Batman Forever (1995) vs Superman III (1983)

The original Superman film of 1978 was praised for the way it explored the Man of Steel's origin story and showed how epic a superhero film could be. However, the original script was full of camp and cheesy humour and even had a Kojak cameo written into it (Kojak was to witness superman save someone near him and would repeat his 'Who loves ya baby' catchphrase at him in recognition). Richard Donner came to the project and threw it all out and made superman great. However by 1983's Superman III Donner was long gone and it is fair to say the producers really didn't know what to do with him. Gene Hackman refused to work with them again after the way they treated the original cast and Margot Kidder was given only minutes of screen time due to her rather outspoken views of the Salkinds. The Salkind's, to their credit, had lots of interesting ideas but all of them were shot down by the studio. At one point Dudley Moore was attached to play Mister Mxyzptlk and the film was to feature Brainiac and Supergirl who would be involved in a love triangle with Superman. It was clear that no one had done their homework. Superman was camp again and was more of a comedy. It was seen as somewhat of a departure from greatness as seen in the first two films. I understand the criticism but I have to confess, I absolutely love Superman III. Firstly, it's got Richard Pryor in it, my favorite comedian of all time. He quite good in it too. Add computers (a new and misunderstood wonder at the time), Pamela Stephenson in a mini-skirt, the great Robert Vaughn, a whiskey drinking, peanut flicking, historical monument straightening evil Superman, Superman vs Clark Kent, a Frank Oz cameo, a computer game version of superman and a terrifying cyborg transformation and I was one very happy boy. I watch it now and still feel all warm and fuzzy. I don't care how bad you think it is, you are wrong my friend. However, any delusion I may have regarding Superman's third outing doesn't extend to Batman's. Batman Forever had similar issues, Tim Burton had walked and Michael Keaton wasn't prepared to carry on as the Caped Crusader without him. Joel Schumacher took over directional duties and made Bats camp again. Burton's good work was soon undone. Parents had complained about the previous film's dark overtones and violence, missing the point entirely, and the franchise became purely about money and merchandise. Val Kilmer was an underwhelming superhero and troublesome behind the camera and Chris O'Donnell was a lackluster Robin. I didn't hate Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face but I loathed Jim Carrey's Riddler. Nicloe Kidman was fine in her role but her character Chase Maridian had far more potential than was written. Jones didn't want to be in the film, he has since declared he hated everything about it and only did it for his young son (at one point during filming Jones shouted to Carrey "I hate you. I really don't like you...I cannot sanction your buffoonery."). Robin Williams and Michael Jackson were at one point connected to the role of the Riddler and while I'm glad Williams didn't lower himself to these levels I can't help but wonder whether Jackson would have made the film far more watchable, possibly for all the wrong reasons. It's interesting how Leonardo DiCaprio nearly got the part of Robin too, the careers the film nearly ruined. Schumacher had only the 60's TV show as a reference, it is clear he never read any of the comics, certainly not the more contemporary issues. He has said he wanted a design that wasn't connected to Burton's style used in the previous films. He wanted 1930s New York mixed with the neon lights of modern Tokyo. What we got looked like a cross between a laser quest maze and an old bingo hall with half the lights switched off. It was a bitterly disappointing trip to the cinema. I liked Patrick Leahy's cameo (the first of many in the Batman films) and I quite like U2's theme song (Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me) but that's about all. You may not like Superman III (you're wrong) but it beats the hell out of Batman Forever hands down.

In this particular episode of Superman vs Batman - Superman wins!