I was 8 when Forever came out, and like many of you the nostalgia is very strong for me.
I was already a huge Batman fan, having watched the first two movies on VHS dozens of times, watching the animated series, reading the comics, and playing with the Kenner toys.
I went to the US with my family for the first time in the summer of '95 on a 2 month road trip in an RV. So it must've been right after the movie release, but I remember still being surrounded by the movie everywhere. I got some of the toys (I'm pretty sure I lost Two-Face's coin on a ferry to Vancouver) and got the comic to the movie.
For some reason we didn't watch it in the cinema there though, which I finally did on my birthday party after coming back home.
I ended up with most of the Forever toys, including the batmobile and the batwing. And the sonar suit Batman from the 2-pack became my main Batman when playing, because it was finally a "normal" Batman without a weird color scheme, gadget, etc, in a great looking suit to boot.
This was my favorite movie suit until Begins came around, so I'm glad the HT figure turned out so well to do it justice.
I would never call it a bad film as it knows what it is and what it is trying to do while never apologising for it! Still a lot more fun compared to some Batman films that have been made since.
Agree. It's of course not fine arts cinema, but to me it is exactly what it aims to be: a no non-sense, fun, part serious, part camp, all-out comic book movie with great visuals. It's very self-aware of this ("holey rusted metal, batman!"), without going too over the top in its camp like B&R did IMO.
There are many movies I loved as a kid that don't hold up to repeat viewings the older I get, but BF is not one of them. Even my wife, who generally doesn't care much for most comic book movies as they are too repetitive and always follow the same formula, quite enjoyed this. It's a movie I still like to watch every couple of years, and I haven't gotten tired of it yet.