Batman has a seasoned franchise with triumphant highs and turbulent lows. Adam West revived the character from its 1940s black-and-white serials and became the Bright Knight with the colorful, campy flair of the 1950s comic books. After the Batmania of the late sixties, the Caped Crusader returned to his seedy Gotham and dark detective roots, most notably with the 1988 comic book story arc, Death in the Family. The death of Robin ushered in the Batman readers and viewers know best, the Dark Knight.
Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale portrayed the psychology of Bruce Wayne and Batman for a modern audience with The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005, 2008, 2012). Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson carried the torch in 2022, with The Batman, favoring the reclusive detective in his second year of crime-fighting. What fans contest or celebrate about Batman is what can be considered his Dark Ages, the Joel Schumacher films.
With medieval pageantry, Val Kilmer in Batman Forever (1995) and George Clooney in Batman & Robin (1997) became guilty pleasures of superhero schlock, the latter deemed one of the worst superhero films of all time. While they both leaned into the campiness of West, Clooney got buried by it while Kilmer met the balance. Kilmer may not be the best Batman, but his mask, Bruce Wayne, is certainly an underrated performance.
A Man Without Love
Riddle me this! Who is lucky with cards and unlucky with love? The hint: a man who has everything and nothing at all. The answer: Bruce Wayne. The playboy mogul seems untouchable without a problem in the world. Underneath the charm, an underworld of noir dominates. Fighting criminals and bringing them to justice has repressed Bruce Wayne's childhood trauma, the death of his parents. His only semblance of family is his dutiful butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Gough).
The nuance of Kilmer's dynamic with his Bat family shows he cares as Bruce Wayne, but he is not too sentimental to the point of being blind to the cases he solves as Batman. Kilmer gives curt but commanding lines on both accounts. As Bruce Wayne, he assumes an unassuming air, discerning but never too revealing nor reactive. As the Batman, he converses with Gotham Police, conscious of the situation as it develops. He also doesn't hesitate to put a rain check on nosy reporters, unless they're a potential love interest.
Bats in the Belfry
A house call from the Bat-Signal and psychologist Dr. Chase Meridian (Nicole Kidman) has her smitten with the batty brooder. Her interest in a man who dresses up like a bat to fight crime peaks at obsession. The duality draws her close enough to pick his brain, but Batman only lands a kiss before she admits she loves another. Another kiss with Bruce Wayne reveals to Meridian that the Batman lost to the man with nothing to lose. Although Bruce and Batman did lie through omission, which a psychologist like Meridian wouldn't overlook, she doesn't have to prepare for a habitual pattern of lying. When you're in love with Batman, a white lie is nothing compared to being kidnapped by the Riddler and Two-Face.
The clever irony shows how people can accept our true and better nature. Bruce Wayne doubts love can enter his life because people only know him best as the Caped Crusader. His quiet, lavish life as Bruce Wayne is shrouded in rumor and tabloid headlines. The more interesting mystery, of course, is the man behind the mask, much to his chagrin. Despite the self-imposed and out-of-control walls and chains Bruce placed around himself, he found someone who would love his eccentric, authentic self. His fear, his vulnerability, his humanity, is Bruce's and Kilmer's superpower.
Dark Knight of the Soul
Bruce Wayne's backstory is always explored within the confines of his family tree. There are heroes that Batman works with that still don't know his true identity. Rarely is it shared with outsiders (including that smile he gets after finding out Meridian loves him) and it's a consequence of his double life. Bruce Wayne couldn't choose what he wanted out of life as a young, impressionable, innocent boy. Much of what was given to him came delivered on a silver platter. Privilege, luxury, and resources removed all challenges in his life.
Only when his parents died did Bruce Wayne find his purpose for living. It began as a revenge fantasy until it evolved into a courageous, voluntary vocation. Kilmer embodies the beholden beatitude to turn Wayne's tragedy into a triumph, one night at a time. Beyond the fact that Kilmer visited the studio of the 1960s Batman television series as a kid and an African bat cave as an adult before being cast for the role, viewers look pass Kilmer's performance due to the exaggerated environments and chaos in the film.
The intense outer world reflects the mindset and monkey brain of the man and the bat. Kilmer is underrated because he plays Bruce Wayne as understated on purpose. Kilmer is a hollow man, but not an empty one, with the guttural depth of a screeching bat, who will not rest on his laurels, ready to save himself through love and justice forever.