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 film from Michael Oblowitz, "The Traveler", where he played the vengeful spirit of a man who had been tortured and murdered while in police custody. In November 2010, Kilmer was filming in Kelseyville, California. He was finally able to work with his lifelong friend Francis Ford Coppola and star in the film "Twixt". The film was filmed mostly on Coppola's estate in Napa County. The filming was expected to take five weeks and was being independently funded by Coppola. In 2010, Kilmer appeared as the villain Dieter Von Cunth in "MacGruber", and Tenacious D's music video "To Be The Best"