When Joel Schumacher inherited the Batman films from Tim Burton, he shifted the tone of the movies away from the dark and gothic milieu to the vibrant, facetious, and humorous environment seen in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin.
However, this came at a price, as some aspects of Batman Forever were incoherent and confusing. Many elements of the plot were silly and discombobulated, and certain scenes and jokes seemed unnecessary, random, and almost forced. As fun, new, and exciting as Batman Forever was, the movie had some glaring issues with it compared to the previous (and future) Batman films.
8 Batman's Grappling Gun Was Overpowered
Sure, Batman Forever is a comic book movie, so critiquing the realistic aspects of the film might seem ludicrous, but the physics in the film are laughably outrageous. The Batmobile can seemingly drive straight up the side of the building thanks to the Batmobile's durable grappling gun, apparently equipped with the strongest rope in comic book history.
Batman's personal grappling gun is also ridiculously tough and strong enough to hold a giant swinging bank vault. The Batphysics and his grappling gun in the film make him seem unstoppable.
7 The Police And Bruce Don't Interview Or Follow Up With Edward Nygma After His Boss' Death
Before he became the Riddler, Edward Nygma was an inventor who worked in the electronics department at Wayne Tech. He's obsessed with Wayne and is devastated when Wayne rejects his prototype mind projection device. Nygma blames Bruce for not understanding and his direct superior Fred (played by Ed Begley Jr.) for constantly doubting and belittling him. After testing his device on Fred, he pushes him off the roof and frames it as a suicide, altering the surveillance video and making a fake suicide letter.
Commissioner Gordon watches the tape, concludes a suicide, and doesn't bring Nygma in for questioning. This is very strange considering Nygma was the only one at the scene and provided the evidence. Bruce had his suspicions but didn't follow up. The Gotham City Police Department is corrupt, but they aren't stupid or incompetent like they are in this film.
6 Bruce Stops Being Batman At The Absolute Worst Time
Bruce's decision to stop being Batman towards the end of the film is baffling and convoluted. He quits being Batman even though there are still two maniacal and dangerous villains on the loose in Gotham, wreaking havoc and plunging the city into terror. Batman retiring would destroy the city and do nothing to solve his personal issues.
Dick would still be an orphan and Bruce's guilt over not saving Dick's family would still linger. There would also be no need to stop being Batman if he told Dr. Meridian his secret identity. Bruce not being Batman isn't going to resolve his love life.
5 There Are Quite A Few References To The 1966 Batman Show/Film
Although it might not seem like it, Batman Forever was supposed to be a sequel to the Keaton/Burton films. Strange as it was, there weren't many references to the Burton films, but there were a few random references to the 1966 Adam West Batman series/movie. In the circus scene, Two-Face threatens to detonate 200 sticks of TNT encased inside an orb. The TNT orb seems to be a reference to the bomb from the 1966 Adam West Batman film.
When Batman is scaling up a building in the Batmobile to escape from Dent, he looks sideways into the adjacent apartments, obviously alluding to the walk-up-the-building scenes from the '66 show. The best one of all is towards the end of the movie when Robin tells Batman, "Holy Rusted Metal Batman...this metal, it's rusty, and it's full of holes, you know holey." The number of '66 Batman jokes in this film was strange and unexpected, considering how dark the preceding films were.
4 Dick Gets Little To No Training From Bruce Before Becoming Robin
A point of emphasis for Dick Grayson in the comics was how much training he went through to become Robin. Unlike in the movie, Bruce doesn't just let him go into battle with him. Even though Dick was athletic, Batman made him endure a grueling physical and mental training regimen to prepare him for crime-fighting. Alongside his exercise, Bruce made Dick keep up with his grades and taught him how to analyze crime scenes. The film omits this crucial aspect of Dick Grayson's past.
Bruce allowing Dick to go up against Two-Face (who shot Bruce in his own home) and the Riddler on his first official assignment as Robin was a puzzling decision. However, there's a deleted scene depicting Dick training with a Wing-Chun Dummy and Bruce showing off his skills to him. It's not really a training scene, but more for Bruce to give Dick some guidance.
3 Bruce Screams That He's Batman At The Circus
Bruce decides to take Dr. Meridian to the circus to see the Flying Graysons. While there, Two-Face and his goons hijack the circus, threatening to denote a bomb if an attendee doesn't tell him who Batman is. Amidst the chaos, Bruce stands and screams that he's Batman. Of course, the crowd's clamor drowns out Bruce's confession.
Sure, the moment was supposed to be heroic since Bruce was willing to sacrifice his identity to save others, but valor and foolishness should not be confused. Even though Two-Face didn't hear Bruce, there was no way the people in Bruce's general vicinity didn't hear him. Therefore, somebody would have found out about his secret, compromising his safety. Even if he revealed to Two-Face his identity, what would stop Dent from killing Bruce and detonating the bomb anyway?
2 The Batcave's Security System Was Beyond Useless
The Batcave in this film isn't very well protected; the entrance is behind a bookcase behind a locked door on the first floor of Wayne Manor. More importantly, the Batcave's defenses are laughably futile. When Dick falls down the Batcave stairs for the first time, the Batcave starts blasting "intruder alert" while the computer turns on and the Batmobile rises. The same happens when the Riddler breaks in later in the movie.
Considering that Batman has state-of-the-art equipment, tech, and gear in his Batcave, why does he have such a lousy security system? Also, his tech turning on when an intruder is in the cave is perplexing. The computers turning on and the batmobile rising is the opposite of what should happen when someone breaks in. Besides the computer telling the intruder they're an intruder, the security system does absolutely nothing to rid or restrict the trespasser.
1 The Laundry Scene Made Absolutely No Sense
About halfway into the movie, after Dick moves into Wayne Manor, there's a scene depicting Alfred and Dick in the washing room doing laundry together. Alfred offers to do Dick's laundry, but Dick refuses. Afterwards, he starts to dry his clothes with crazy martial arts moves. He's spinning his socks like nunchucks, hanging his pants up with his legs, and gyrating his shirt dry. All the while, Alfred stands there and watches.
The scene is fun, but why is it even in the movie? It plays no role in the film whatsoever. Was the scene supposed to show off Dick's martial art skills? There's already a scene depicting him saving a girl from some gang members. Or was the scene supposed to establish Dick as a down-to-earth kid who does his own laundry? Maybe, but why did he have to do it in such a manner? It's possibly the most random scene in the whole film.
