"Batman Forever" forever [Mizumaru Kawahara's CINEMONOLOGUE Vol.46]

Index

• The third Batman movie dazzles with color
• Two-Face's charm created by the colors of his works
• 'Forever' as an upgrade to the 60's TV series

The third Batman movie dazzles with color

Last June, Joel Schumacher passed away at the age of 80. Speaking of Schumacher, for me, he was the director of the third and fourth Batman movies, and I think he left a distinct presence in the series of works (although all Batman movies have their own unique characteristics). (Although it shows a strong individuality.) So far in this series, I've talked about a lot of things about Batman movies, but this time I'd like to think about Schmucker's ``Batman Forever'' on its own.

The first thing that comes to mind is the color. A complete change from the dark, gloomy colors of Tim Burton's Batman Returns , the film's flashy neon colors that are so opposite that if you watch them one after the other, you'll be dazzled by the contrast. , and the trademark of Schmucker's version of Gotham City. The image of the giant stone statues seen in Anton Furst's Burton version of Gotham is also inherited, and the eerie sight of mysterious statues is also a characteristic of the demon city Gotham.

Burton is producing this film, but it seems that he was originally scheduled to direct it following ``Returns''. There are only a few remnants of the Burton version in the completed version, including the stone statue mentioned above (there is also a theme song, but it is still a different song). At best, Michael Gough continues to play the role of Butler Alfred and Pat Hinkel continues to play the role of Inspector General Gordon. Originally, Gaff appeared in the first film at the request of Burton, a fan, and that was continued, but in the end, Alfred and Gordon are the same as before, which is a good match with the previous film. It seems like a connection. It's definitely a different story if you watch ``Returns'' back-to-back, but the familiar Alfred appears on the screen first and utters his first line, which gives some relief. Gough's Alfred is a constant, and an important presence that connects the completely different worldviews of Burton's version and Schmucker's version (needless to say, there is no continuity in the story across directors).

The villains who are working behind the scenes in this transformed Gotham are Two-Face, a monster with two faces, and the Riddler, who uses his brains to corner Batman. Following the pairing of Penguin and Catwoman (or rather Penguin and Max Shreck) in ``Returns'', they are double villains in this movie, and since then, Batman has had multiple villains in each movie. It is a promise that will appear.

Two-Face's charm created by the colors of his works