8 Changes That Would Have Completely Fixed Batman Forever

By Percival Constantine / June 2, 2013

7. Keep It Dark

One of the biggest complaints about Batman Returns is that it was too dark. This doesn€™t only come from over-protective parents and McDonald€™s executives who were pissed they weren€™t selling enough Happy Meals, but also a criticism from a sizable portion of Batman fans. Personally, I don€™t agree€”Batman Returns is my favorite of the original series€”but I can see their point. More than that, I€™ve always said that the problem with Batman Returns is that it€™s a good movie, but not a good Batman movie. I think Burton pushed the envelope too much with the weirdness factor with things like Penguin being a mutant bird-man, Catwoman being resurrected by cats, and€commando penguins. That being said, I didn€™t think it was too dark. I can understand some things, like Batman€™s ease with killing people (he sadistically straps a bomb to one criminal€™s chest and sets another on fire with the Batmobile€™s jet engine, just as two examples). Batman Forever could have found a more appropriate middle ground and taken the movie back towards the tone of the first Batman film. For that, you need to go back to the gothic-inspired architecture in the design of Gotham. I don€™t know who thought day-glo paint and neon lights in the Batmobile would be a good idea, but whoever did clearly needs to have their head bashed against a wall.