The Big Picture: Batman Revisited, Part 3

jmarquiso

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I never felt that Batman Forever was as bad as its reputation, but it turned me off of the franchise (including the comics) for the better part of 6 years. I simply liked Returns more, probably due to my age, and the original 89 film was so different from anything I've seen before.

I am curious about next week's installment, and have a feeling Bob's going to talk about fandom's homophobia. While I don't agree, I don't think it's a stretch either. I'm queer myself. I did hear some homophobia attached to Forever (never saw & Robin), but it was mild. The implied "gayness as insult" character of "Joel" in the Legends of the Bat episode of the animated series (I say implied, because I don't think it was intentional).
 

jmarquiso

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Callate said:
George Clooney can act. Chris O' Donnel, Alicia Silverstone, and Uma Thurman have all put in decent performances under other directors (see Scent of a Woman, Clueless, and Dangerous Liaisons, if nothing else). Even Schwarzenegger, while no one's idea of the go-to man for Stanislavskian technique, can generally fill the boots of an action movie character and make him sympathetic and likable.
You know, I don't like Batman Forever, and never saw and Robin, but you forget one thing -

Flatliners, Falling Down, A Time to Kill, and The Client were all praised for their performances under - well - you know - Joel Schumacher. So be fair to him, too. There's probably more to it than just him, too.

I also don't think homophobia was the key factor to it. I won't deny that it may have played a role - especially in terms in playing with the fetishism (ass shot, bat nipples), though.
 

Terramax

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disappointed said:
Is bad casting, boring dialogue and an ugly, nineties, purple and green aesthetic not enough grounds to hate Batman Forever? I mean, it wasn't irredeemable but it's a hard movie to enjoy.
No. The film was great. As a target audience at the time, the dialog, colourful visuals associated with the positive 90's, and famous actors whom were huge at the time, was exactly what we wanted to see.
 

Canadamus Prime

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Batman Forever was actually pretty good. Batman and Robyn, on the other hand, was terrible. But I assume you're going to talk about that next week.
 

Terramax

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Trishbot said:
I think I'll have to agree with just about everything you wrote there.

And, no Bob, I don't care that Schumaucher is gay. I'm bisexual. The fact that he's gay and gave Batman butt-shots and rubber nipples isn't the sole reason I hate his films... but they certainly didn't help the movies any other.
Would you agree if I said that maybe the first 2 films were targeted more to boys/ men whilst, with the butt-shots, etc, Forever could've been shot to tantalise more of a female audience?
 

Mouse_Crouse

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I don't care I have always loved Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. I love the comic book camp ,the cheesy lines, and the terrible puns. I watch those movies with a huge grin on my face. I can appreciate the earlier ones and the new trilogy for what they are, but I LOVE those 2 movies.
 

Trishbot

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Terramax said:
Would you agree if I said that maybe the first 2 films were targeted more to boys/ men whilst, with the butt-shots, etc, Forever could've been shot to tantalise more of a female audience?
Maybe... but I AM female, and I found those insanely stupid.

... And this is coming from a girl that thinks Nightwing is the hottest hero ever.
 

Swarmcrow

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bob... bruce wayne not being able to overcome his psychological scars is what makes him BATMAN, it is the one thing that makes him understand his enemies in a personal level and what makes him so unique among all superheroes, I know that the Schumacher films were not as unrespectful to the source material as everybody says but campy batman is not Cool batman is just generic superhero batman
 

Darth_Payn

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I'm dreading the bat-nipples and Freeze puns already. And the f&#%-ing up of Bane. I actually liked Kilmer as Bruce & Jim Carrey as the Riddler. Bruce did some growing as a character & Riddler was just off-the-wall MANIC, capturing that essence from the '60's show version, which I believe saved him from disappering forever (Ha, ha! wordplay) from the comics.
 

CAPTCHA

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Sep 30, 2009
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I haven't watched the film since going to see it at the cinema on release and I can't remember it so well now, but I can't say that my teenage self didn't enjoy it at the time. Some good points in the vid by the way, especially liked the asthetic choice highlight and a nod to the character advancement (well spotted).

Does anyone remember the promotional song for the film by Manic Street Preachers I mean U2. I remember it been kind of good.

[sub]goes off to youtube to listen to song[/sub]

 

zacharyk88

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Oct 30, 2011
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ok im getting tired of waiting for this big revelation that it feels like bob is building up to
 

Griffolion

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I didn't get that whole elephant in the room thing at the end. What was he alluding to?
 

rayen020

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I'd say in the first 2 Micheal Keaton is just as wooden as Val Kilmer. So other than style and villians there isn't much difference between them and I actually like the neon futuristic look of the Gotham in this movie.

and the Villians seem better. Nicholson is great as the joker. Penguin and Catwoman though, they never really worked for me... Catwoman never really felt like a villain and was underused for what she was supposed to be. and penguin... he never seemed to know what he was supposed to be doing and a bit of a bumbling oaf. plus he wasn't fun to look at(i know he's not supposed to be, but still...). I don't think Jim Carrey was great as riddler, a little bit too overactive and hyper for the critical thinking trickery the riddler was supposed to have. Tommy Lee Jones was better, really going up to eleven with the campiness that i think gelled with the over all style of the film.

there was something else that batman forever had over the others, and i think bob finally made me realize what made me like it more. Basically that batman grows as a character. i don't know how much that may or may not have contributed to me liking it but whatever.
 

RJ Dalton

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When I heard that Billy D. agreed to play Harvey Dent because he REALLY wanted to have a chance to play Two-Face, it actually made me feel really disappointed that they didn't give him the chance. It would have been really interesting to see his interpretation of the character. Probably would have been fun, too. Billy D. has a really good on screen presence and he carries himself in a way that is likeable, even when the character he's playing is a jerk (see Lando Calrisian). I'd have liked to see how that presence carries into a part where he's playing a psychotic villain.

Oh, well. No use pining for what might have been. All we can do is go forward hating Hollywood for its constant bad decision making.
 

rayen020

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Oh i completely forgot for two weeks now... and as we head into the "bad" batman movies i remember.
"discussing the batman movies? really you want to open that kind of botulism filled can of rotting worms covered with crap? Batman fans have holy wars over this stuff, not to mention the burton fanboys and the homophobia that comes up with schumacher is discussed. And are we doing Begins and TDK too? this gonna cause rage..."

I should've said that on the first one... oops.
 

Sis

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blurredplacebo said:
Way to spend 5 minutes talking about something yet saying nothing.
Yeh, that's how I felt. I was surprised to see the credits roll.