Val Kilmer all the actors to have played Batman up to that point, he felt Kilmer had given the best interpretation. Film critic Leonard Maltin (who criticized the dark tone contained in "Batman Returns") complimented Kilmer's portrayal when he reviewed the film for his expanding collection of film reviews. Defenders of "Batman Forever" praised the film for portraying Batman as a more heroic, less ruthless, and more human character than in the Tim Burton films. The film also brought the film interpretation of Bruce Wayne more into line with his comic book counterpart, showing him as a socialite and a very public
Val Kilmer was at a high school drama festival when he saw Kilmer and Mare Winningham perform a scene from "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" and the drama teacher, Robert Carrelli, invited him to transfer to Chatsworth High School; he accepted. In the same interview, Spacey said he went to Juilliard because Kilmer did. Kilmer was at that time the youngest person ever admitted to Juilliard. During Kilmer's subsequent "Inside the Actors Studio" interview, he said "Robert Carrelli, who was our teacher, had a knack for producing and directing. And it was either Beverly Hills High, because of their very talented