Before proceeding, I recommend you read the excellent recap of Batman Forever right here on this site.

In 1995, Joel Schumacher took over the reins of the Batman franchise, and created a gaudy monstrosity of a movie called Batman Forever. In spite of the rather middling quality of the film, it raked in a ton of cash, and capitalized on the stardom of both Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones.

Ten years later (and eight years after the Batman & Robin debacle), the franchise was rebooted, and to commemorate the occasion, Warner Bros. released the first four Batman movies in deluxe, two-disc special editions. Sold both separately and in a box set, they remain the definitive examinations of the series.

I’m looking at Batman Forever here, mainly because out of the two Schumacher entries, it’s the one I can actually stand to watch. But also because... Well, okay, that’s the only reason. I’d rather have amoebic dysentery than go through the frigging Batman & Robin set. I may be an overachiever as a writer, but I also have a very strong survival instinct.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should say I did see this film in the theater, twice. And I can’t really justify the second viewing as part of a double feature, because the other flick I checked out that night was Species. I guess in 1995 I had very low standards (and in 15 years, they’ve only improved marginally). But then again, that year was a crappy one for movies in general, so let’s just blame that.

But the one thing I really can’t justify is the soundtrack purchase. I’ll take that one square in the face like a man. Let’s move on, shall we?

The menu design is nice and basic. Like the other films in the set, the main menu of disc one plays music and clips from the movie, while a Batman logo fills the frame. It’s a decent bit of design work.

Also, this film, as well as the other three Burton-Schumacher films, is available on Blu-ray, though why you’d ever want Batman & Robin in standard definition, let alone in hi-def is one hell of a puzzler. I guess there truly is a market for everything.

Disc 1

Apart from the trailer, which does its job in making the film look far more exciting than it really is, we get an audio commentary from the director.

Audio Commentary by Joel Schumacher:

Schumacher’s commentary isn’t bad, but to be honest, Joel isn’t the most riveting speaker I’ve ever heard. He has a bit of a droning sort of voice, and while it doesn’t reach the depths of a John McTiernan commentary track, you do have to be made of stern stuff to take two hours of this guy talking. And there are some dead patches towards the end where he runs out of things to say, but to be honest, a commentary track on this film from yours truly would be pretty spotty at best.

To explain further, when I talk about films I occasionally lapse into a Quentin Tarantino impression. No, really. It’s actually a little nauseating. It helps if one of my other film fanatic buddies is around to play the Robert Rodriguez role. You know the phrase “talking a blue streak”? I can talk two—I’m just that damn good.

And now, onto the track!

Notable Notes from the Commentary:

On the complaints about nipples being added to the costumes, Joel says, “People need to get out more often.” Which doesn’t really mean anything. I’m guessing either nobody told him how stupid they looked, or they did and he simply ignored them.

I lost count at some point, but I think he lavishes each performer with at least three compliments before moving onto whatever point he was making about them. Yep, it’s that kind of commentary. Relentlessly positive, though he does mention cuts made to the film to get it under two hours. I’ll cover those in the deleted scenes section.

Interestingly enough, he feels the previous film wasn’t “too dark” as some critics said, which I sort of agree with, but then he also says “nothing is going to destroy the Batman legend”. While this may be true, we’ve seen that it’s entirely possible to send it into hibernation for a significant period of time. Sort of like how even though Jason Voorhees can take a couple bullets, some machete slices, and finally an axe to the head that puts him down for the count, eventually he’ll be fine in time for the next movie.

So I guess Batman & Robin would be the metaphorical axe to the head, and Batman Begins would be whatever half-assed gimmick the next film used to bring Jason back. I’m not sure where The Dark Knight fits into this analogy, but that’s neither here nor there.

Joel is blandly complimentary towards pretty much everyone, from the production design team to the f/x crew. I don’t have a problem with nice guys doing commentary tracks, but it sure doesn’t make for the most interesting listen.

One amusing thing is how pretty much every actor is referred to as “the great...”, which is fine when talking about someone along the lines of Tommy Lee Jones, Michael Gough (he’s quite good at playing villains), and to an extent, even Val Kilmer (his Doc Holliday in Tombstone is brilliant). But when Joel Schumacher says “the great Ed Begley Jr.”, I have to call time here.

I mean, Begley is fine for the most part, but great? Not so much. I even have some issues with Pat Hingle getting that particular honor, but maybe that’s just me.

We learn that at one point, Nicole Kidman wasn’t considered sexy enough by the studio. Before you snicker, bear in mind this is the same studio that at the time was planning a Superman movie with Nicolas Cage in the lead. (Though, to be fair, Cage would probably make a good Lex Luthor.)

Jim Carrey was pretty heavy into the details of his performance. It pays off, as he’s easily the best part of the damn thing.

Sugar and Spice, the two henchwomen played by Drew Barrymore and Debi Mazar, were initially called “Lace” and “Leather” respectively, but Warners felt the names were a bit inappropriate for a PG-13 movie. And yet, we still got rubber nipples and molded batches.

And as an aside, yes, I do feel that in this film and the following one, we didn’t need no stinking batches!

From the sound of things, Jim Carrey’s presence helped Tommy Lee Jones get to the over-the-top level he reaches here. Whether or not this is a good thing is entirely up to you. Needless to say, this isn’t the best Tommy Lee Jones film to see if you want to get an idea of just how good he is. Oddly enough, the reverse can be said about this film in the case of Jim Carrey. Weird.

Joel mentions Don “The Dragon” Wilson during his small role as a gang leader, and of course, he’s “the great Don Wilson”. The man is way too complimentary on this track. If you want to know why, rent one of Don’s movies, and after you’re done with your 90 minute nap, you’ll have your answer.

Joel gets into some of the character elements of the movie, but to be perfectly frank, the man is such an uninvolving speaker that it’s hard to really focus on what he’s saying. Seriously, he makes the film interesting to watch just by virtue of him being such a dull monologist.

Joel does get an amusing line when Batman and Robin finally team up. “Just two guys in rubber, hanging out in the cave.” Pity he’s not this amusing for the entire track.

Joel professes an enjoyment of a darker Batman, which leads me to thinking that most of the bad stuff in this film and the film that followed can be mostly blamed on screenwriter Akiva Goldsman. Especially seeing as how Joel reveals that the “Holy rusted metal” line was an Akiva Goldsman creation. No, I’m not surprised, and neither should anyone else be.

Every break with the laws of physics is explained with “It’s a Batman movie,” which is a total cop-out. An honest one, which is entirely valid, but still!

Overall, it’s a pretty good track, just rather bland and one-note.

Disc 2:

Here’s where the bulk of the extras are. There’s some good stuff on this disc, and some rather superfluous elements as well. The setup for the extras is pretty much the same on each of the films.

Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of The Dark Knight, Part 5: Reinventing a Hero:

Don’t let the rather ungainly title fool you; this is a solid 28-minute feature on the creation of the movie. The first three parts of Shadows of the Bat were about the first Batman movie, the fourth was on Batman Returns, and the sixth is on Batman & Robin. It’s a really good documentary, though it does falter a bit once you get to the second movie.

The main aspects of Batman Forever are touched upon, and while it’s not a comprehensive look at the movie, it’s more than enough. Let me put it to you this way: Do you really want a ninety minute look at the making of this movie, or is something around a third of the length more than adequate? I know which one I prefer.

Character Profiles:

Pretty much what it sounds like: some short pieces about the heroes and villains with a little bit of insight, and that’s about it. Easy to breeze through, but also easy to skip over.

Beyond Batman:

This is a series of featurettes delving deeper into the making the movie. Think of it as a “deleted scenes” section for the documentary. You get details on the production design, special effects, music, that sort of thing. It’s all presented well and makes for good viewing.

Deleted Scenes:

I’m going to go into a bit of detail on these because, well, there’s actually stuff in here that I have an opinion on. I really don’t have much to say about the making of the film, but the deleted stuff I can actually sink my teeth into.

There are seven deleted scenes (well, six, really—one scene is just an extension of a scene in the theatrical cut), adding up to just under fourteen minutes of footage.

Escape from Arkham:

This was most likely meant to be the opening scene of the movie. In it, we find that Two Face has escaped from Arkham Asylum and is on the loose. It’s a nicely atmospheric bit that would have served as a nice bookend with the final scene of the film.

Two Face’s Hate (Extended Scene):

This is from the helicopter scene, and it’s really just some extra dialogue between Batman and Harvey that doesn’t give us anything new. Might have been nice to include just so Batman has some actual interplay with the guy, but I can live without it.

Beauty and the Batman:

Cutting this scene from the movie was probably one of Schumacher’s best decisions. This is a moronic little comedy bit where Batman responds to a “Crime in Progress” warning in the Batmobile, only to barge into a hair salon, where one of the women offers to take “a little off the ears”. Words fail me, but thank god this scene was never used.

Dick’s Pain:

This is a brief scene between Bruce and Dick that basically goes over the “revenge won’t help” ground that’s already covered in one or two other moments. There’s nothing much to mention, other than the rather over the top moment where Bruce obliterates a punching bag with one kick.

Bruce’s Dilemma:

Here’s the subplot where Bruce’s personal torment comes into play.

Bruce is angst-ridden as he watches a news editorial imploring Batman to retire. And here, we get an esoteric reference where the reporter is named “Kenneth Frequency”, an allusion to that incident with Dan Rather.

Bruce has a talk with Alfred, and Bruce’s dreams are explored a little deeper. It’s a pretty good scene and should have been kept in, along with the following sequence.

The Secret of the Batcave:

This is probably the best scene in the section. It’s pretty much Bruce facing his fears and anxieties, finally making the choice that he references at the end of the movie.

It begins after the Batcave is destroyed, and I think there must be some other bits missing, since Alfred references Bruce giving up being Batman to save Dick. Regardless, Bruce comes face to face with the reason he became Batman, heading into a dark cave and confronting the bat from his dreams, now a huge beast as big as he is.

He also learns that his parent’s death wasn’t his fault, and the scene ends as he exits the cave, walks over to Alfred, and says, “I’m Batman.”

It’s not perfect, and it does come off a bit too vague and cerebral for a summer action flick, but I think it would have worked just fine if the rest of this subplot had been kept in. Sadly, they opted for more neon.

Does it ever end?:

This is a short tag at the end of the movie with Alfred and Chase. Nothing more.

We also get a vintage piece on the film from 1995, and a music video for Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose”. All in all, it’s an excellent set for the movie, though you have to really give a shit about a mediocre film in order to make it worth the purchase.