This is a difficult month of April in Hollywood, especially for the greater Los Angeles area and movie goers of the 80s and 90s. We lost the great Val Kilmer on April 1st, 2025, a Los Angeles-born actor who most definitely shaped my childhood in so many ways. A passionate star, known to be incredibly committed to the art of acting (as it was mentioned by many who worked with him during his career). In our previous homage piece to the American actor, we covered many of Kilmer’s most famous roles during his uneven but quite significant career. We think of course of Doc Holliday from Tombstone (1993), The Doors lead singer Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991), and the cool-as-ever fighter pilot Iceman in Top Gun (1986) and most recently Top Gun: Maverick (2022). However, where I’m concerned, I want to deep-dive into another one of his most famous roles, the one that truly introduced me to Val Kilmer as an actor. Yup, you guessed it: Batman.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way – Kilmer’s Batman in Batman Forever (1995) was most probably my first encounter with the character in live-action format while I was a kid (yes, before I discovered Michael Keaton). The shiny VHS was sitting on top of my father’s collection, and the 3-year-old me was so fascinated with the giant bat costume with the longest ears I’ve ever seen. THAT was the definition of ‘cool’ for the younger me, and I’ll always keep fond memories of this film for the rest of my life. I’ve seen it so many times, and it was a personal favourite in the family as my brother, my cousin, and I watched it together while playing with our Batman figurines.
Now, as a tribute to the actor who was Val Kilmer, his own interpretation of the Dark Knight and the movie itself, I want to tell you about probably the most underrated version of a superhero we’ve had in the last 30 years. And hell…2025 is the year of its 30th anniversary. Let’s fire up the Batmobile together one last time…for Kilmer.
Allow me to rewind the VHS just a bit, shall we? How come Val Kilmer played Batman in 1995? Long story short, after the successful Tim Burton movies released by Warner Bros., Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), the studio decided to part ways with the rising gothic filmmaker after deciding that the latter entry, although still successful at the Box Office, was too dark for a younger audience. In a creative decision to bring a lighter and campier tone to future Batman movies, they recruited director Joel Schumacher, the man behind Phone Booth (2002) and The Phantom of the Opera (2004), to helm the next movies. Original Batman actor Michael Keaton met with Schumacher to discuss the new movie, and he wasn’t impressed, so he ultimately decided to step down. The actor of the hour, incredibly handsome, talented, in good shape, available and interested – here comes Val Kilmer. Without even reading a script, he accepted right away, as he knew that no one could ever say no to Batman.
What followed is the production of Batman Forever, with quite possibly one of the hottest star line-up of that time: Tommy Lee-Jones as Harvey Two-Face (memorable, but a bad take on the character), Jim Carrey as The Riddler (goofy but incredible), Nicole Kidman as love interest Dr. Chase Meridian (in her absolute prime) and Chris O’Donnell as Robin (very decent). In terms of look and feel, the movie goes in a completely different direction from Burton’s vision; opting for a ‘retro’ megalopolis look filled with neon lights for Gotham City rather than a Dark City homage. In his original review of the film, Roger Ebert said it best: “Gotham City is a web of towering spires, bridges and expressways, planted in a swamp of despond. Boardrooms and laboratories look like German Expressionist sets, and the charity circus could come straight from Murnau’s “Sunrise.”. The CGI might be getting old, but the movie still looks impressive. Of course, the fun and the quips were coming back, as an homage to earlier 1960s Batman days, making this a better dish for the whole family. Overall, the movie performed well, while getting mixed reviews for its overabundance of spectacle and overacting (from the villain side mostly), but also for once again forgetting to explore the psyche of Batman in all its aspects. We’ll get that in the future Christopher Nolan trilogy, as we know.
I don’t disagree with these facts…BUT, there is a case to be made about Kilmer’s performance as Batman and Bruce Wayne. We’ll get to it in a second.
Looking at a role as significant as Batman for a Hollywood star, I guess some of you are still wondering: how come an actor as talented as Kilmer decided to play Batman only once? The answer is actually quite simple, and it is almost to Kilmer’s credit: men want to be Batman for sure, but they might not want to play Batman…as weird as it sounds. I learned more about the difficult acting venture that was Batman Forever for Val Kilmer in the recent documentary titled Val (2021). Narrated by his children, the crew and his family helped him recall the most memorable aspects of his career (amongst other things). While discussing Batman, the L.A. actor revealed that shooting the movie was brutal; the batsuit was cutting him off from the people on the set, he couldn’t hear well, and it was physically very demanding. Also, as an artist, he found Batman and Bruce Wayne to be boring as characters. Not only that, but he witnessed fellow actors Jones and Carrey absolutely chewing the scenery with fun acting gimmicks as his nemesis, which didn’t help Kilmer in his rigid suit. Fair to say that the process was very frustrating for an actor who was quite attached to his liberty.
At the end of the day, this situation made Kilmer difficult to manage on the set of Batman Forever, and it led to severe confrontations with director Joel Schumacher. After the film wrapped, fair to say Kilmer was not eager to return as the Dark Knight, and Schumacher did not want to work with the actor again. So there it is…Val Kilmer was Batman only that one time. As we all know too well, George Clooney would later step in to replace Kilmer in Schumacher’s follow-up to Forever: Batman & Robin (1997) – one of the worst superhero movies of all time!
Now, as mixed as the fans and critics are on the overall quality of Batman Forever, I actually don’t blame them. It’s far from perfect, it’s too campy at times, and it lacks the rich psychological drama that embellishes this universe from DC Comics. However, even before Kilmer passed away, many fans were slowly revisiting the film and analyzing how Batman was portrayed on screen. They soon realised, as I did, that Val Kilmer was actually a very decent Batman for his physicality and presence, but also a beautifully damaged Bruce Wayne. Although the shooting process was hard for him, he managed to pull off a way better performance than we might remember…and most of all….he gave depth to a character that didn’t seem to have any (so far).
Ok, I’m done with my intro. Here’s the argument.
His Batman was cool and almost terrifying
Yes, you heard me. I’m won’t back down on this. Even though he appeared only once, Val Kilmer was an impactful Batman and a great Bruce Wayne. Actually, let me rephrase. Kilmer was a great Batman, and a FANTASTIC Bruce Wayne.
In the two previous Tim Burton movies, the director and studio made the unpopular decision to over-analyse the villains rather than the protagonist himself. In both Batman and Batman Returns, the Dark Knight’s debut as a vigilante was not covered, and the reference to the murder of Bruce’s parents was directly linked to Jack Nicholson’s Joker. All in all, the villains had more screen time than Batman himself, speculating that Burton found the character not interesting (almost similar to Kilmer).
Under Schumacher’s direction, the costume design and the on-screen presence of the vigilante, Kilmer’s Batman was imposing, borderline scary and perhaps as agile as Michael Keaton physically. His muscular-like costume (nipples aside) gave Batman an even more gothic look, almost like a skeleton-like cyborg suit. A funny observation that fans noted is that Kilmer seems to have his mouth open under the suit too often…I can disagree there (oh well).
He took Bruce Wayne on a more personal journey in ways Michael Keaton never did.
I think this is where Kilmer excelled the most in the film. This is not a disrespect to Keaton’s Bruce Wayne, I adore him and always will! Fair to say that Batman Forever’s script gave a little more room to Bruce as a character. As Keaton briefly explored before him, and actors after him will explore as well, Kilmer’s Bruce remains haunted by the memory of his parents’ deaths. In this case, he is having difficulties recalling the day of their funeral when he was a young boy. Through his romance with Dr. Chase Meridian (Kidman), who is a psychologist, she encourages him to embrace these dark visions of his past to recover something: his identity, or the reason why he became Batman. His visions also led him to the even darker memory of when he fled Wayne Manor with his father’s journal after the funeral and fell into a pit that would become the Batcave. When he does, he sees his destiny in the form of a giant bat flying directly to him. His sadness, his wish for revenge and his pain found meaning in the form of a double personality. Thus, the character learned to merge the personality of Bruce Wayne and Batman into one being. In an overall flawed film, this was a powerful scene well-delivered by Kilmer.
On that note, there is a deleted scene of Batman Forever that offers additional footage of that sequence (see below). In a ‘possible’ Director’s Cut, Bruce Wayne loses part of his memory after The Riddler and Two-Face attack Wayne Manor. Alfred encourages him to revisit the darkest sections of the Batcave to reconnect with his alter ego, and there he meets the giant bat again – rediscovering his purpose and destiny. Powerful stuff, RELEASE THE SCHUMACHER CUT!
The next time we’ll have a deep moment like this in the company of Bruce Wayne is with Christian Bale in Batman Begins (2005), but fair to say that Val Kilmer did it first!
Kilmer was the perfect “gentleman-playboy”
The stills below can also prove this, but Kilmer’s Bruce was suave, charismatic and elegant – key attributes with which we recognize the billionaire playboy by day. As good as Keaton was, we did not see that at all in his interpretation of the character, as he felt more introverted and almost clumsy. Kilmer is paving the way gently for what Christian Bale and Ben Affleck will eventually master quite well – a social billionaire who likes to stay active during the day, rocking the three-piece suit at Wayne Enterprises. Fair to say, this is the first ‘serious’ time that we see Bruce Wayne in such a way, a mature gentleman that people couldn’t believe would be Batman.
Finally, we see the wise mentor to a young Robin!
In a significant DC universe such as this, there are many rich characters to choose from, either for villains or allies. Well, Batman Forever made the bold choice to re-introduce a ‘comic-relief’ sidekick of the 1960s as now a wounded kid with anger issues. After the 1960s Batman TV show aired, where Adam West and Burt Ward joined forces to offer us the comedic duo that was Batman and Robin, Schumacher decided to go where Burton didn’t by introducing Robin in a more serious setting. Because of the trainwreck that was Batman & Robin, people tend to forget how compelling Chris O’Donnell was in his first appearance and about the relationship that Dick Grayson develops with Bruce before he decides to wear the Robin costume.
In Batman Forever, Dick Grayson sees his parents and older brother being brutally murdered by Two-Face during a circus performance. He’s the only one of his family who makes it out alive, drawing the obvious parallel between him and Bruce. Knowing this all too well, Kilmer’s Bruce decides to take Dick under his wing, shares his passion for cars and motorcycles with him, while keeping his alter ego a secret. Dick eventually discovers the Batcave by mistake and steals the Batmobile for a run ride in Gotham. Although Batman does catch up with him, he is curiously not angry at the kid and shows him compassion and counsel on how to deal with his anger towards Two-Face in the best way possible. He knows Dick can become as damaged as he is, and he is trying to save him from a life of servitude to justice. This is a very interesting mentor-mentee relationship between the two and which have been explored a lot more. Of course, having delt with his demons, Dick eventually suits up as Robin and joins Batman in a rescue mission at the end of the film. When the moment comes when he finally faces Two-Face, he applies his mentor’s teachings and decides not to kill him (as it wouldn’t satisfy his lust for revenge).
Yet again, Val Kilmer’s Bruce Wayne was the first to do this, and he showed another trait of the character we’ve not really seen before: wisdom and warmth as a heroic man.
So there we go! I’m sure I won’t be the only critic out there to build a solid case for Val Kilmer’s heritage as Batman and Bruce Wayne. He deserves to be fondly remembered for this role, even though he did not enjoy the experience as he had hoped.
Fair to say – I recommand that everyone revisits Batman Forever in their Kilmer movies marathon. I’m so curious to know how the actor ranks in your Batman rankings moving forward.
