Burton left in part because the studio was hoping for a more commercial affair than the disturbing Batman Returns. Keaton, however, didn’t leave when Tim Burton did. In fact, he was still attached to Batman Forever as the Joel Schumacher era dawned. What drove him away? Batman Forever‘s awful script, of course. No, don’t worry, Mr. Keaton. You aren’t boasting. Batman Forever is a shrill nightmare of a movie, and reducing its problems to cute buzzwords like “neon” or “bat nipples” is a disservice to how truly nonsensical its script is, not to mention the impossibly irritating performances by its two key villains. Val Kilmer did the best he could as Bruce Wayne, but it’s unlikely that even Michael Keaton could have made enough of a difference in this one. Forgotten Films – Sam Hamm’s “Batman II” by denofgeek
