5. He Cast Val Kilmer As Bruce Wayne/Batman
Let me preface this by saying I'm am not making an argument about who is the better Batman. All I intend to do is put some Whatculture! readers wise to what I consider a very underrated performance by Val Kilmer. The fact that the performance in question happens to be Batman is a coincidence, however, since I know a lot of you out there will probably wonder where my preferences lie I'll acquiesce and give my choice for who is the best Batman ever. What follows is a list of actors who've portrayed the iconic character numbered 1 thru 7 with 1 being the best and 7 being the worst. Kevin Conroy Micheal Keaton Val Kilmer Adam West Lewis Wilson George Clooney Christian Bale Now onto the real subject: the criminally underrated performance of Val Kilmer in Batman Forever. Once again, like with the Riddler we have a case of hindsight hater-ade going on. Val Kilmer's performance, when assessed upon the initial release of the film, was generally favorable. While not considered to be an improvement over Keaton he certainly wasn't a downgrade, and if the movie had any faults it wasn't in his performance. Now, when viewed through the prism of the Dark Nolan era it seems as if Kilmer's interpretation of Bruce Wayne/Batman was never any good at all. Of course it doesn't receive the same amount of hate as the Clooney's Batman but in the same way it has come to be unappreciated and disregarded on grounds that are unfair and ridiculous (not dark enough, too much humor, not enough brooding, bat nipples). Why, may I ask, it is so bad for a little bit of levity to be part of Batman's persona? Yes, I understand that he is a dark vigilante who uses fear as a means of striking terror in his enemies, but that doesn't mean he can't occasionally let a bit of humor into his visage. If not only for his own sake then for the audiences. Too much doom and gloom wears on an audience and can make the movie watching experience unbearable. Also performances that rely too much on overbearing drama can come kind of (unintentionally) silly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efQ4XtGwNKM See what I mean? That's a Batman who takes himself way too seriously (I know, I know......Why so serious ). Even the most stalwart fans of Nolan's Batman admitted that Bale's performance was a bit over the top. I know Batman has this dark image to uphold but too much of that stuff is just unnatural. People understand that no person can be all doom and gloom all the time. Even Batman. In order for the Dark Knight to be a bit more of a believable character moments of levity must be implemented into his character. Tim Burton Understood this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu_lw3cRz3k Joel Schumacher Understood it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRmJKuIKdpw Nolan clearly didn't: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhJYt0UL7AQ And please, don't for a moment think that Kilmer (like Carrey) couldn't turn on the menace when he had to. It's just that Schumacher, unlike Nolan, had enough sense not to let it get out of hand. By making room for a bit of levity he was able to direct Kilmer toward a more balanced and accessible portrayal of the Dark Knight. As a result his incarnation (along with Keaton's) remains as impressive today as it did in back in 95 while Bale's interpretation of the caped crusader has already lapsed into parody.