During the 1994 movie "Ed Wood", after somebody had just pointed out of a rather flagrant mistake in the scene which had just been shot, Wood answered: "Haven't you heard of suspension of disbelief?" I guess that it's this declaration which fuels "Batman & Robin", one of the worst movies I've ever seen.
Starring three heroes as well as three villains (let's rather say two and a half), "Batman & Robin" is at the same time the fullest and the emptiest episode of the Batman series, fueled by unequaled pretensions and ambitions and obtaining results which are nothing more than pathetic.
Batman (George Clooney) and Robin (Chris O'Donnell) are facing Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a college professor whose research to find a cure to the fictitious MacGregor syndrome (from which his wife suffers) has gone terribly wrong, provoking a mutation which makes that he cannot survive anymore to temperatures higher than zero.
Meanwhile, Pamela Isley (Uma Thurman) becomes another victim of mutation after his colleague professor tried to kill her. She transforms into Poison Ivy, a nature beauty whose charms bewitch men and whose kisses are venomous.
Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy have totally opposite plans and have apparently no reason to team up, but that's what happens anyway and Batman and Robin have to thwart their evil plans.
Add Bane (Jeep Swenson) who was once one of the most intimidating villains of the comic books, but is now a simple non-talking savage who takes the part of Poison Ivy's servant. There's also Barbara (Alicia Silverstone), the niece of butler Alfred (Michael Gough), who discovers the "family secret" and joins in the action under the name of Batgirl.
The movie lasts for two hours and five minutes, but five minutes are wide enough to convince anyone of the foolishness and the absurdity of this mediocre film. And not necessarily the first five minutes. Anywhere in the movie, we can find ludicrous sets, poorly conceived action sequences and one-dimensional characters, all of this is leaded by an abysmal script from Akiva Goldsman and directed by Joel Schumacher of whom we could ask if he really had the taste and the motivation to proceed to the production of this movie.
When you look at the actors, you could ask yourselves why Arnold Schwarzenegger is top-billed. In the 1989 "Batman" movie, it was worth it because Jack Nicholson (as the Joker) was by far the greatest actor of the lot. In the case of "Batman & Robin", I guess that it's the actors' salary which determined their position in the credits since Schwarzenegger received about $20 million for his role.
The question now is: why did he receive so much money for such a shabby performance? His terrible one-liners and puns about ice have become instant classics, but for the wrong reasons. His plans doesn't make any sense and where do these henchmen come from and what is their interest in working with a man whose only interest is to save his sick wife? There again, "suspension of disbelief"...
Uma Thurman plays the Mother Nature role in this film, but with such a performance, her credibility has been just passed under the lawnmower.
As for George Clooney, it's not his performance that is disappointing, but rather the fact that he plays a character he's not made to play. He's probably the most charming Bruce Wayne of the series, but also the least interesting, since he doesn't display any tortured soul or psychological scar. Those characteristics have been better handled by Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer. And his girlfriend Julie Madison (Elle Macpherson), where does she come from and what is her role here?
The only good point about Clooney came well after the movie's release when he famously declared: "I think we might have killed the franchise." Well, a fault confessed is a half redressed.
As for the two young heroes O'Donnell and Silverstone, they're not bad, but not interesting either.
The city of Gotham, previously a very Gothic city filled with Metropolis-inspired expressionist buildings, is now assaulted by ridiculous skyscrapers and monuments shaped like giant people, whose origins go back to "Batman Returns" (remember the Max Shreck speech in the beginning?).
The Batmobile is almost unrecognizable and is now a convertible, just like if somebody intended to mix the vehicle of the '60s TV series with the one from the Tim Burton films. Batman and Robin own an upgraded arsenal of completely silly technological gadgets, the worst being the skates magically going out from their boots. And what could I say about their costumes equipped with dim-sized nipples and filmed with useless close-ups on their posteriors?
It's difficult to pick up the worst scene of all, since there are so many of them. But there are three which go above the others. Bronze medal: the scene at the end where Batman tries to convince Mr. Freeze to abandon his quest for revenge is utterly pathetic. Silver medal: the auction where old bachelors bet on girls with flower nicknames look like a convention of luxe pedophiles looking for prostitutes. It's not only ridiculous, it's offending. And the gold medal: this image of Poison Ivy holding a flower with a viper head seems to be taken from an Ed Wood picture.
It is so sad for Batman, whose franchise has known very glorious and happy times, that he has to be treated so miserably by people having more interest for their wallets than for the fate of one the most appreciated superheroes in the world. And for movie fans, I think I've just said it, but the movie is not only ridiculous, it is offending.
And since Mr. Freeze seems to have a knack for ice-related puns, here's one more: this movie will leave you cold.
Starring three heroes as well as three villains (let's rather say two and a half), "Batman & Robin" is at the same time the fullest and the emptiest episode of the Batman series, fueled by unequaled pretensions and ambitions and obtaining results which are nothing more than pathetic.
Batman (George Clooney) and Robin (Chris O'Donnell) are facing Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a college professor whose research to find a cure to the fictitious MacGregor syndrome (from which his wife suffers) has gone terribly wrong, provoking a mutation which makes that he cannot survive anymore to temperatures higher than zero.
Meanwhile, Pamela Isley (Uma Thurman) becomes another victim of mutation after his colleague professor tried to kill her. She transforms into Poison Ivy, a nature beauty whose charms bewitch men and whose kisses are venomous.
Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy have totally opposite plans and have apparently no reason to team up, but that's what happens anyway and Batman and Robin have to thwart their evil plans.
Add Bane (Jeep Swenson) who was once one of the most intimidating villains of the comic books, but is now a simple non-talking savage who takes the part of Poison Ivy's servant. There's also Barbara (Alicia Silverstone), the niece of butler Alfred (Michael Gough), who discovers the "family secret" and joins in the action under the name of Batgirl.
The movie lasts for two hours and five minutes, but five minutes are wide enough to convince anyone of the foolishness and the absurdity of this mediocre film. And not necessarily the first five minutes. Anywhere in the movie, we can find ludicrous sets, poorly conceived action sequences and one-dimensional characters, all of this is leaded by an abysmal script from Akiva Goldsman and directed by Joel Schumacher of whom we could ask if he really had the taste and the motivation to proceed to the production of this movie.
When you look at the actors, you could ask yourselves why Arnold Schwarzenegger is top-billed. In the 1989 "Batman" movie, it was worth it because Jack Nicholson (as the Joker) was by far the greatest actor of the lot. In the case of "Batman & Robin", I guess that it's the actors' salary which determined their position in the credits since Schwarzenegger received about $20 million for his role.
The question now is: why did he receive so much money for such a shabby performance? His terrible one-liners and puns about ice have become instant classics, but for the wrong reasons. His plans doesn't make any sense and where do these henchmen come from and what is their interest in working with a man whose only interest is to save his sick wife? There again, "suspension of disbelief"...
Uma Thurman plays the Mother Nature role in this film, but with such a performance, her credibility has been just passed under the lawnmower.
As for George Clooney, it's not his performance that is disappointing, but rather the fact that he plays a character he's not made to play. He's probably the most charming Bruce Wayne of the series, but also the least interesting, since he doesn't display any tortured soul or psychological scar. Those characteristics have been better handled by Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer. And his girlfriend Julie Madison (Elle Macpherson), where does she come from and what is her role here?
The only good point about Clooney came well after the movie's release when he famously declared: "I think we might have killed the franchise." Well, a fault confessed is a half redressed.
As for the two young heroes O'Donnell and Silverstone, they're not bad, but not interesting either.
The city of Gotham, previously a very Gothic city filled with Metropolis-inspired expressionist buildings, is now assaulted by ridiculous skyscrapers and monuments shaped like giant people, whose origins go back to "Batman Returns" (remember the Max Shreck speech in the beginning?).
The Batmobile is almost unrecognizable and is now a convertible, just like if somebody intended to mix the vehicle of the '60s TV series with the one from the Tim Burton films. Batman and Robin own an upgraded arsenal of completely silly technological gadgets, the worst being the skates magically going out from their boots. And what could I say about their costumes equipped with dim-sized nipples and filmed with useless close-ups on their posteriors?
It's difficult to pick up the worst scene of all, since there are so many of them. But there are three which go above the others. Bronze medal: the scene at the end where Batman tries to convince Mr. Freeze to abandon his quest for revenge is utterly pathetic. Silver medal: the auction where old bachelors bet on girls with flower nicknames look like a convention of luxe pedophiles looking for prostitutes. It's not only ridiculous, it's offending. And the gold medal: this image of Poison Ivy holding a flower with a viper head seems to be taken from an Ed Wood picture.
It is so sad for Batman, whose franchise has known very glorious and happy times, that he has to be treated so miserably by people having more interest for their wallets than for the fate of one the most appreciated superheroes in the world. And for movie fans, I think I've just said it, but the movie is not only ridiculous, it is offending.
And since Mr. Freeze seems to have a knack for ice-related puns, here's one more: this movie will leave you cold.
