I can imagine that when most Batman fans saw this movie they could do nothing but stare incredulously at the screen and hope that maybe, just maybe it was all just a bad dream. And afterwards I'm sure they wondered how the hell could Batman turn from a dark and mysterious character to a silly character who has a utility belt of cheesy one-liners and who appears with his buddy Robin as a "special guest" at a Gotham charity auction. Most people immediately blame Joel Schumacher, and can feel their blood boil every time they hear his name uttered.
Yes, Schumacher did do a terrible job. He found something that worked with Batman Forever and made a success, but took it way too far this time. This movie is a horrible miscalculation of the grandest of proportions. But, to be fair, everyone does a terrible job with the movie. The actors, the set designers, hell, I bet even the guy who brought the coffee and donuts to the set everyday screwed up somehow.
You can't really say that this is unfaithful to the definitive version of Batman, because there isn't one. A character such as Superman is generally the same in all his incarnations, but batman has been interpreted in so many ways in so many different mediums that it's impossible to say which is the true. He has many different degrees of "darkness." The 60's TV show with Adam West portrayed the lighter side of Batman, and if it was this movie's goal to stay true to that spirit, then the mission was accomplished. All it missed was the inclusion of the "KAPOW"'s. But be that as it may, there may not be a definitive version, but there is indeed a preferred version, and most people prefer the Dark Knight over the Caped Crusader or Dynamic Duo.
I thought this was a bad movie with very little redeeming factors. However, I can't join the hoards of people who hate it with a passion and say it was a sin to mankind, I don't think it was THAT bad. It's even fun to watch and make fun of and wonder what they were thinking. Even Clooney can make fun of himself for being involved with this awful thing. The man won an Oscar this year, and in his speech he referenced it and joked about it. It's obvious that he's learned from his mistakes but has not forgotten them either. The same goes for the studios that made this movie. They learned from this mistake and ended up making the best Batman movie of all, Batman Begins. How can you argue with that?
My rating: 3/10
Yes, Schumacher did do a terrible job. He found something that worked with Batman Forever and made a success, but took it way too far this time. This movie is a horrible miscalculation of the grandest of proportions. But, to be fair, everyone does a terrible job with the movie. The actors, the set designers, hell, I bet even the guy who brought the coffee and donuts to the set everyday screwed up somehow.
You can't really say that this is unfaithful to the definitive version of Batman, because there isn't one. A character such as Superman is generally the same in all his incarnations, but batman has been interpreted in so many ways in so many different mediums that it's impossible to say which is the true. He has many different degrees of "darkness." The 60's TV show with Adam West portrayed the lighter side of Batman, and if it was this movie's goal to stay true to that spirit, then the mission was accomplished. All it missed was the inclusion of the "KAPOW"'s. But be that as it may, there may not be a definitive version, but there is indeed a preferred version, and most people prefer the Dark Knight over the Caped Crusader or Dynamic Duo.
I thought this was a bad movie with very little redeeming factors. However, I can't join the hoards of people who hate it with a passion and say it was a sin to mankind, I don't think it was THAT bad. It's even fun to watch and make fun of and wonder what they were thinking. Even Clooney can make fun of himself for being involved with this awful thing. The man won an Oscar this year, and in his speech he referenced it and joked about it. It's obvious that he's learned from his mistakes but has not forgotten them either. The same goes for the studios that made this movie. They learned from this mistake and ended up making the best Batman movie of all, Batman Begins. How can you argue with that?
My rating: 3/10