learn the trade. When in LA he meets childhood friend Harmony (Monaghan) who is an aspiring actress there. Harry and Harmony both shared a love of old Johnny Gossamer spy books as kids... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Surreal, macabre fun with a great cast
Disadvantages: The odd little special effects flaw

...the floor? Who cares if it’s all set at Christmas despite the fact they released it in September? Batman Returns is a full-on Tim Burton voyage to the dark side, crammed with fantastic performances and awesome action set-pieces. Of course, box office-wise, it was a disaster. Burton withdrew from the franchise, taking Keaton with him, and the video was rushed out for Christmas. From the studio’s point of view, it was ironically the irritating Batman Forever that saved the series. You can now get the film on video for a couple of quid, or on DVD for around £7, which I would recommend. You can even buy the whole collection on DVD for £15 in a box set.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful