Batman Forever1995

71/100 This is a movie which is at the same time connected and separate from the Burton duology, and with that duality, it's no wonder the main villain of this movie is Two-Face. However, with a new director and even a new Batman, this movie certainly feels distant from the previous two, but in a way that I kind of like. While the 1989 Batman was a serious, dark Batman, this movie is instead the best of the caped crusader's more light-hearted action-adventure side. Let's start off with a hot take: Michael Keaton was a great Batman, but Van Kilmer is almost perfect in the role. His gadgets are cooler (especially that Batmobile), his action is better, and he's got a great sidekick in Chris O'Donell's take on Robin. Unfortunately, the movie takes the same approach as the previous two and places a lot of emphasis on his love interest: one Dr. Chase Meridian. Like most original creations of these movies, I find her mostly uninteresting. Moving on to the real highlight of the movie: the villains. Now, Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face does have a split-personality, which is worth something, but otherwise he just comes off as a worse version of the Joker of two movies past. It's a shame as in my opinion, as in a movie of neon lights, he could've worked well as a straight man. The real star of the show, though is the Riddler. He works great as a guy who's too smart for his own good in Edward Nygma, and once he dons the Riddler persona, Jim Carrey pulls off his classic cartoony persona to great success. This movie plays like a five episode special of the 1966 show, and its just a joy to watch. If you liked the Burton movies and wanted more of the same stuff, you probably won't like this. However, if you're just looking for a fun time with Batman, definitely check it out. ...also Batman finally doesn't directly kill people. He kinda kills Two-Face at the end, but it's not really a direct kill, so I'll take it.