Was the franchise decline inevitable?
You see this all the time with movies that have spawned a lot of sequels, there's nearly always a Die Hard 5, a Terminator Genisys or a Superman 4 or any kind of film that changes what the franchise is.
shareObviously, the longer a franchise goes on the greater the odds that the next film will suck, but B&R dropped so far. Batman Forever isn't on the level of Burton's movies, but it was hugely successful and light years ahead of this.
shareI don't think darker, less toyetic or less camp would've necessarily made a better film but I think it would make a more even one. In anyway a fourth or fifth film was going to be inferior to it's predecessors, even through Batman Forever has it's flaws it's light years head of B&R, Forever was telling a story with heart but things went south with B&R because they were making a two hour toy commercial and a botched rehash of Forever.
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