Val Kilmer is the best Batman? We've got a padded cell reserved for Joel Schumacher

Well, it wasn't as bad as "Batman and Robin."

Should director Joel Schumacher be committed to Arkham Asylum?

That's what we're wondering after the filmmaker recently declared that Val Kilmer "was the best Batman" for "Batman Forever." The 1995 film was directed, of course, by Schumacher.


What makes Schumacher's endorsement of Kilmer bat-spit crazy is that the two infamously did not get along during the production. There were even rumors of fisticuffs on the set between director and star. As Schumacher once told Premiere magazine:

"Val is the most psychologically troubled human being I've ever worked with. The tools I used working with him—tools of communication, of patience and understanding—were the tools I use on my 5-year-old godson. Val is not just high-strung. I think he needs help."

That was then. This is now, and what Schumacher recently told ICF.com:

"For me, Val Kilmer was the best Batman. I thought he looked great in the costume, and I thought he brought a depth to the role. I thought the relationship between Val and Nicole Kidman was very sexy. Jim Carrey, of course, was the perfect Riddler. And then I had the great Tommy Lee Jones and a lot of other great people are in that movie."

We're not sure which part of that statement is the most ridiculous. Maybe the Kilmer-Kidman comment. The Nicole Kidman of 1995 could have made a relationship with a rock look sexy.

Schumacher hasn't lost all of his marbles, though. He did accept blame for the movie that almost did what the Joker and Penguin couldn't - kill off Batman. We refer, of course, to George Clooney's turn as the Crappy Crusader in "Batman and Robin." Said Schumacher:

"I'm responsible for everything. I said, 'yes' and I took it on. It's not my favorite movie I've ever made, but I'm proud of my cast and I'm proud of all the artists who worked on it. I take full responsibility for 'Batman & Robin.'"