News Val Kilmer (1959-2025)
- Thread starter Aragorn
- Start date
Very sad.
For anyone wanting a good VK movie that isn't as well known, give Thunderheart a watch. I love that one.
For anyone wanting a good VK movie that isn't as well known, give Thunderheart a watch. I love that one.
Seconded on The Lion. It’s almost a sort of jungle version of Jaws - Michael Douglas is Quint but I’m not sure whether Val is Hooper or Brody; arguably he’s Hooper and John Kani’s Samuel is Brody.
I must watch Spartan - I remember it getting good reviews at the time.
I often wonder if that’s where his campaigning for Native American rights began, or if it happened to be a role that befitted an interest he already had.
Real Genius is one of my favorites of his.
I went looking for that on the streaming sites a while back. IIRC Amazon had it but you had to rent/buy.
He will be missed. Not only for his talent, but also his sense of humor.
"movies that sound like horror movies but aren't"
Been struggling all day to figure out why I've been in such a funk. Go figure, probably because another piece of my childhood died today.
Val Kilmer was a lot of things to a lot of different people. To me he was the best Batman we had in live action film, certainly the best actor to wear the cape and cowl. He was also my childhood Batman. I may have been born in 1989, but as a child the first Batman film was a bit moody and I'm pretty sure the second film, Batman Returns, traumatized me. Batman Forever was and still is the best Batman movie in my book that isn't animated, and mostly it's because it was so accessible, not just for children but for casual audiences. Val Kilmer was also a much more physically Impressive Batman than Michael Keaton, and a much more charismatic Bruce Wayne. Kilmer also brought a more believable vulnerability to the role. This was clearly a man who had witnessed his parents' murder as a child. Nicole Kidman's character says it best, "Why does a man do this? It's as if he's cursed to pay some great penance. Now, what crime could he have committed to deserve a life of nightly torture?" Kilmer brilliantly grounds this film with his dark and tragic portrayal of such a man, surrounded by neon lights and lime green and magenta colored villains, and he pulls it off magnificently. Watching him take on Dick Grayson as his ward is also handled expertly. Kilmer's monologue to Chris O'Donnell's Grayson about the dangers of revenge remains my favorite bit of dialogue said by the Batman character in any medium.
At the end of the day, it's just heartbreaking when any actor who played the Dark Knight passes away. We don't like to think of Batman as being mortal. But beyond that, Kilmer brought the best features of the Batman character to the forefront. For that I think he deserves far more recognition than he gets.
Sorry for the long, long post. But yet again, we have to light up the Batsignal for another Caped Crusader gone too soon.
Val Kilmer was a lot of things to a lot of different people. To me he was the best Batman we had in live action film, certainly the best actor to wear the cape and cowl. He was also my childhood Batman. I may have been born in 1989, but as a child the first Batman film was a bit moody and I'm pretty sure the second film, Batman Returns, traumatized me. Batman Forever was and still is the best Batman movie in my book that isn't animated, and mostly it's because it was so accessible, not just for children but for casual audiences. Val Kilmer was also a much more physically Impressive Batman than Michael Keaton, and a much more charismatic Bruce Wayne. Kilmer also brought a more believable vulnerability to the role. This was clearly a man who had witnessed his parents' murder as a child. Nicole Kidman's character says it best, "Why does a man do this? It's as if he's cursed to pay some great penance. Now, what crime could he have committed to deserve a life of nightly torture?" Kilmer brilliantly grounds this film with his dark and tragic portrayal of such a man, surrounded by neon lights and lime green and magenta colored villains, and he pulls it off magnificently. Watching him take on Dick Grayson as his ward is also handled expertly. Kilmer's monologue to Chris O'Donnell's Grayson about the dangers of revenge remains my favorite bit of dialogue said by the Batman character in any medium.
At the end of the day, it's just heartbreaking when any actor who played the Dark Knight passes away. We don't like to think of Batman as being mortal. But beyond that, Kilmer brought the best features of the Batman character to the forefront. For that I think he deserves far more recognition than he gets.
Sorry for the long, long post. But yet again, we have to light up the Batsignal for another Caped Crusader gone too soon.
Today finally motivated me to watch Tombstone tonight. I really liked it, and it's very quotable. I kinda wish Kilmer was in the movie more than he was, but he stole every scene he was in. I didn't know the "Well, Bye" thing came from this movie. That was pretty cool.
Remember when Kilmer accused Michael Gough of ''encouraging'' Chris O'Donnell to keep at the heroics? I was always semi-amused at this, since it's Wayne saying to Alfred the sort of line you'd expect to hear when spouses squabble.
We lost Jim again.
Wasn't he in character as Jim Morrison the entire time (even when the cameras weren't rolling) that he was making that movie?
"Young men with a mind for revenge need little encouragement - they need guidance. You, above all, should know the consequences of the life you choose."
Michael Gough was so great as Alfred.