Batman and Robin

Director: Joel Schumacher

Screenplay By: Akiva Goldsman

Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Thriller

Released: October 1997

Rating: PG-13 for strong stylized action and some innuendos

Runtime: 125 minutes

Diving once again into the bat world, Joel Schumacher gives audiences a comical view of the Caped Crusader, slipping an additional hero into the mix as well as two new villains to face.

What plot? Is there one in this movie because it's hard to tell with the explosion of characters and action sequences in this film. Basically, Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze are out to destroy Gotham for their various and vengeful reasons. Meanwhile Alfred's niece traipses onto the grounds of Wayne Manor, disgusted that her uncle is a lowly "servant", apparently unaware that he has acted as Bruce's father figure nearly his entire life. She then ventures into the world of Gotham to experience the city's raging underground motorcycle racing crowd and somehow manages to get herself an alter-ego of her own as Batgirl. Somewhere there is a plot in all of that, what it is exactly is unknown, but rest assured there is trouble for Batman, Robin, Batgirl and Gotham and the heroes will have to fight the villains to save the day.

Laughable is Batgirl and as far as movie plots are concerned and did Batman ever need Robin? All he seems to do is get in the way and cause more trouble for the Caped Crusader. Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze are more like clowns than villains, spouting off ridiculous dialog in silly costumes and in this case, belong more on the pages of the comic instead of on a roll of film. At least in the comic book realm they are more realistic and threatening. Can anything positive be said of the characters in Batman and Robin? The answer is no, unless you want to focus on Alfred because he's the only stable character in the movie.

The settings in this movie are freak shows of epic proportions. Instead of the dark and shadowy realms of Burton's Batman world, the Schumacher versions in this movie are loud, in your face with bright colors and are so over-the-top that it's hard to take any of the characters seriously. The only good thing is the open and airy Wayne Manor, which actually seems livable, compared to the Burton version, but not very much of the movie takes place there so its charm is lost.

Over-the-top is a reoccurring theme in Batman and Robin and the only vision in this movie seems to be visions of dollar signs. Not one ounce of dramatic strength can be linked to this movie and the incessant shots of the heroes donning their suits are almost obscene. This movie's aim is clearly to sell action figures and entertain an audience of children, not to tell a story, and the only tale that can be told through its visuals is a tale of destruction - reducing Batman to a ringmaster for an elaborate circus rather than a crusader for justice.

A good soundtrack accents this film, nice effects and a lovely, if not a little too bold, score. Popular artists sprinkle their flavors and their songs fit well into the scenes in which they are played, but as with the whole movie it is all a bit too much. All the music and effects do is draw you out of the story and into the commercial world of retail sales.

There isn't a worse Batman than George Clooney, who portrays such an arrogant hero that it's disgusting to watch. Adam West plays a better Dark Knight than Clooney, more justice-oriented, and if you've seen the original movie and series you know how comical in nature they were. Uma Thurman, a great actress, doesn't seem comfortable in her Poison Ivy persona and all that can be said of the Governator is that his main purpose in the movie seems to be delivering lines like "everybody chill" and "let's cool things off" - ridiculous. He was more formidable in the Terminator. Let's just leave Alicia Silverstone out of it because the girl has enough trouble establishing herself as a successful and talented actress in Hollywood.

Don't waste any time or money watching Batman and Robin, and if you own a copy all ready - burn it and try to erase it from your memory banks. This is Batman the Circus and there no cinematic value to it at all - it is a gluttonous display of what Hollywood thinks will sell a movie and is not at all aimed at telling a great story of a Batman battle. It really is that bad and the original, Batman the Movie, is much more worth the price of a rental or purchase, not to mention one hundred times more entertaining to watch.

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