Batman Forever: Red Book Edition

A valiant, albeit flawed, effort to fix a highly problematic film that was tainted by WB studios interference, as usual. The color desaturation gives the film some noir (instead of the original neon/pop) feeling which is more than welcome, and the same goes for the restoration of the deleted scenes back to the film, giving Bruce Wayne a sentimental, psychological journey into his darkest memories and Dr. Chase Meridian a crucial role to play other than being a mere love interest. Unfortunately, the aforementioned deleted scenes were never properly released by the studio and, as a result, the difference in video and audio quality between scenes is more than visible. This is, of course, by no means the editor’s fault, but unfortunately there are also a few more choppy cuts here and there, like when Dick Grayson saves that woman from the hands of a street gang. My main problem, though, not so much with this edit as with the original film, is that no amount of editing could ever salvage the two antagonists. Even the most gifted editor has to work with what he’s been provided, and The Riddler and Two-Face are just too goofy and cartoonish. The Riddler being essentially Jim Carrey I can live with, but Two-Face is still insufferable and out of character, no matter what.

However, despite all its flaws, The Red Book Edition still remains a better viewing experience than the original film, highlighting not only some of its darkest aspects that were butchered in WB’s editing room, but also a stellar performance by Val Kilmer. And justifying, at long last, why Batman is Forever.

I hadn't watched this since the 90s, so mostly I was coming at the film with fresh eyes. I had actually liked it more than Batman Returns, due to hating most everything about the Penguin, preferring Val Kilmer as Bruce Wayne and Batman, and generally liking Jim Carrey. Actually, neither of the films have aged very well, though. But The Red Book Edition attempts to change that.

First, it has to be said that the deleted scenes are 99% amazing (except for one lame line reading by Kilmer: "I'm Batman") and they form a subplot that actually gives a REASON for the main plot of the film. It deepens Bruce's reason for survivor's guilt, justifies having Chase the psychiatrist being a potential lifelong love interest instead of just an old-timey harlot, and gives a more believable reason for Batman to retire than was presented in The Dark Knight Rises. As a serious film that holds up, these scenes MAKE the movie.

Unfortunately, they also highlight how different everything else in the film is. Well, mostly the villains. Schumacher was clearly raised on the old TV show, and the film frequently hearkens back to the improbable inventions and campy over-the-top antics presented there. He doesn't lean into it full bore like he did later in Batman & Robin, though occasional shots and sound effects emphasize the cartoonish aspect of scenes. Mostly it comes in the villains though, and sadly (even with the cuts) Tommy Lee Jones clearly has no idea what he's doing in this film. This Two-Face is a travesty compared to his portrayal in TAS, or even The Dark Knight. And while I was on board with Jim Carrey at the time, he's just horrible now. His hair changes back and forth every other scene, his crotch bulge is distractingly bad, and he's mostly channeling previous wacky characters rather than actually giving us The Riddler. Again, it's a travesty when you know what can be done with the character.

This is undoubtedly a better film than the theatrical release, and the new tone is created with great expertise and attention. Elliot Goldenthal's underappreciated work is the real star of this edit (besides the killer end credit songs), and the visual differences in the deleted scenes worked for me, for the most part. Also, Val Kilmer is given more to work with in this edit, enhancing the best part of the original film. I'd say this is now probably tied with The Dark Knight Rises for my third-favorite live action Batman film.

However, it's still not a great movie. Like TDKR, there are significant problems in this film that cannot be fixed by editing. If you're going to watch it though, this is the version to watch.

Recently I decided that I wanted to watch the original Batman trilogy, and seeing as the edits of Batman and Batman Returns weren't particularly strong I decided to watch the Tim Burton originals followed by this version of Batman Forever. I think Joel Schumacher in his first attempt to take over the reins of Tim Burton's franchise did an adequate job, though this edit definitely brings out the strengths in this movie that were not necessarily present in the DVD version. I wouldn't say this is still Tim Burton's Batman Forever but it's definitely closer to what I imagined it would have been.

Overall I thought this edit was really smart. I liked Jim Carrey's role and the cartoonisness in this was toned down for both the Riddler and Two-face (Tommy Lee Jones wasn't a bad casting choice, but imagine Nic Cage doing two-face? :D). While it's been almost 10 years since I have seen this movie, I thought the depth of Bruce Wayne's madness was explored much better and that Nicole Kidman's role was largely more believable and that she made a pretty foxy psychiatrist.

The edits weren't really really noticeable in my opinion, though I thought the black-and-white scenes were kind of odd and somewhat out of place (it's hard to win with color correction, it always seems to be either too much or not enough, very rarely just right). I think these black and white scenes worked well when we want to highlight specific objects in the room such as the red book, but in general I thought it was a little bit too much. Overall a lot of the stupidness is taken out and I enjoyed the majority of the edits to make the movie more serious. Overall a very good effort and my preferred version of Batman Forever.

This was an excellent edit. A great example of taking a flawed movie and making it really good. Editing was well done throughout and I enjoyed the deleted scenes put back in.

I wasn’t fully sold on the new colors, but it’s a hell of a lot better than the theatrical version.

FANEDIT RATING
Audio/Video Quality – 9
Visual Editing – 10
Audio Editing – 9 (some of the new music didn’t fit right for me)
Degree of Editing – 8

(NOTE: “Degree of Editing” is a 100% arbitrary rating that I keep in mind when reviewing edits. This is not meant to insinuate that a faneditor is lazy or not. Some fanedits require a lot more work than others and I take this into account.)

MOVIE RATING
Narrative – 9 (Original is 8)
Enjoyment – 8 (Original is 7)

as with any fanedit that incorporates deleted or unfinished scenes, some of the quality does suffer a bit. however, as this is unavoidable i don’t really include that in a rating unless it is unnecessarily added.

i can happily say that this is a great fanedit and a 4/5 from me. i really enjoyed the excised silliness and unnecessary elements and what was added helps a great deal. the image overall DID seem degraded and was a bit distracting.

entertainment 5/5
fanediting 5/5
video 4/5
audio 5/5
original 3/5?
fanedit 4.5/5

4/5