Batman Quadrilogy

[DistantJ]

Let's hear what you thought of the previous Batman Legacy, starting with Tim Burton and finishing with Joel Schumacher. Your opinion on each film, each director, etc...

For me...

batman
Awesome! I loved this when I was a kid. It was a bit slow to get going but Jack Nicholson was a legendary joker and Batman's gadgets were crazy. The bell tower scene was very memorable and the Joker hanging upside down scene was even given homage to in The Dark Knight.

batman RETURNS
Really liked this one too, and it was cool that Tim Burton let himself go and made it into a proper Tim Burton movie, that snowy gothic fairytale look and feel. Michelle Pfeiffer is hot and made a kickass Catwoman complete with a brilliant Tim Burton styled suit design covered in stitches and stuff. The Penguin was a very interesting reimagining of the character and Danny Devito made Oswals Cobblepot into a truly repulsive character. The penguins with fireworks/rockets strapped to their backs was a little farfetched at the end though.

batman FOREVER
I love this movie. A real assault on the senses. It's probably the most bright and fun comic book movie out there. Joel Schumacher takes Tim Burton's black, gothic Gotham City and shines neon lights all over the place. There's not one place or device in this movie which doesn't seem to glow with UV light, it's like a rave. Val Kilmer doesn't make a great Batman but he does okay with what he's given. However, Jim Carrey as the Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face have amazing villain charisma (Actually I'd say that Jim Carrey upstaces Tommy Lee Jones every time they're together but if you actually look past the Ace Ventura antics, you'll notice that Two-Face is fantastic in this too), and their scheme is wacky and out there, proper comic book style. Batman Forever achieved the perfect balance between dark Batman and Adam West Batman.

batman & robin
And then he screwed it all up. Seems this is what happens when you let Schumacher off of the leash (Burton produced the previous one, this time Schumacher is on his own). Batman & Robin works as a kids movie, but that's about it. It goes right back to the Adam West days, and that's not particularly welcome in the post-Burton Batman universe. There are some truly memorable moments, the visuals are again beautifully bright and colourful, and Mr. Freeze at first does appear to be pretty badass (before all the ice puns begin), but then things take a turn for the worse... There is just too much cheese here. Bat credit cards, nasty self-aware dialogue, conversations made up entirely out of one-liners, completely rediculous plotholes and situations, topped off by a cringeworthy "Alfred's sick but he's like a father to me I loooove him" plot and happy reunion ending. George Clooney is a great actor but an awful Batman. Can't blame Schumacher for trying to be fun but it went too far.

Your turn!

[FuryoftheFilmFan]

Batman: I still remember when this movie came out, standing in line with my friend, his mom and sister. We all went in wearing those big yellow pins with the bat symbol on it. The movie blew us away. Today it still holds up as a great Batman movie. The style is consistent and it's a great adaptation combining the camp from the show with a modern gritty style. Truly a classic film and Keaton just owned the role.

Batman Returns: I would have enjoyed this movie a whole lot more without the Penguin. I hated the Penguin with his "2 pillows stuffed down his ass" costume. This movie took the camp a whole lot further than I wanted it to but Catwoman saved this film from being a complete disaster. Catwoman delivered the best lines in the movie and the best kiss in any superhero movie(screw you Tobey) where she licked a fallen batman.

Batman Forever: I really liked this movie when it came out. I've been a fan of Val Kilmer ever since I saw Top Secret and I thought he was a great follow up to Keaton's Batman. I remember till this day feeling like the franchise was ruined because they changed the actor playing Batman. It was the first time I ever felt such a thing. My love for movies was getting serious. Schumacher created such a vivid experience with this film, an attack on the senses, a film that really threw you into the comic world. At the time I was a big fan of Jim Carrey's comedic style and i loved his Riddler. now..not so much...but considering the tone of the film they couldn't have gotten a more entertaining Riddler. Two face on the other hand was probably the weakest villain I've seen in any batman film and that includes Bane, just a wasted overacting character.

Batman and Robin:  This is where it all went wrong, Schumacher went the wrong direction with the franchise and seems to have forgotten the whole point of a Batman film. Maybe he felt he wanted to move as far away from Burton's vision as possible and into his own vision but in doing so he created a steaming hot mess. The camp was appropriate but poorly conceived. The additions to the cast only ruined the film as Batman was reduced to nothing more than a quote whore. Just a very very bad and unwatchable film that destroyed what could have been a solid run of Batman films. Also, Bat nipples....seriously.. even gay people were like, "wow, that's gay"

[DistantJ]

Anyone else?

[rossandchrisreviews]

I loved batman. That was one of the best superhero movies, next to V for Vendetta and (my personal favorite) Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. I haven't seen Phantasm yet. 

I enjoyed Batman Returns, to me, it was the last good, live-action, Batman film, until Batman Begins (of course).

Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, I mean, what can I say. Shumacher made them  I don't like either.

I do want to see Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. I heard it was the best animated Batman film. So, I just gotta see if it beats out (that's what she said) Return of the Joker.

[The Angry Movie Dork]

I liked Batman Returns

[moviedork]

Batman- A true Comic Book classic

Batman Returns- While not as good, it’s still very entertaining. Danny Devito as the Penguin, as DistantJ said, was a decent reimagining. Catwomen was both sexy and kick ass.

Batman Forever- A very flawed film, yet something inside of me loves this film. Val Kilmer is an amazing Bruce Wayne. Jim Carrey is classic as the Riddler. Tommy Lee Jones goes a little overboard as Two Face.

Batman and Robin- One of the worst comic book films ever made, yet Arnold Schwartzenegger makes this the most entertaining of the Batman quadrilogy (even if it is for the wrong reasons). This is one of the “best” bad films of all-time.     

[CaCtUs2003]

Batman & Batman Returns are instant classics, but Batman Returns is better than the first and Michelle Pfeiffer is forever burned into my memory as Catwoman because, well, nobody's taken her throne yet.  They've tried, but they've failed. . . hard.

Batman Forever felt like a comic book movie.  The feeling was right there, but unfortunately the acting was worse than the last two and they set character development aside for some really campy action.

Batman & Robin. . . what can I say that hasn't been said already about this failure?  I'll leave it to the professionals to think it up.

[TheEasternMovieCritic]

 Batman: Well, it's Batman,the best movie of the series, great actors and the second best Joker of all time!

 Returns: This one was darker, but it was still a great movie, I especially like the tragic villain, the Penguin, despite his weird appearance.

  Forever: This one was...original, colorful, it had Jim Carrey, but I think Two-Face was a lot like the Joker, with his constant smile and silly jokes. Val Kilmer was ok, but he can't beat Keaton.
 
  and Robin: A poor attempt at comedy...

[JC]

Batman - Very great comic book movie
Batman Returns - Very great Tim Burton movie (and i love tim Burton)
Batman Forever - Very great dumb mainstream movie (and i dislike mainstream)
Batman & Robin - I didn't saw it all, I just couldn't it was pain

[Immortalbob]

Quadrilogy?

I only seem to remember Batman and Batman Returns, it's as if by some unknown force the other two have been stricken from my memory...





Nipples.

[masterguy]

Like the first two. Hate the last 2.

[RabidScotsman]

Batman: A great movie but had some flaws.  3.5/4
Batman Returns: Better than the first Batman. 3.75/4
Batman Forever: Fun movie but stupid as hell.  2/4
Batman and Robin: "ice to see you" nuff said  0/4

[Darkknightrules92]

oddly enough I didn't like any of the old batman movies.

Batman: Average. I think all of the actors did the best job with what they had to work with but I didn't find them to be rewarding to watch as characters. Kim B is the best love interest of the franchise though. better than Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Batman Returns: Also Average. I thought that michelle pieffer is a pretty interesting catwomen but The rest of the film was too silly and Random for me.

Batman Forever: Garbage! I Hated it! Big problems in this movie. I think the addition of robin in any batman film is a mistake so far but this is just terrible. I couldnot tolerate Tommy lee jones as Too face.I find it odd when the most talented actor in a film is the guy who gives the worst performance. Val kilmer is a weak batman and Nicole kidman is a weak love interest. The only redeeming factor as far as the acting goes is Jim carrie who is alright as The Riddler but I prefer a smart riddler over a riddler who is just a plain Wacko.

Batman and Robin: This is one of the worst films that I have ever seen. I consider this movie to be a personal assault on everything I care about in cinema and superheros. few words can describe how much I hate this movie. this less than nothing horrendous experience is elevated by The character of Mr Freeze. Definately the worst part of this disaster that I refuse to call a film.

[ZimMan2]

Batman: Still one of my favorites, love the way Batman and the Joker play off each other, and it also contains one of my favorite movie lines "you wanna get nuts? Come on! Let's get nuts!..." (4.5 Godzillas)

Batman Returns: I really don't know where this movie's bad rep comes from.  I felt it was good overall, not as good as Batman, but still enjoyable (3.75 Godzillas)

Batman Forever: Not my favorite take on Batman, but still well done and entertaining. (4 Godzillas)

Batman and Robin: Why is everyone complaining?  This was absolutley hysterical and a far better parody than what Freidberg and Seltzer put out. Maybe we wern't expecting a parody, but we got a very funny one.  (Jolly Good!)

[kbdgod]

Batman: Classic.  Love the scene with the Joker messing up all the art.  5/5

Batman Returns: Darker.  Twisted.  Good, but the film alienates me a bit.  3/5

Batman Forever: Over the top and gaudy but lots of fun.  The Riddler is great, don't like Robin though.  3/5

Batman and Robin: Terrible.  1/5