Movie: Batman Forever (Joel Schumacher, 1995)
Everything is half-assed, but Jim Carrey goes full tilt. Batman Forever opens with a bombastic score full of intimidating undertones and the clanging metal of Batman's (Val Kilmer) costume. His lair is full of steel, dark blue hues and blowing steam, and as the futuristic Batmobile is slowly revealed, Alfred comes out of the dark asking "Can I interest you in a sandwich, sir?" "I'll get drive-thru" responds Kilmer, growlingly. The corny dialogue is supposed to be a funny contrast to the brooding opening, but all it does is stop the introduction dead in it tracks. Too many scenes in the film suffer the same fate, mostly because its main aim is to subvert audience expectations of darkness, without really caring whether the corny silliness in its place is actually funny or engaging. All of Gotham is draped in colorful neon lights, but they all look exactly the same everywhere, giving the city a boringly monotonous look. A car chase having the Batmobile going vertically up a building, gives us only a few insert shots of the car's perpendicular movement, bafflingly neutering the potential excitement of the scene.
The film's plotting is equally disinterested in creating excitement. The Riddler (Jim Carrey) has invented a machine that steals people's brainwaves when they watch television, making them dumber while he becomes more intelligent. The lazy satire could have been forgiven if the film cared to flesh it out, or at least showed how Gotham's citizens actually behave when they become dumber. It's a set-up you should be able to squeeze a lot of humor from, but aside from a brief shot of a guy sitting zombified in his rocking chair, we get absolutely nothing. What's worse is that The Riddler himself doesn't actually become, or act, smarter. He can't, because the entire film is essentially built on Jim Carrey being full-blown goofy. Even in the first scene showcasing his invention, Carrey's shtick takes center stage over the visual effects. Several scenes in the film are staged like the big centerpieces in a musical, except instead of a showstopping song you get Carrey's act, devoid of any restraint.
The best thing you can say about Jim Carrey is that he provides a counterweight to Kilmer who had a conflict with Joel Schumacher throughout the production and seems to act as stiff as possible in a deliberate act of sabotage - Heat coming out in the same year makes it hard to convince anyone that Kilmer can be this terrible by accident. Nicole Kidman plays a psychologist who falls in love with Batman, and then with Bruce Wayne. Her reaction when she finds out the truth is the film's only reminder that actors are actually capable of conveying feelings. I've never been much into superheroes, and I am not the biggest Christopher Nolan fan, but I do think The Dark Knight is a genuinely great film. I also think that overall Nolan's Batman trilogy has been a detriment to blockbuster films, moving them towards completely unmotivated self-serious humorless darkness. However, seeing Batman Forever, you can at least appreciate it as a necessary corrective.
No comments:
Post a Comment