Batman Forever: Red Book Edition

This was really awesome. Working the deleted subplots back in add so much to the story and really make you appreciate what Forever could have/should have been. I had seen the deleted scenes before, on the special edition DVD, and I really appreciate how much you were able to clean them up, add better music and sound effects to them and make them feel more like part of the movie. There is still a noticeable difference in the picture quality but it is not that bad.

I also liked how you desaturated some of the bright neon colors. I didn’t realize just how glaring they were until I saw how much better it looks toned down.

I think the only thing that you didn’t cut that I really wish you would have was Two-Face repeatedly flipping his coin at Wayne Manor. I always hated that part. When he flips the coin he should abide by what it says and not keep flipping it to get a desired outcome, otherwise what is the point? I wonder if you could cut out the first couple of coin flips, and just include the one where he gets the scarred side and then tries to shoot Bruce….. make it look like he was just lying in wait before he ultimately decided to flip the coin.

Other than that, not much to add that hasn’t already been said. Nice job!!

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

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)

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 rating was given before reviews were required*