Batman & Robin (1997)

Starring George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Uma Thurman, and Elle Macpherson.  Cinematography by Stephen Goldblatt.  Edited by Dennis Virkler and Fred C. Vitale.  Produced by Peter MacGregor-Scott.  Written by Akiva Goldsman. Directed by Joel Schumacher.

Batman’s back again and there’s even more on his plate (and now played by George Clooney). He’s got a giant scientist turned ugly named Mr. Freeze (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) who wants to lay the entire Earth under a sheet of ice. Then there’s Poison Ivy (played by Uma Thurman) who was once a nerdy botanist and now wants spread her genetically altered plants across the globe.

There’s also Bane (played by Jeep Swenson) who works for Poison Ivy and is the size of a Jeep.  At home things aren’t much better. His trusty, lifelong servant Alfred (played by Michael Gough) is dying.  Alfred’s pain in the ass niece (played by Alicia Silverstone) comes to visit and she eventually becomes Batgirl. And he’s still got the obnoxiously spoiled Robin to sort out.  But he is dating Julie Madison (played by Elle Macpherson) so he’s got that going for him.

The series is nearly unrecognizable to what was begun in the first Batman project. It actually seems to have been more influenced by the campy television series from the sixties than it was by Tim Burton’s earlier work.  The films have always been driven, for the most part, by their villains.  But this film, more so than any of it’s predecessors, depicts Batman as a just costume that chases after eccentric bad guys. Besides some incredible special effects, and a few beautifully decorated sets, there is little to nothing to appreciate. It’s a costume party that costs you a little over two hours of you life to get in.

We think it’s unfair to say that Schumacher destroyed the Batman franchise, as some critics have done. After all, it takes an army to make a movie and he surely wasn’t the only one making decisions.  He is an easy target for ridicule and maybe he just wasn’t the right filmmaker to take over the Batman films in the first place. You can point fingers all day long, but in the end you still have a Batman & Robin that sucked.

Budget: $110,000,000

Total US Gross: $107,325,195

Genre: Action

Runtime: 125 Minutes

US Release Date: 6/20/97

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Awards: none

Tagline: Strength, Courage, Honor, And Loyalty. On June 20, It All Comes Together.

Quote: “There's just something about an anatomically correct rubber suit that puts fire in a girl's lips.”