Rare archival Batman Forever PR interview unearthed

A few years ago I picked up this old audio reel labelled "Batman Forever" and recently I got it converted.

It's a fun little piece of the movie's marketing that I don't think has been heard before. I assume it was done as audio and sent over to radio stations to promote the movie. If anyone knows any more, please let me know.

It contains some clips from the film, interviews with four cast members and the director followed by a short excerpt of Elliot Goldenthal's score.

In this video, I give a few thoughts and then play the whole thing. 

Again, if you think I've missed anything important, let me know in the comments. I wasn't sure if the film clips were slightly different from the finished film and didn't have a chance to compare them.

If you'd rather, you can download the mp3 to listen to yourself here.

Or if you want to read it, I've done a transcription of the interviews below. 

Beware though, there are no interviewer questions so it can seem at times that the interviewee is rambling a little. I kind of enjoyed how laid back and unpolished it is though.

VAL KILMER ON BRUCE WAYNE: He has an office, a desk, a secretary. He doesn't stay there very long. He shows up every now and again, kind of like Howard Hughes. Hughes actually didn't have an office. He would just show up. He would know everything. It's sort of that style. It's very specific and it's really grand. Everything is big. It's so big. We shot at Universal as well as Warner Brothers and down in Long Beach. There's not enough space in Warner Brothers, so we rented some more. It's a big world, Gotham. 

One of the main themes is identity. Harvey Two-Face is the easiest example because he split right down the middle. But Bruce Wayne's dilemma has to do with himself and his past, but the result of how he reacted to his parents being murdered by a psychopath was to become Batman. And is it a good thing and why should he continue and can he have a life without being Batman? And his personal story is mirrored in Dick Grayson's story, his parents' die and he's consumed with revenge. He can't think about anything else and he has his own personal journey about being split, about what he knows is really right and what he feels he needs to do about getting revenge.

VAL KILMER ON CHOOSING THE ROLE: It really, truly was everything about it. It's extremely captivating, obviously. It almost feels odd talking about the things, about the entity of the story about Batman because everybody knows it. This 50 years has maintained this interest. 

There's something really elemental that Bob Kane created. He was around quite a bit, which I was really happy about, because what he created was really extraordinary. He was just a kid when he started. I think he was 19 or 20, right before the Second World War. And what he did in the comic books, which is maintained and started many different styles, of storytelling really that he created or encapsulated quite radical corrupt politicians and he was dealing with current events at the time in this highly stylized way and all quite serious if you want to look at it that way. And why it's so successful is it also hits readers, audiences in all of its manifestations in a vivid and entertaining way obviously. We like the stuff. 

It was kind of almost disappointing sometimes when kids would be on the set because I would want to do my voice and do a cape routine or something and they weren't interested. The image of it, their minds go off. You get this highly concentrated, glazed look. And I knew there was nothing I could do. The soup sort of took care of it all.

TOMMY LEE JONES ON CHOOSING THE ROLE: It was just a great deal of fun. to be a comic book character. I mean, ordinarily I look for certain subtleties that a comic book doesn't concern itself with. So it was liberating, of course, to be a comic book villain. 

Yes, I mean, I'd never heard of Harvey Two-Face, even though I'd read the comic books when I was a child. If I had heard of Harvey, I had only a vague memory of it. But my son knew who he was immediately and was very enthusiastic about the movie. In fact, he was enthusiastic about it sooner than I was, which is to say instantly. It took me a little bit longer to talk myself into it. And it was his enthusiasm that was decisive for me, really. 

Two Face is, just, he believes in brute force. I mean, his plan is to kill Batman. It's that simple. One of his plans, usually what he tries to do is set a trap for Batman. He'll wreck havoc and wait until the bat comes to restore order and try to ambush him. He does that on several occasions. That's his modus operandi. 

Well, at first he's insisted that anyone could break into his high hideout. But when the Riddler suggests that he may have a way to learn Batman's identity and then render him helpless and then hurt him and then kill him, Harvey is very pleased to enter into a partnership with the Riddler. Of course the Riddler's character changes all the time. Harvey's character does not. They're more consistent.

JIM CARREY PLAYING THE RIDDLER: I thought about that. I thought about who I might be, and I think the Riddler is pretty much perfect. It would have been the Riddler or the Joker, you know, one of the two. I think he hated Bruce Wayne to begin with. He hated him because he had everything that he wanted. And I think that's how that starts. It really isn't about really loving somebody. It's about not loving yourself and seeing somebody who is the guy that you'd love to be and resenting him for it. And that's how it basically snowballs. 

It's just a great character because it's, I mean, he starts out pretty much bonkers to begin with, but it just takes on different forms and he gets so full of you know, just energy and evil power. You just can't help but love playing that. It's the ultimate juice master. Basically it saps the IQ from whoever watches the television that it's hooked up to and redirects the brain waves into Edward Nygma's skull. And so he's sucking Gotham's brain waves. He's devouring people's IQ and so he just you know becomes a mega intellect although he's mad you know so I mean intellect with madness is kind of a fun combination you know I just I love the character because you know it's basically he realizes that you know it's not who has the answers it's who knows the questions?

I thought I looked a lot like Michelle Pfeiffer, actually. He's not a very physical guy, except for he's very flamboyant. He's very, he's very, he's got a little touch of Fred Astaire, a panache – a joie de vivre. But, you know, but he's not going to hurt anybody with his fists, but he'll pick up a rock. That's where you have to be careful.

CHRIS O’DONNELL ON ROBIN: Robin's story is pretty close to the story of Robin in the comic books. He comes from the Flying Graysons, which, you know, he's from the circus. And he's lived on the circus all his life, which has kind of toughened him up a little bit. He's a little bit of a gypsy lifestyle. And, you know, he's a pretty cocky young guy until he has this, you know, traumatic experience. And he wants to be a part of the team as soon as he finds a Batcave. He sees everything down there, and he figures that's a way he can get back and avenge his parents' death, but Batman doesn't want him to be a part of him. At first he doesn't like Bruce Wayne and doesn't like Batman. Then Batman wants to protect him and doesn't want him to be a part of it. But after they kind of help each other out and save each other, they finally become a team. 

Well, yeah, I mean, they both saw their parents die before their eyes. And I think that is why Bruce Wayne offers to take in Dick Grayson - offer him a place to stay because he sympathizes for him. Dick Grayson, he kind of resents Bruce Wayne, some rich guy, who is Dick Dick Grayson thinks he's just kind of, of himself as being kind of a tough guy, you know, been living on the road and wants nothing to do with it. But he is out to, you know, get two-faced and anything that can help him, he's going to take. So when he finds out that he's Batman and that he's got the Batcave and all that, he wants to be a part of it. And Batman, who realizes what it means to become a part of this, wants to protect him and saying he doesn't want him to be a part of it. But, they go through a course of events where they both end up saving each other and a partnership is formed. 

CHRIS O'DONNELL ON FILMING: I mean, there was a lot of fight scenes and I didn't have a problem with them as far as when they were choreographing these fight scenes. I picked up on them pretty quickly. And I think that was mainly because of the Three Musketeers, which I had worked on, with these really long sword fights, which took weeks to choreograph. These really intricate moves. I mean, a couple punches and a kick here or there, it was like, wasn't that bad. 

But there were other things in this movie that you had to deal with that were tough. I mean, these suits are kind of constricting. They give you perfect posture, actually. Well, Robin is after Two-Face in particular, because Two-Face is responsible for the death of his family. So he really is out to get them and avenge their deaths. I figure out a way to get down to the Batcave and I find the Batmobile. And Dick Grayson decides it would be fun to take the old Batmobile for a spin, probably do pretty well with the ladies out in the city cruising around the Batmobile. And in the course of cruising around Gotham City, I find a young lady in distress who's being chased by a gang of hoodlums. So I come to the rescue. When they see the Batmobile, everyone thinks it's the Batman himself, but it's just me. Batmobile is pretty cool. 

Batmobile is very cool. I'd like to take it home, but I don't think that's going to happen. I think you'll probably get from here to Chicago in about - very quickly. I don't know when Robin's going to get his own toys, though, you know. It's about time. What about Robin? You know, I got a motorcycle. Can't they spruce it up and give me the Robin, Mo-cycle or mobile?

JOEL SCHUMACHER MAKING THE FILM: It was the most fun I've ever had in my life making a movie. And I've really enjoyed myself on all my movies. But this was the most fun. The cast was so much fun. And the crew was so much fun. But making, I wanted to make a living comic book. And you know, when you're doing a comic book, the reality police aren't hanging over your shoulder all the time. So you have the license to really use all the imaginative and creative people around you. And the cast was wonderful. They all had a lot of great ideas. And even though it's the third of the Warner Brothers Batman movies, it was our first. So for us, it was the first time and it was, and the cast the first time. So it was really exciting. 

It was exciting to go to work every day. Comic books. Batman's been around since 1939 and so the first thing I did was call DC Comics and I got as many comics as I could get my hands on from 1939 right up till now where there are extraordinary artists and storytellers working on them because there's so many different kinds of Batman comic books now. I just read hundreds of comic books for a long time, and it was great. I could read them on planes and in the doctor's office and wherever I was, because it was my job. But I'm sure everybody thought, what's this old hippie doing reading comic books? And I just immersed myself in the folklore, the legends, and the comic books. The wonderful use of color, the wonderful use of imagination, the stretch of imagination, the fun of scaling buildings with Batman. 

JOEL SCHUMACHER ON THE BATMAN CHARACTER: You know, I just got immersed in Batman's world and that was the real, the essence of the starting point. I think the one unique thing that separates him from a lot of superheroes is that he's a man. He's not a superman. He's a man with extraordinary power, I mean extraordinary human powers. He's a man whose parents were killed in front of him and who has become a vigilante by putting on this black bat suit. and going out at night and trying to right wrongs and he has all the vulnerabilities and all of the flaws and all of the human drama that any human being has. 

He's not perfect and he's not impenetrable. I've tried to structure a very strong story about duality because Batman is also Bruce Wayne. So there is a struggle for Bruce Wayne to find his identity insofar as why he ever became Batman. To think, to look back in his past as a child and the events that happened to him and why he became Batman. So there is a mythic quality to the revelation of that story, how he became Batman and he has a choice as a man now whether to continue to be Batman or not. And so the story is about duality and therefore everything that was created around that was to serve it.

JOEL SCHUMACHER ON THE NEW CHARACTERS: Dick Grayson, I brought in Dick Grayson who becomes Robin because his family has also been killed by a criminal. And he's a mirror of what happened to Bruce Wayne when he was younger. So he gets to relive that through another person. 

Nicole Kidman not only plays a criminologist who deals with dual personalities, she is in love with Batman and Bruce Wayne is in love with her. So she's having a triangle with the same two men. And then there's no greater character to show duality than Harvey Two-Face because you have Tommy Lee Jones as a man who is literally split in two. One side with the vestige of whatever rational judicious thinking he had as a district attorney and the other side a crazed maniac killer. And then Jim Carrey's Riddler, the sign of the Riddler is a huge question mark. And so Jim is there as the Riddler to question Val's total identity. The Riddler questions Bruce Wayne and Batman's whole identity. And so the piece Hopefully you'll feel that the movie is somewhat about that, with lots of fun and games on top of this, of course. 

The Riddler in real Gotham life is Edward Nygma. And Edward Nygma in this particular version of Batman starts out as a techno nerd genius with egomaniacal plans to be a bigger and greater electronics genius than Bruce Wayne because Bruce Wayne, we've also introduced Wayne Enterprises into this Batman, which has classically always been the business, the industry that Bruce Wayne runs. And there's an electronics division. And he works for Bruce Wayne as one of the many people in white lab coats doing experiments and creating new ideas. But he actually wants to be bigger than Bruce Wayne. And so that begins a story of revenge and jealousy and competition that drive him over the edge. And he becomes the Riddler and a criminal and a psychotic and quite a foe to be dealt with. 

JOEL SCHUMACHER ON THE NEW GADGETS, VEHICLE AND SUITS: Well, the Batmobile is the mother of all gadgets, right? there are fabulous new bat bolos and batarangs and special batarangs, a great one that Val uses at the end of the movie. I don't want to tell you how. There's a brand new bat suit besides the one we created for the movie that Val wears most of the time. At the very end of the movie, he wears a brand new bat suit never seen before with much different looking and with extraordinary extra gadgets and powers and things that it does. And there's a gun. There's a gun that shoots out a blue ray that stuns people, that stuns bad guys. That's pretty exciting. There's a lot of winches and gadgets. 

And the Batmobile does a spectacular gadget trick during a car chase with Two-Face and Batman that I like A lot. And because Wayne Enterprises is partly an electronics empire, there are a lot of electronics, computers, technology, and Jim Carrey's invention in the movie is a holographic three-dimensional device that enhances your television set, but it also has a very insidious side effect that feeds his criminal mind. And so there's a lot of, it's kind of like the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and the year 2000 all smashed together in one city. Kind of like now, you know, kind of like LA.

Magazine article: Cracked issue 301 (September 1995)

I recently picked up a copy of Cracked Magazine issue 301 (September 1995) which has a lengthy spoof of Batman Forever.

For those that don't know, Cracked was a US humour magazine that ran between 1958 and 2007 before moving online (and turning into more trivia and list-based content - think Buzzfeed before Buzzfeed). Each issue was filled with spoof and caricatures of various news events, TV and film.

If you want to read this, I've uploaded all the relevant pages to a PDF here on the Internet Archive.

It's a fascinating read as I imagine it was written before the film came out so the writer - Lou Silverstone - probably only had the clips from the trailer and any news stories about the film to work from. As such it only loosely follows the plot of the film. 

They also have Edward Nygma's character dubbed Lysol Hellendorf - a play on his name from the original Batchler's script Lyle Heckendorf. I don't know if that means Lou managed to get a copy of the early script to work from but it's kind of fascinating.

There's some really interesting stuff in here - including lots of jokes that went right over my head. I'll probably do a quick video on it at some point this year. 

If you haven't seen it already, there was also a Batman Forever spoof in Mad magazine (Cracked's rival) that you can read as a PDF here.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Custom HR Giger Batmobile

I think a lot of Batman Forever fans know that Swiss artist (and Alien designer) HR Giger designed a potential batmobile for the movie during preproduction but it got rejected.

What you may not know is that the wild, tentacle design has now been turned into a model and you can get it 3D printed at whatever scale you want.

I recently found someone on eBay to print stuff for me (I figure it's cheaper than buying my own 3D printer). And you can actually buy the 3D files very cheaply on places like cult3d.com. This one was a few pounds and I got it printed in black which means I don't have to paint it.

It's very cool to own such a random piece of Batman Forever history and hold it in your hand.

I gave a bit of backstory to the design at the start of this video but I completely forgot that the actual batmobile designer Tim Flattery did an interview with the Superhero Stuff You Should Know podcast in which he elaborated more on what happened. 

Tim actually started work on designing the batmobile first and had a design almost approved before Joel panicked and called up Giger for an alternate design. Then seeing what Giger had designed, Schumacher went back to Flattery who came up with the final design. It sounds like a really fraught, awkward situation from Flattery's perspective.

Check out Tim Flattery's interview on the Superhero Stuff You Should Know podcast here.

Concept Art: More Batmobile designs by Tim Flattery

Absolutely love Tim Flattery's design for the Batmobile in Batman Forever. 

I did a post years back showing off some the designs both he and HR Giger did for the movie (link here).

Here are some more recently unearthed sketches he produced. Some very close to the final design, some very different.

The New Nygmatech Box has arrived

Here's a little in-universe advert I put together for the Release the Schumacher Cut movement who had a trending event on Tuesday 16th June (31st anniversary of Batman Forever). Enjoyed making this, will have to think if there's other in-universe adverts I could do.

Podcast: Commentaries for Batman 1989 and Batman Forever 30th Anniversary fan edit

Drew has done a couple more commentaries of Batman movies. 

First up, he's joined by Ben Wan of Superhero Stuff You Should Know (an excellent YouTube channel if you've not checked it out) to cover the 1989 Batman movie.

And to celebrate the 31st anniversary of Batman Forever - he's done two commentaries for Jordan Jabroni's fan edit Batman Forever: 30th Anniversary Edition (a brilliant fan edit that incorporates and upscales the deleted footage available as well as adding little bits and pieces to bring the film closer to the shooting script). 

First up he's joined by Tim Partridge for this who did a great video essay about Forever.

And then he's also done a separate commentary with Jordan himself.

Rare photos of Two-Face, Bruce and Batman in Batman Forever

Looking back through this blog, I’m reminded that when I first started I had a steady stream of rare photos and magazine scans to share. That slowed down a few years ago when my scanner broke, and since then I haven’t had many opportunities to digitise more material. I’m hoping to change that over the coming months and start posting more finds again.

I don't know about you but I get such a thrill looking back through old photos and occasionally uncovering something that’s been tucked away and unseen for years.

Recently, PropStore released another batch of photos featuring props from Batman Forever. Hidden among them were some newspapers containing these fantastic photos of Two-Face, Batman and Bruce Wayne.

I know this first image - Two-Face looking through his cell bars - has been around for a while, and a lot of us probably hoped it hinted at a deleted scene featuring him in prison. But I think now it was more likely just a posed promotional photo created for props like these.

Here’s a link to PropStore so you can check out the other Batman Forever props they currently have available.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - McDonalds Special

I know I reviewed the incredible McDonalds glass mugs previously but that was over 5 years ago(!) and since then I've picked up lots of other McDonalds merchandise so it felt like a good time to take stock and do a big, long McDonalds Special.

It's fascinating to see how the promotional tie-in was handled around the world. Everyone seemed to have a different thing going on - mugs, pogs, badges, cards. 

I've got to admit, being from the UK, it's gutting that we only got a prize draw thing and a cardboard Batman mask (stick around until the end to see what that looks like). I don't even remember seeing that tie-in at the time. I guess I didn't visit McDonalds enough.

Over half the video is taken up with going through the 3D cards that only got released in New Zealand. These are really interesting and unique. I don't think many people have seen these before. I particularly love the hand drawn cards (and the funny typos).

 Did I miss anything that you got in your part of the world? Is my collection complete? Let me know.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - I don't know what the heck is this

This week we're looking at one of the most amazing figures I've ever laid eyes on. The sculpting, detail and colours are beyond anything the hacks at Hot Toys and Prime 1 Studios can pull off. Enjoy!

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Counter Unit Display from Warner Bros

I've seen these floating on eBay for a while and finally pulled the trigger and picked one up. Very glad I did. These were displays that were sent out to stores to advertise the Batman Forever comic book adaptation and hold comics.

So happy that these are seemingly so readily available still. Maybe someone over ordered back in 1995?

What I realised after doing the video is I really miss is those old independent comic shops that used to have this kind of stuff inside. I mostly visit a bland Forbidden Planet these days but I have some great memories of one called Comics Unlimited (later Sci-fi Unlimited) that used to be in Bedford. It was plastered in posters and just had a really cool underground vibe. 

Podcast: Episode 13 - Netflix will eventually buy Warner Brothers

In this episode of the 1995 Batman podcast Drew takes a look at the recent bidding war that's been erupting between Paramount and Netflix to purchase Warner Brothers and what that could mean for a future Batman Forever: Schumacher Cut release.

Here's the Daily Mail article that Drew talks about if you want to read it for yourself.

And if you want to mailing a letter asking for the Schumacher Cut, send it to:-

Warner Bros.
ATTN: Mr. Michael DeLuca, Ms. Pamela Abdy
4000 Warner Blvd
Building 168
Burbank, CA 91522

Podcast: Episode 10 - Give Robin his Color Back

In this episode of the 1995 Batman podcast Drew gives his thoughts on the Robin costume in Batman Forever.

I've got to say I really agree with him that it's a shame they made Chris O'Donnell such a fantastic suit and then barely showed it off in the film. And when it was on screen it was mostly obscured by tight close-ups or hazy green lighting from Claw Island.

I really wish they had stuck with the suit a little longer in Batman & Robin rather than transitioning straight into the Nightwing inspired one.

Behind the Scenes: Batman Forever Video Game costumes

Thanks to Mark Hickman for sending over these photos of a section within the GamePRO Batman Forever: The Official Players' Guide book by Corey Sandler that show some of the behind the scenes of the stunt performers and costumes that were used in the film.

The Robin one is particularly interesting as this was featured in the Genesis and SNES versions but for the PC version they actually redid Batman and Robin using the movie suits.

While I was doing some research on the game (I've got to cover it at some point) I also discovered these neat maps of all the levels. Crazy how linear they look when they are lined up like this.

The Video Game Atlas - Super NES Maps

Podcast: Episode 9 - Chris O'Donnell speaks on working with Val Kilmer

A few articles have popped up recently promoting Chris O'Donnell’s new TV series 911: Nashville. Naturally, some interviewers have taken the opportunity to revisit his time playing Robin in the Batman films.

One interview, published on People’s website, included some interesting comments from Chris about working with Val Kilmer. In this episode of the 1995Batman podcast, Drew dives into the article and shares his thoughts on what Chris had to say.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Batman and Robin figures from Spin Master

These Spin Master figures were a really pleasant surprise when they got announced at the start of this year but unfortunately (unlike the Batmobile) they ended up being out of reach for everyone outside the US due to them being exclusive to Target stores. 

They still are exclusive but some have trickled through to online sellers and often they go for stupid money considering they retail for $8.99. I've seen people on eBay sell them for as much as £30-40 each!

Luckily, I managed to find a few at a much lower price. I actually ordered the whole line from a toy seller who had to cancel the order because they'd sold out of everything except the Batman. Bless them, they sent me that one for free.

Anyway, to the figures themselves, they are kinda fun but also kinda disappointing. These almost the exact same molds at the Kenner ones. The Robin I don't mind because I really like that Hydro Claw Robin it's based on. 

The Batman one is based on Blast Cape Batman with a slight tweak in that his arms can go out as well as up and down.

As someone pointed out, it's a little difficult to understand why you'd make these figures given that the originals are all on eBay for very little money.

What really disappointing is that Spin Master did a great unique Batman Returns figure. I wonder why they didn't do new molds for this? Maybe it was a cost thing - cheaper to reuse and approve existing molds?

Drew goes into more detail about the far superior "Schumacher Cut"

In a follow-up to this post from June, Drew Griffin is back to talk more about the Schumacher Cut that he was fortunate to have seen at a secret screening.

Lots of interesting topics and thoughts in this video such as: why the Warner Brothers sent a cease and desist and stopped the Cinefile screening and what it will take to make this version of the film releasable. 

Podcast: Episode 5 - Deleted Scenes of Batman Forever Analyzed

In this episode Drew and I take a look at and discuss all the deleted scenes that are currently available on the DVD and Blu-Ray releases of Batman Forever. 

This seemed like a good follow-up considering we just finished the Batman Forever commentary.

Lots to discuss so let's dive in.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Mini Co figures from Iron Studios

These figures actually came out a while back (last year) and I was going to give them a miss until I found they cheap from an American seller. Buying all three at once meant the shipping was reasonable.

I don't know much about Iron Studios other than they produce some high end statues and prop replicas. These are more their fun, cheap side.

I really dig the designs. Much more than Hot Toys comparable Cosbaby line. They are still cartoonist but a little more realistically proportioned. 

The Riddler stuck out to me because it reminded me of those Guesser figures that Nygma has all around his apartment and work station. Nice to see the idea come full circle.

The Batman figures is my least favourite but I do love that they went to the effort of making an replica of the clock riddle rather than just have a green envelope (see Funko Pop and Cosbaby figures).

The Robin one is definitely my favourite thiugh. I never tire of seeing that suit. I looks so great, even at this scale. And the idea of having him hold a batboat and batmobile is so great considering how he treats them both in the movie.

These are very fun additions to my collection.

Guest column: In Defense of Tommy Lee Jones Two-Face

Hey, everyone. I got sent an email recently from a reader - Dave - who had a great take on Tommy Lee Jones' often maligned portrayal of Two Face. I've reprinted here as this week's post. Hope you enjoy his take...

Two-Face in Batman Forever is a good interpretation of the character.

I know what you are thinking. I am completely out of my mind. You are thinking Tommy Lee Jones Two-Face is not only the worst character in a Batman film but quite possibly one of the worst characters in a piece of fiction ever. You are thinking TLJ as Two-Face is ironically the most one dimensional character with absolutely no depth. He is a cackling buffoon and just a Joker wannabe.

I will address the two (pun intended) biggest criticisms of TLJ Two-Face while also comparing him to Aaron Eckhart's Two-Face in The Dark Knight, an interpretation generally held in high regard.

Criticism #1: We only see TLJ Two-Face's bad side and never see his good side.

Two-Face is a villain through and through. He is not meant to be half bad and half good. He is a villain needing his coin to make key decisions in the commission of his crimes. When Eckhart becomes Two-Face, he is on a singular mission, to avenge the death of Rachel. He never pauses and wonders (good side) if what he is doing is wrong. There is never a good side. Heck, even when the coin lands good side up, when Eckhart Two-Face is questioning Ramirez, he still strikes her!

TLJ Two-Face is on a singular mission as well, to kill Batman. It is true, we never see a good side with TLJ Two-Face but we didn't see a good side with Eckhart Two-Face either. At least, however, with TLJ Two-Face we see the number 2 used during the commission of his crimes. The second bank of Gotham on the second anniversary of the day he was captured, two hundred sticks of TNT with a two minute timer and a two part plan at the NygmaTech party. One of the core concepts of this character is completely missing in TDK.

The point can be argued that Two-Face is not meant to be half good and half bad but meant to be half rational and half irrational. This form of duality is missing in both Forever and TDK since they are so singular in their missions. There is a lack of any kind of duality in Eckhart Two-Face. However, there is, believe it or not, a duality that exists within TLJ Two-Face. I will address the existence of that duality in Forever and the lack of duality in TDK further down.

Criticism #2: TLJ Two-Face is a cackling buffoon and just a Joker wannabe.

It is true, TLJ Two-Face, at times, cackles and laughs maniacally. He also, at times, displays anger, frustration and impatience. In other words, he is emotionally unstable throughout the film. This is a key component to his character and where his duality is demonstrated. The most important line that defines TLJ Two-Face comes at the end when he says, "emotion is always the enemy of true justice". TLJ Two-Face's singular mission is obtaining true justice which comes in the form of killing Batman. His entire being, existence and drive as Two-Face is obtaining this true justice.

TLJ Two-Face, however, can never obtain this true justice because of how emotionally unstable he is (demonstrated by the laughing, anger, frustration and impatience). The Riddler even says to him, "has anyone ever told you, you have a serious impulse control problem?" TLJ Two-Face is the living embodiment of the yin and yang, two diametrically opposite forces pushing against each other. The pursuit of true justice coming at odds with emotional instability. This is where the duality lies within TLJ Two-Face.

"Emotion is always the enemy of true justice". Enemy, as defined by Oxford Languages, is a person who is actively opposed or hostile to someone or something. The key word here is opposed. Emotion is in opposition of true justice. Emotion and the pursuit of true justice are two forces colliding against each other thus creating this duality.

TLJ Two-Face is doomed to never obtain his true justice but instead always be sabotaging himself because he is overrun by his own emotions. His impatience at the NygmaTech party almost ruined Edward Nygma's plan which in the end would have fulfilled his mission. He even defers to an emotion at Wayne Manor, opting not to kill Bruce Wayne/Batman, once again sabotaging himself. He instead defers to the feeling of the satisfaction of humiliating and crushing Bruce Wayne/Batman first rather than outright killing him.

You might be thinking, well, what about the part where TLJ Two-Face is sitting in Wayne Manor flipping the coin over and over. Surely, this demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of the character. Once again, TLJ Two-Face sabotages himself with his emotions. Upon entering the manor, the Riddler says to TLJ Two-Face, "no killing". But TLJ Two-Face immediately grows impatient and begins flipping the coin.

However, he doesn't flip the coin over and over until he gets his desired result. He flips the coin three times: once for Chase, once for Bruce and once for Batman. It was a "cheating" tactic to kill Batman (two flips for his dual identities). Eckhart Two-Face employed this "cheating" tactic as well, flipping the coin twice at a chance to kill Sal Maroni. One flip of the coin for Sal, the second flip of the coin for the driver. Since Eckhart Two-Face wore his seat belt and Sal did not, Sal is killed in the ensuing car accident.

Batman Forever Wiki states that in the aforementioned manor scene, TLJ Two-Face flipped his coin three times: once for Alfred, once for Chase and once for Bruce. This is not how I interpret that scene. However, either way, TLJ Two-Face is not going against character and is not randomly flipping the coin over and over until he gets his desired result.

Now we can see where the duality exists within TLJ Two-Face, the pursuit of true justice vs. emotion. There is no sense of duality within Eckhart Two-Face though. It is essentially Harvey Dent going on a killing spree while using a coin to decide his victim's fates. Yet this version of Two-Face is well regarded and the other is not. There is no question that if TLJ Two-Face didn't ever cackle or laugh that it would improve the perception of his character. But those are emotions that actually play into his duality which I have explained up above.

And all this is why ultimately, I believe TLJ Two-Face is a good interpretation of the character: a form of duality is present, the coin is used in his decision making and the number 2 is used in the commission of his crimes.

Duality is a theme in this film and is present in not only TLJ Two-Face but in all of the major characters. Furthermore, the tone of the film itself is a testament to duality. It is a film split right down the center. It balances the dark elements of the main character and the examination of his trauma with moments of camp and over the top performances. Through its duality, Batman Forever is able to honor the character's entire history with various nods, homages and inspirations from the comic books to the 1966 show to the graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns to the 1992 animated series.

As an aside I would like to point out the overarching "doomed forever" tragedy, for lack of a better phrase, in this film. Two-Face was doomed forever to never obtain his true justice because of his emotions. The Riddler is doomed forever to just be a person with no real identity stuck in a small space. He starts the film working in a small station and living in a small, narrow apartment. His whole identity is completely tied to a person who he idolizes and wants recognition from. He ends the film in a small padded room at the end of a narrow corridor with no sense of identity and believing he is someone else. Ironically, believing he is the person who he wanted recognition from the most. Not to mention, the Riddler suit on display before being worn, foreshadowing Nygma's fate, forever stuck in a small space.

Chase is doomed forever to fall for the wrong kind of man. Even when she chose Bruce over Batman, not knowing they were the same person, she doomed herself to be in a relationship that will never work. Despite her best effort and recognizing, "a girl has to grow up some time", she still picks the wrong man. Bruce is the wrong kind of man because of the dual life he lives. We have seen over and over that relationships with Bruce never work out.

The tragedies with Bruce and Dick of course are the loss of their families. Bruce choosing to be Batman forever to make up for his loss, and Robin going down the same path.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Val Kilmer Batman figure from Beast Kingdom

So I finally got both the Schumacher Batman figures from Beast Kingdom. I covered the George Clooney one over at 1997batman.com

I'd actually say that one was slightly better than this Val Kilmer one. The sculpt isn't too bad but the weirdly large gaps at the top of the legs let it down for me. As does the decision to go with a dark grey rather than metallic blue metal finish.

Still it is nice to have something at this scale and the accessories are neat. Hopefully the Riddler figure (which isn't out yet but the prototype looks great) will look good alongside it.