BATMAN FOREVER

STARRING: Val Kilmer, Jim Carrey, Tommy Lee Jones, Nicole Kidman, Chris O'Donnell

1995, 122 Minutes , Directed by: Joel Schumacher

Description: When Tim Burton and Michael Keaton announced that they'd had enough of the Batman franchise, director Joel Schumacher stepped in (with Burton as coproducer) to make this extravaganza starring Val Kilmer as the caped crusader. Batman is up against two of Gotham City's most colorful criminals, the Riddler (a role tailor-made for funnyman Jim Carrey) and the diabolical Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones), who join forces to conquer Gotham's population with a brain-draining device. Nicole Kidman plays the seductive psychologist who wants to know what makes Batman tick. Boasting a redesigned Batmobile and plenty of new Bat hardware, Batman Forever also introduces Robin the Boy Wonder (Chris O'Donnell). - Amazon.com

What a mess! Tim Burton relinquishes the director's chair to Joel Schumacher who manages to steer this Batman movie into into every possible pothole he manages to find along the way.

Unlike its predecessors, this film has more in common with the Batman comics than the Batman graphic novels and what we get is a piece of fluff designed for Saturday matinee audiences.

Warner Bros, disturbed by the disappointing box office showing of Batman Returns, called in new kiddie comedy idol Jim Carrey as the Riddler. He is the wrong man in the wrong movie - trying to emulate the over-the-top zaniness of Jack Nicholson's Joker, but only managing to be unfunny and loud.

Kids love loud, of course, and they will love this movie too - so if you felt uncomfortable taking your children to the previous two Batman movies you should have no qualms taking them to this one. This film is perfectly safe for family viewing. That is, until you begin to think about the precise nature of the relationship between Batman and Robin of course . . .

Just don't watch Batman Forever with your kids: it'd cause permanent damage to your eardrums and mind.