The main problem with the Batman films made by Warner in the 1990’s was that they were obsessed by introducing more and more characters from the comic books into the franchise rather than developing Batman/Bruce Wayne. Similarly, they were in a constant state of flux regarding their actors and artistic direction.
Following director Tim Burton making the highly respected first two movies, he decided to move aside thus taking his idiosyncratic manner with him. Replacing Burton was always going to be difficult. He’d brought a melancholic, Gothic feel to the series, where the hero was an anti-hero and the villains complex. They’d also been rather more gruesome than the censors liked with electrocutions and acid baths so younger audiences were less likely to see them.
One imagines there were the following options available to them if they wanted to continue. To bring in a director not far removed from Burton (if there ever has been) or at least not stray too far away from his tone. Or they could hire a director with his own strong idea of what the film should be, again risky if experimental. Or they might just soften things up and chase the buck. You can probably guess which option they selected.
Recruiting Joel Schumacher as a safe pair of hands director (The Lost Boys, St Elmo’s Fire) they were then presented with another quandary. Michael Keaton was also off and so they had to re-cast Batman/Bruce Wayne. This made the task insurmountable but they countered this with casting current box-office star Jim Carrey as The Riddler, hoping that they might bury the issue. Therefore, Val Kilmer came in as the lead, hardly an A lister but I refer you back to Carrey. Tommy Lee Jones, himself having success after The Fugitive and Under Siege was Two-Face along with Nicole Kidman as the love interest for Wayne as Dr Chase Meridian and Chris O’Donnell as Robin/Dick Grayson.
One can see what Warner were up to. Most of the roster comprised of up and coming actors. Even Carrey, who was rising rapidly, had only been around a couple of years and Kidman, at this point, was better known as the wife of Tom Cruise. They had put together an ensemble who were all familiar to audiences but wouldn’t command huge fees.
The plot consists of telling the origin stories of no less than three characters: The Riddler, Two Face and Robin. Already things are cluttered. Only Carrey retains the attention with his flamboyant and goofy portrayal however ridiculous the script is in developing him from a computer geek into a master criminal madman.
Naturally Two-Face and The Riddler unite while Batman takes a certain Dick Grayson under his wing after his family are killed during a trapeze act when their circus is attacked by Two-Face. Not sure how Two-Face would get on these days what with coins falling out of circulation. Then there’s Meridian who is wilfully committing gross misconduct as she tries getting into Batman’s tights while chatting psycho-babble with Bruce on her couch as he harks back to his privileged childhood to try explaining why he’s got no personality, warmth or charisma. Oh, hang on, no sorry that’s Kilmer.
While all this goes on, those little tinkers The Riddler and Two Face make a lot of noise and mess as they go round doing what they bloody well like. The scriptwriters have taken a similar stance as they offload a plethora of puns and one liners best not mentioned.
But this is what makes the movie so forgettable. More is less. The action sequences are frothy and banal, contrived and filmed hyperactively by Schumacher who lacks the grace and composure of Burton. There was absolutely no need for two villains. Carrey as The Riddler has broad enough shoulders to go it alone but, based on the material here, the script writers were presumably not up to the task. For while Two Face brings the evil as personified in previous films by The Joker or Max Shreck, he is two dimensional and lightweight, a parody at points; The Riddler falls in the naughty eccentric category.
Yet that is fine, not all villains need to be sadists. The Riddler’s riddles, while they might have been improved on, are some of the more enjoyable moments. Sadly, because The Riddler and Carrey have to share so much time with Two Face and Tommy Lee Jones, we must take the rough with the smooth.
As for Dick Grayson, it’s another unnecessary addition and unlikely after what went before. Bruce Wayne was a lonely and aloof character in the other films but here the script and Kilmer have him as a typical Hollywood hero type while his union with Robin brings little to the table but to re-tread the ground of the camp 1960’s series which Burton had thankfully wiped from the memory.
Then there’s how the film looks. Obviously trying to replicate a comic-book feel, it replaces Burton’s monochrome look with a garish and multi coloured veneer. This Gotham is barely recognisable from that of Batman Returns which is a shame.
It does have its moments, mostly coming when Carrey is dancing about the place with his cane or his final scene in Arkham Asylum. It’s such a pity that Carrey, at his pomp as a young, energetic comic performer, wasn’t put to greater use because, while he isn’t evil, he is wonderfully anarchic.
With a few relevant concerns in the plot about surveillance and one topic now entirely pertinent when The Riddler steals the confidential data of all Gotham’s citizens, there is a little food for thought. Mostly however, it is an opportunity missed and a big step down from the second film.
Many have said how difficult making a third film is and it only exemplifies the job Christopher Nolan did with the Dark Knight trilogy.
The job was made harder with the departures of Burton and Keaton and the franchise never really recovered from that. While it picked up the younger school holiday audience the makers were looking for and got the merchandise off the shelves, it had one wondering whether the series was running out of steam. Not to worry, two years later, Batman & Robin would answer that question.
Athon 