An uneven flick with some legit highs — particularly VAL KILMER, who has died at 65… Val Kilmer has died at the age of 65 and while he was solid in any role he was in — he was a great Jim Morrison — at 13th Dimension we have to focus on his brief time as the Masked Manhunter in 1995’s Batman Forever. Batman Forever has sort of unique spot in Batmovie lore: It was the uneven bridge between the Burton/Keaton years and the outlandish, grossly self-indulgent Batman & Robin. And while few would put the movie at the top of their Batlist, there’s a lot to recommend it, so in honor of Kilmer, here are 13 REASONS TO LOVE BATMAN FOREVER. (Tip of the cowl to my son Sam, who suggested the idea.) — 1. Val Kilmer. This isn’t a ranking but far and away the strongest part of the movie is Kilmer himself. I’ve long felt what Franco wrote in his appreciation — that Kilmer was probably the best mix of Batman and Bruce Wayne, compared to his colleagues in the Modern Age. His Batman wasn’t as intense as, say Bale or Pattinson’s, but it was solid — and his Bruce Wayne was the best outside of Adam West (who embodied the Caped Crusader’s suave alter ego, camp or no). — 2. The Opening Titles. — 3. Gotham City. Tim Burton and Anton Furst’s 1989 vision of Gotham was so influential that major aspects of its aesthetic endure to this day. But Joel Schumacher added a whole new element, with even more bananas statuary and a metropolis bathed in neon. It’s not grim and gritty but it most definitely fits the oeuvre. — 4. Dick Grayson’s Circus Duds. The Flying Graysons made their live-action screen debut, wearing outfits that closely mimicked Neal Adams’ Tim Drake Robin design. The circus suit is actually better than the too-dark armor that the Teen Wonder wears later in the movie. — 5. The Opening Sequence. Batman opened with the Dark Knight beating on a couple of thugs on a dreary rooftop. Batman Returns starts with Oswald Cobblepot’s parents abandoning him as a newborn. Each perfectly set the tone for what was to come. In Batman Forever, we start off with a bombastic, action-packed set piece, reminding us of the Masked Manhunter’s larger-than-life...
An APPRECIATION for the actor, who has died at 65. By FRANCO… By FRANCO Val Kilmer died Tuesday at 65. So young. Sad story. He was so good in so many roles. Tombstone, Top Gun. But my favorite roles were ones that you might not pick right off the top. I loved Real Genius and Top Secret! One was silly and funny. The other was really silly and funny. I think these are my top picks because of my sense of humor. If you have never seen them, you should. He was even Batman for one movie — 1995’s Batman Forever. Arguably one of the better ones. Although now that I think about it, they were all pretty good in their own way. Except George Clooney. That never really worked for me. I think my issue with it was that he came off very insincere. It didn’t help that the whole movie — Batman & Robin — just turned into a weird, hokey, neon mess from the previous dark n’ gritty stuff. I LOVED the Christian Bale movies, but to me, he did not look the part of Bruce Wayne. Then there was BatFleck… Martha! Anyway… getting a bit sidetracked. With Val now sadly gone, I started thinking about the Batman role in films, and how people would clamor or boo and hiss over the most recent pick. With the casting of Batman, I always feel you need the right balance because you don’t just cast Batman, you cast Bruce Wayne as well. I argue that the only one to really fill both of these was Val Kilmer. Micheal Keaton comes a close second and I liked him in the role — a lot! But to me Keaton never really had the Bruce Wayne look. Val did! And he looked pretty cool in the Batsuit too! (I know I’ll get arguments, but I’m looking at this from both sides of the character; there will be some that will challenger — heck, probably a lot– with my choices.) If we want to really fuel the controversy let’s pick the next one, I would choose Alan Ritchson (of current Reacher fame). That guy looks like Batman without a Batsuit AND Bruce Wayne at the same time. (And here come the angry emails!) Everyone has their opinions, and that’s my point. It’s...
A delicious BIRTHDAY SALUTE…
REEL RETRO CINEMA: With Captain America: Brave New World out, dig this INSIDE LOOK at a forgotten flick and its comics adaptation…
FIRST LOOK: Dick Grayson as Batman, Red Hood… and MORE!
