Batman & Robin

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, Elle Macpherson, Vivica A. Fox
Directed by: Joel Schumacher
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Thriller
1997

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Batman (George Clooney) and Robin (Chris O'Donnell) work together to battle the evil Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and the deadly Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman), who are determined to destroy Gotham City.

Review:

Tim: It took Joel Schumacher two tries to completely kill the Batman franchise, but by God, he was going to do it. His previous Batman Forever was already the low-point of this series, but he outdid himself here. This movie is truly awful. I remember being a teenager, who knew nothing of movies, and seeing this film in theatres. Ten minutes in (the hockey scene), I realized something how gone horribly wrong. Nothing improved throughout the remainder of the movie, and this was plantly firmly in my mind as a major disappointment.

It is amazing how bad this movie is, and how quickly (and far) this franchise has fallen since its excellent original film. This movie is completely cartoonish, but in an awful way. It is beyond ridiculous, as the events of the film defy all logic, intelligence, or explanation. The dialogue is cringe-worthy. This is an absurd pile of garbage.

Joel Schumacher deserves the vast majority of the blame for this bomb. How could he think anything in this movie was a good idea? It truly was almost as if he simply didn't care. From the silly plot, to the nipples on the batsuit, to the odd shots of Batman, Robin, and Batgirl's posteriors as they put on their suits, this movie is a trainwreck.

I feel bad for George Clooney, because he certainly tried. He gave some good effort to the role, and in another world, he could have made a very good Bruce Wayne. Sadly, he is a victim of the movie coming down all around him. Arnold Schwarzenegger (who ridiculously received top billing) is way, way too over-the-top as Mr. Freeze. His constant one-liner ice and cold jokes were annoying from the very outset of the film. Uma Thurman was probably a great choice to play Poison Ivy, but again, she had nothing to work with, and comes off looking silly like the rest of the cast. As I've mentioned, I really like Chris O'Donnell as Robin. I can't imagine a better actor for the role. I also suppose Alicia Silverstone was a decent choice for Batgirl, but her inclusion in this movie was unnecessary.

On top of how weak this movie is, Joel Schumacher made us sit through this for over two hours. That is unforgivable. This movie neded to be significantly shorter and needed to be tightened up in many, many places. There is too much in this movie, so it comes across as scattered and unfocused.

Batman & Robin is a notorious failure in many, many ways. It was the film that killed this franchise for years. It is one of the worst comic book movies ever made, and serves as a constant warning of what can happen when superhero movies go wrong. I hated this movie when I was too young to know better, and now, I hate it even more. Shame on you, Joel Schumacher.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 4.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Superman, Catwoman, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight