Batman and Robin (1997)

 

After the huge success of Batman Forever (1995), it was only natural that Joel Schumacher would return to direct another Batman movie. Also returning was writer Akiva Goldsman. Who would not return though was Val Kilmer, who played Batman in that film. Many who worked on both films felt this was no surprise because Schumacher and Kilmer didn't always get along. However, about Kilmer's not appearing in Batman and Robin, Schumacher would state, "He wanted to do Island of Doctor Moreau because Marlon Brando was going to be in it. So, he dropped us at the eleventh hour.” To replace him as Batman was a young up and coming actor, George Clooney. Though today Clooney is a major movie star, his career was just beginning to take off at this time due to the TV series, ER and the Robert Rodriguez film, From Dusk till Dawn (1996). Because of this he did not receive as large of a salary here as he would have if this came later in his career. Producer Peter MacGregor-Scott would state, “He was a bargain.” 

However, Arnold Schwarzenegger as the villainous Mr. Freeze was nowhere near as much of a bargain. Casting Mr. Freeze in this role cost $25 million dollars.  Peter MacGregor-Scott would state, “It’s tough when you wake up in the morning and just spent $25 million! Oh dear. But he was great.” Schwarzenegger was truly the big star when this film came out. He already had such films as Conan the Barbarian (1982), The Terminator (1984), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Commando (1985), The Running Man (1987), Predator (1987), Total Recall (1990), True Lies (1994) and Jingle All the Way (1996). Uma Thurman was cast as the film's other major villain Poison Ivy. She was cast after Schumacher saw her in a Variety Fair photoshoot.  Thurman's career had already taken off at this time as she had already appeared in Pulp Fiction (1994), Henry & June (1990) and The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996). The villains were rounded out by weightlifter Jeep Swenson as Bane. He was suggested for the role by a stuntman on Batman Forever. Alicia Silverstone was brought in as Batgirl. Fresh off the major success of Clueless (1995) and being featured in three Aerosmith music videos she was a true rising star at this time. Unfortunately, she received a lot of overly cruel criticism from the press due to a little weight gain that caused her some trouble fitting into the Batgirl suit. Schumacher quickly rushed to her defense, stating that it was cruel to criticize her for putting on a tiny bit of weight and it was wrong at a time when many young girls struggled with their self-image. Personally, I think she looks beautiful in this movie and can't understand how anyone could give such a lovely young woman criticism about her looks. 

In this film, Batman and Robin must stop the villainous Mr. Freeze, who plans to steal many valuable diamonds, not caring how many people he kills in the process. Meanwhile the villainous Poison Ivy decides that she is going to save the environment with a plan that involves killing people in the process. When the two team up, Batman and Robin have a lot more than they bargained for. 


Though this is easily the weakest of the live action Batman movies, it is not the out and out mess its reputation makes it out to be. There are actually some aspects that work quite well. Much of the drama involving the Bat-Family works quite well. It only makes sense that the former solo hero Batman, would have a hard time adjusting to working with a partner. This movie does a surprisingly good job at looking at this difficulty and Batman's reluctance to fully trust others and not always be in control. However, the best drama here comes from Alfred becoming very sick. Our heroes having to deal with Alfred's mortality is surprisingly quite touching. This movie also serves as an origin story for Batgirl. Though this origin is quite rushed, it works well enough. George Clooney makes for a good Batman and works just as well both in and out of the Batsuit. 

Despite this, there is a lot wrong with this movie. Leaving out the more serious scenes dealing with Alfred's sickness, the majority of this movie tries to recapture the campiness of the 1960's Batman. However, it fails to capture the charm of the 1960's Batman completely. Part of this is that the humor constantly falls flat. Nearly every line from the villains is some sort of pun. I usually like corny puns, but these feel too forced and many of them simply come off as painful. The villains as a whole are a major problem with this movie. They are over the top and silly. However, while the villains for the 60's TV show and movie also felt menacing behind all their over-the-top campiness, the same cannot be said for the villains here. These villains come off as jokes and never are able to be taken seriously enough to feel like real threats. Also, instead of the over-the-top nature of these characters coming off as charming, it comes off as annoying. The early scenes where the evil scientist creates Bane and Poison Ivy are simply embarrassing to watch. Speaking of Bane, I hate how he is reduced simply to a grunting sidekick to Poison Ivy. I am sure that any fan of this character hates this movie simply for that. I simply couldn't stand these villains. This also made the action scenes fall flat. I also hated how this film is completely full of bright colors. This visual style often distracts from the characters and story instead of enhancing them. As someone who loves the cornier aspects of superhero stories and who has Adam West as his favorite Batman, this should have been a movie made for me. Yet even for me, many of these cornier aspects fell completely flat. 

The reviews for this film were incredibly harsh and there was no doubt that the critics hated second of this movie. While the film made money, it fell far short of expectations at the box-office. There were plans for a third Schumacher directed Batman movie, but after the disappointment of this film that movie never happened. Batman and Robin is often considered to be one of the worst superhero movies ever made. While I wouldn't quite go this far, it is definitely one of the weaker Batman films.

Resources Used

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/batman-robin-at-20-joel-schumacher-more-reveal-what-happened-1014972/