Val Kilmer has sadly passed away at the age of 65. A staple of Hollywood in the '80s and '90s, he was a leading man through and through who delivered performances full of charisma and charm, never failing to captivate whenever he was on the silver screen.
Among those many performances were Iceman in Top Gun, Madmartigan in Willow, and Jim Morrison in The Doors. He also portrayed Batman in 1995's Batman Forever, the third film in Hollywood's Caped Crusader movie series of the '80s and '90s.
The Joel Schumacher movie is a divisive one, particularly because it opened the door for the franchise to produce the infamous sequel Batman and Robin, but as the years go on, Forever is getting more appreciation. Kilmer's performance as Bruce Wayne is one of the many aspects initially overlooked in the midst of the film's noisiness that is slowly beginning to get the recognition that it deserves.
Val Kilmer reinvented Batman for a new audience
Val Kilmer had a tough task to contend with right out of the gate in Batman Forever; he was replacing Michael Keaton in the role. Keaton had enjoyed two successful runs as The Dark Knight in Tim Burton's Batman and sequel Batman Returns, showing us the more comic-accurate, broody, and nuanced version of the character on the big screen for the first time. How could anyone hope to contend with that?
Kilmer did so by approaching the role differently. He was aided in this by the franchise's new tone, as the Joel Schumacher movie was under strict instructions from Warner Bros. to adopt a more family-friendly aesthetic. This allowed him to show a more traditionally heroic side to the character, having Batman be more conversational than before. Sure, he was broody and monotone (with one of the best Batman voices we've seen on the screen), but he was also a fully-fledged ally of the Gotham City Police Department, frequently collaborating with them to stop threats like The Riddler and Two-Face. He had formed a relationship with Commissioner Gordon as the two actively worked together - something that the previous films didn't showcase.
Batman's partnership with Gordon is a big part of the character's story. It's an ever-present aspect of his adventures in DC Comics, and it was all the more relevant in the mid '90s due to Batman: The Animated Series. The partnership between Kilmer's Batman and Pat Hingle's Commissioner Gordon was the first time that we had seen this portrayed in live-action since the 1966 TV series (and its movie counterpart), and both actors did a great job bringing it to life.
Something that Kilmer doesn't get enough credit for is the fact that his version of the character often feels like a live-action adaptation of the beloved version from Batman: The Animated Series. He's a stoic, serious figure in an outlandish, larger-than-life world doing his best to overcome the challenges that it throws his way and keep others around him safe. He's a symbol of darkness, yes, but he's also a beacon of hope that everyone in Gotham - even the GCPD - look to for guidance.
The duality of Batman
Another crucial aspect of the character's portrayal that he nailed is the equal importance of Bruce Wayne. While Bruce factored into the previous movies, the socialite aspect of his personality played second-fiddle, as Tim Burton's films highlighted how reclusive and eccentric he could be too. But Kilmer's version in Batman Forever maintained many of the struggles of his character while also capturing the public persona of "Bruce Wayne" that he crafted.
From attending the circus to running Wayne Enterprises, Kilmer brought Bruce Wayne - both the character and the persona - to life. When suited up at work or a benefit, he looked like the personification of the Batman: The Animated Series version of Bruce. And what makes this portrayal all the more effective in hindsight is how he captured Bruce's struggles behind the façade of the Bruce Wayne persona.
The nightmares that Bruce experienced humanized him, showing audiences that even larger-than-life symbols like Batman have emotional struggles to contend with. The villains that they fight aren't always clad in bright green costumes nor are they robbing jewellery stores; sometimes they are internal. Although the script doesn't always serve Bruce's emotional journey, Kilmer's performance in Batman Forever elevates the material, ensuring that we understand what the character is feeling throughout the movie - even if he himself doesn't always know.
That story wouldn't have been at all out of place in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, which received acclaim for portraying Bruce as the nuanced, emotionally-tormented character that he is. Batman Forever's loud, campy, and neon-lit visual presentation shouldn't mean that we simply overlook the fact that it was the first live-action movie to explore that side of the character too. It made clear that Bruce Wayne was every bit as imperative to a Batman story as the Dark Knight himself - something that has become a fixture of Batman movies since - and we owe a lot of that success to Kilmer's performance here.
Kilmer's Batman is reserved, closed off from the rest of the world in a way that isn't completely effective for the costumed crimefighter that he wants to be. He's not particularly comfortable walking among other people - trusting other people - and yet he longs for it at the same time. You see that through his burgeoning connections with Chase and Dick Grayson. Kilmer conveys that extremely well as his quiet, thoughtful Batman is always hiding a multitude of thoughts and yet completely focused on the task at hand. He finds the balance between Batman and Bruce Wayne, and when those lines begin to blur for the character, he delivers a thoroughly compelling performance that showcases how Bruce is struggling with the idea of losing control.
As we look back on Val Kilmer's legendary career, it's important not to forget his contributions to the legacy of Batman too. He played quite possibly the most iconic character in movie history, and he played him well. Yes, his version of the character has previously gotten lost in conversations where we reflect on the highs of Michael Keaton and Christian Bale's Batmen or the lows of George Clooney's but that shouldn't take away from the strength of his performance, the commitment with which he brought the character to life, and the new sides to him he showed us along the way.
As Bruce Wayne, he was calm, suave, and cool, with the public persona hiding a real struggle, humanizing an urban legend and presenting him as a three-dimensional, well-rounded character. As Batman, he was collected, reserved, and focused on being the best hero he could for Gotham City. And when you think about it, you really couldn't ask for anything more. As a longtime fan of his version, I know I couldn't.
RIP Val Kilmer. Thank you for entertaining us for all those years. We're so grateful for you, and your portrayal of Batman. Forever.