Batman Forever

Batman Forever is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton, based on the DC Comics character Batman. It is the third installment of the initial Batman film series, with Val Kilmer replacing Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne / Batman. The film also stars Chris O'Donnell, Nicole Kidman, Christopher Walken, and Jim Carrey. The plot focuses on Batman trying to stop Max Shreck (Walken) and the Riddler (Carrey) in their villainous scheme to extract confidential information from all the minds in Gotham City and use it to learn Batman's identity and bring the city under their control. He gains allegiance from a love interest—psychiatrist Dr. Chase Meridian (Kidman) and a young, orphaned circus acrobat named Dick Grayson (O'Donnell), who becomes his sidekick Robin.

Batman Forever 's tone is significantly different from the previous installments, becoming more family-friendly since Warner Bros.believed that the previous Batman film, Batman Returns (1992), failed to outgross its predecessor due to parent complaints about the film's violence and dark overtones. Schumacher eschewed the dark, dystopian atmosphere of Burton's films by drawing inspiration from the Batman comic book of the Dick Sprang era, as well as the 1960s television series. Keaton chose not to reprise the role due to failing to negotiate with studio executives Terry Semel and Bob Daly about the overall approach to the script. William Baldwin and Ethan Hawke were initially considered for Keaton's replacement before Kilmer joined the cast. Rene Russo was originally set to play Chase Meridian, based on her chemistry with Keaton in One Good Cop, but was replaced with the much younger Nicole Kidman after being deemed "too old" for Kilmer.

Plot Summary
In Arkham Asylum, Dr. Burton arrives to speak with Max Shreck on a stormy night. Max Shreck is a former department store owner who was sent to Arkham Asylum after his face was electrocuted by Cat-Woman in revenge for pushing her out the window. Burton discovers that Shreck has escaped and encounters a psychologist hanged in Shreck's cell with "The Bat Must Die" written in blood on the wall. Batman defuses a hostage situation set up by Shreck, who is revealed to have had his face badly burned and has red eyes. Batman is fighting Shreck when Shreck is escaping on a helicopter. Shreck accuses Batman of being "a killer too". Shreck then manages to escape by the parachute, after Batman realizes he has locked the steering wheel into position. Batman then escapes as the helicopter destroys the statue of Lady Gotham.

Edward Nygma, a researcher at Wayne Enterprises who idolizes Bruce Wayne, has developed a device that can beam television into a person's brain. Bruce offers to let Nygma come up with schematics for the device and set up a meeting with his assistant. However, after Nygma demands an answer from him immediately, Bruce rejects the invention, believing it to be too close to mind manipulation. Bruce gets called away when Chase activates the Bat-Signal only for Chase to try to seduce Batman. Batman then rejects her advances and leaves only to be ambushed by Shreck's thugs. Batman sees a hooded woman pushing a carrage past the streets only to discover that it actually is Shreck armed with a rocket launcher. Shreck attempts to kill Batman only to accidentally blow up one of the cars that his thugs are in. Shreck then pursues Batman when more thugs arrive only Batman to escape with Shreck screaming after seeing the man he hates the most escaping.

In the meantime, Bruce is searching for Selina Kyle but is unable to find any clue where she might be. Alfred then reassures Bruce that Selina will come out when she feels like it which Bruce accepts. Alfred even urges Bruce to move on with his life, which Bruce decides to do. Nygma kills his supervisor Fred Stickley and stages it as a suicide, Nygma resigns and begins sending Bruce riddles, seeking retaliation against him.

Bruce meets Chase Meridian and invites her to come with him to a circus event. After a performance from the circus performers, The Flying Graysons, Shreck arrives and threatens to blow up the circus unless Batman comes forward and surrenders his life to him. Shreck is aware that Bruce Wayne is Batman and is only doing this just so he can hurt him. The Flying Graysons attempt to stop Shreck, but most of them get killed as a result. Only Dick Grayson, the youngest member, survives as he climbs to the roof and throws Shreck's bomb into a river.

Bruce invites the orphaned Dick to stay at Wayne Manor. Dick, still troubled by the murder of his family, intends to kill Shreck and avenge his family. When he discovers that Bruce is Batman, he demands that Bruce help him find Shreck so that he can kill him, but Bruce refuses. Meanwhile, Nygma, inspired and delighted by watching Shreck's raid at the circus while eating popcorn, turns himself into a criminal called the Riddler and forms an alliance with Shreck. The two steal capital in order to mass-produce Nygma's brainwave device so that Riddler can use it to learn Batman's secret identity. During a casino robbery conducted by Shreck and the Riddler, Batman attempts to intervene only to arrive at a beauty salon by mistake. This is when a room full of girls laugh at him. The Riddler has been throwing Batman off the track by messing with the Batmobile's tracking device.

Shreck arrives and crashes the party. He nearly kills Batman, but Dick manages to save him. Meanwhile, Chase has fallen in love with Bruce, which surpasses her obsession with Batman. Bruce decides to stop being Batman in order to have a normal life with Chase and to prevent Dick from murdering Shreck. Dick runs away while Bruce and Chase have dinner together in the manor, where Bruce reveals his secret identity to her. The Riddler and Shreck arrive and attack Wayne Manor; in the process, the Riddler blows up the Batcave. The criminals kidnap Chase after Shreck shoots Bruce, and the Riddler leaves him another riddle.

Using the riddles, Bruce, and his butler, Alfred, deduce the Riddler's secret identity. Chase is imprisoned by the Riddler and Shreck in their hideout. Riddler then injects Chase with a green sleeping agent so he can easily place her in the small tube with the trap door.

Dick returns and becomes Batman's sidekick, Robin. Batman and Robin head to Riddler and Shreck 's lair, Claw Island, where they are separated. Robin encounters Shreck and nearly kills him, but chooses to spare his life and is captured. The Riddler gives Batman a chance to save only one hostage, but Batman destroys the Riddler's brainwave collecting device, causing the Riddler to suffer a mental breakdown. Batman then rescues both Robin and Chase. Shreck corners the trio and attempts to kill them only for Batman to throw some identical coins into the air, causing Shreck to stumble and fall to his death.

The Riddler is taken to Arkham Asylum and imprisoned, but he claims he knows who Batman is. Chase is asked to consult on the case, but Nygma says that he himself is Batman, due to his damaged memories. Chase meets Bruce outside and tells him that his secret is safe before parting ways. In the meantime, Selina Kyle is watching Alfred drive Chase home. Bruce resumes his crusade as Batman with Robin as his partner to protect Gotham from crime.

Cast

 * Val Kilmer as Bruce Wayne/Batman
 * Christopher Walken as Max Shreck


 * Jim Carrey as Edward Nygma / The Riddler
 * Nicole Kidman as Dr. Chase Meridian
 * Chris O'Donnell as Richard "Dick" Grayson / Robin
 * Michael Gough as Alfred Pennyworth
 * Pat Hingle as Commissioner James Gordon
 * Drew Barrymore as Sugar Shreck's assistant.
 * Debi Mazar as Spice Shreck's assistant.
 * Elizabeth Sanders as Gossip Gerty
 * René Auberjonois as Dr. Burton The head Doctor of Arkham Asylum. His surname is a reference to Tim Burton, the director of the first two installments. He originally filmed a scene in which Dr. Burton discovered that Shreck had escaped and found his guard tied up and gagged.
 * Joe Grifasi as Hawkins, the Bank Guard

Trivia

 * Chip is revealed to be running the Shreck business empire, although without the Power Plant.﻿ Gordon mentions having put a security detail on Chip in case his father comes after him. Although Gordon considers this to be unlikely, he still wants to be cautious.
 * Originally Max Shreck was intended to be Harvey Dent. In Daniel Waters' earliest drafts of Batman Returns, Max Shreck was originally written to be Harvey Dent. The explosion at the end of the film was only supposed to scar Dent, which would then lead to him becoming Two-Face. This is due to the fact that Joel Schmacher felt sorry for Harvey and didn't want him to go down that path and decided that Shreck should survive the events of Batman Returns.


 * In the comics, Tony Zucco killed Robin's parents, but in the film, Max Shreck was the murderer. Zucco didn't appear in the film.
 * Unlike with the Joker and Penguin deaths previously, Shreck was intentionally killed by Batman's direct agency. Although he attempted to kill Joker by punching him off the building, the resulting death is accidental and happens by chance much the like the Penguin stepping backwards into his toxic waste.


 * Shreck's trademark costume was seen in storage at Arkham Asylum in Batman & Robin.