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 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang". His performance was praised and the film was well reviewed, but it received only a limited release. It later won the award for "Overlooked Film of the Year" from the Phoenix Film Critics Society. In 2006 he reunited with director Tony Scott a third time for a supporting role opposite Denzel Washington in the box-office hit "Déjà Vu". The song "Val Kilmer" was named after him on Bowling for Soup's 2006 album "The Great Burrito Extortion Case". The song was later used for a Ford Motors commercial on season 10 of "American Idol" in 2011.