Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Batman Forever'

Written by Scott Edwards

Just when you think it is safe to walk the streets Gotham one more time, there are still more villains that pop out of the woodwork. I don’t think I ever saw this coming as the major villains from the original television series had been taken out in the other two films, with the exception of the Riddler. One of the things that I do love about Batman is that since he is still a broken person and he is forced to face both halves of his personality on a daily basis, he actually sounds like a real person. When Batman had to face off against Superman, I wished I could have heard what voices in his head came out to play, because we all know that the voices in Superman’s head are from other people and never himself. But before we get too ahead of ourselves, let's talk about Batman Forever.

Harvey Dent, the former district attorney of Gotham City has taken on a new persona since he has been badly scarred on one side of his face. Being called Two-Face now, he has his own gang of misfits that are not only looking to make the big score, but also to make sure Gotham knows that they are not to be messed with. Blaming Batman for the trauma he has to deal with, Two-Face is trying to pull the Bat out of the shadows for one final showdown, but no matter what he tries, Batman is able to escape with his life. With the promise of killing the Batman, Two-Face has made a new friend that may seem a little bit off to him, but with revolutionary technology at hand, he sees promise and will be able to fulfill his lifelong dream of killing the Bat.

Edward Nygma is a low level scientist working at Wayne Enterprises, but he will not be stuck in the job for long. Wanting to bounce his ideas off of the billionaire, Edward knows that his ideas will take Wayne Enterprises to the next level, but after meeting Bruce and being denied the startup capital, he starts to go crazier than normal. Needing to prove that his new invention, The Box, works, Edward gets his first human trial and sees what Bruce was talking about with the side effects. Gaining knowledge from anyone that is plugged into The Box, Edward needs to find a way to get more money so he can put one Box in every home in Gotham, not for the money, but for the knowledge. Wanting to find a persona that will exemplify who he really is, Edward becomes the Riddler and starts to leave little notes for his new favorite foes, Bruce Wayne and Batman. Needing help, the Riddler calls upon Two-Face to get the money flowing, but will he be able to keep Dent at bay until he is able to get the Bat to come out of the shadows?

---

​Bruce Wayne wants nothing more than to hang up the bat suit, but now he has another person hunting him down, Dr. Chase Meridian. Although this seems to be a dream come true, Batman does not have time for women, but this one has changed his outlook on a lot of things. Visiting the doctor as Wayne, he finds that she is more of a Batman groupie than he would have ever expected, but he wants to see if he can win her over without wearing the mask. Taking Chase to the circus, Bruce is surprised to see that Two-Face has taken over the show and wants the Bat one last time. Watching as the Flying Grayson’s are killed, Bruce is ashamed with himself for not being faster and decides to take Dick Grayson in while he gets back on his feet. Little does Bruce know that Dick will stop at nothing to achieve his new goal in life, to kill Two-Face, and he has the means to do so.  Not ever wanting a partner, Bruce will have to learn to trust someone other than Alfred and this young man might be his best shot at taking down both Gotham’s new threat.

As daylight turns into night, the city of Gotham is terrorized by Two-Face and his gang of hoods. Batman is able to stop the capers, but is not able to capture Two-Face himself. While the Riddler is on the streets securing funds for his Box program, Edward Nygma is holding parties and trying to one up his idol, but he is not Bruce Wayne and will never be, but he will be able to pick the brain of the man that almost let his dreams die. With the production of the Boxes in full swing, Riddler is able to know every deep dark secret of the people in Gotham, including the greatest secret of all, the true identity of the Batman. Since there are no secrets anymore, Batman might be in for a surprise as he is persuaded to allow young Dick Grayson to tag along, but never having a partner will not stop the Dark Knight from ensuring the safety of Gotham city.

You know, with a new Batman lead actor, I am not too upset that Val Kilmer came into the role. Watching the movie again, he seemed to embrace the role and played it pretty well and his inner battles and struggles were just as you would envision them. I think that the only piece of this movie that fell short was the forced jokes from the original Batman television series as the rest of the movie was really well done. I loved the Riddler and even though most of his parts were over the top, but that is how I could see the Riddler being in real life. I really like Two-Face however, it would have to be my favorite character of the movie series thus far and I hate to say that because I love the Joker, but Two-Face is the closest foe to Batman and the two are battling the same demons, only Two-Face does not keep his feelings bottled up. He also does not let emotions get in his way and with the use of his coin, he is able to make the tough decisions without feeling bad about the outcome. One of the best villain combos I've ever seen and they would be hard for any superhero to beat, I wonder what Superman would have done? Probably just let them be since he would not see the moral issues at hand until he got his brain sucked on a bit. The next page is always better than the last.

---