Batman Forever: Critic Reviews

By now, Jim Carrey is doing sarcastic takes on his own sarcasm, and there's something funny and a little scary in that.

The film recovers from that initial confusion to get stronger as it goes along, and to shape up as a free-form playground for its various masquerading stars.

Bigger, battier and better.

Carrey lights up an otherwise over-scripted, over-frenetic potboiler.

It's great bubble gum for the eyes.

Joel Schumacher submits to the Wagnerian bombast with an overly busy surface, and the script by Lee and Janet Scott Batchler and Akiva Goldsman basically runs through the formula as if it's a checklist.

As for Kilmer, he gamely steps into the dual Batman/Wayne role but can't get much traction, finding, as Michael Keaton had, that beyond a stern jaw there's not much to be done with it, since the suit does most of the work.

Kilmer's good, not surprisingly, but he doesn't get to do a lot.

Minds in neutral, zoning out on the eye candy.

The highs? Jim Carrey's Riddler, hands down.

It's lighter, brighter, funnier, faster-paced, and a whole lot more colorful than before.

Batman Forever is in and out but wins in the end by staying true to its unbridled comic spirit.

This loud and boisterous comic book confidential is serviceable enough to satisfy.

A flashy movie that's more like a video game.

Under Joel Schumacher's helm, this third chapter is disappointing--despite a new Batman (the vain Val Kilmer), new femme, new villains and characters, new costumes and even new Batmobile.

Die-hard Batman fans will be even more disappointed with this than they were with Burton's version.

Hasn't aged very well.

This is a film not designed to be the best piece of pop art it can possibly be, but calculated to draw the widest possible demographics in order to please WB's merchandising partners.

Batman Forever is louder and gaudier than Burton's films, so be prepared.

Boring and near-unwatchable; its title sums it up with cruel accuracy.

See website for more details.

Mildly diverting, brainless fun that feels like a long trailer for a better film.

The second sequel to Tim Burton's 1989 blockbuster makes its predecessors appear models of subtlety and coherence.

The film ultimately lacks genuine suspense, and Schumacher unwisely moves the film back towards the camp of the 1960s television series.

Takes two giant steps backward.