BATMAN AND ROBIN Directed by Joel Schumacher. Written by Akiva Goldsman. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (Mr Freeze), George Clooney (Batman), Chris O'Donnell (Robin), Uma Thurman (Poison Ivy) and Alicia Silverstone (Batgirl).
First, some personal history. I grew up from a very early age as a tremendous fan of Batman. He was my favourite character in the animated series "Superfriends". I read his comics at every opportunity. When the "Superman" movies were in the cinemas I spent a lot of time wondering why no one made a Batman movie. In 1989 I rushed to the cinemas to see "Batman", and loved what I saw. It made me an instant Tim Burton fan (I still am), introduced me to Jack Nicholson and convinced me that Michael Keaton was one of the best actors in Hollywood. More than anything, it convinced me of the utter brilliance of Batman: as a character, a concept and as one of few genuine mythic heroes of the 20th century. In 1992 I watched "Batman Returns" and loved it just as much. When Warner Bros started a new animated series, I watched and loved that as well. I'm currently even basing part of an Honours thesis at university on the guy. My point is that out of all the fictional characters that I read, watch and love, Batman is pretty well up near the top. So when Joel Schumacher directed the abysmal "Batman Forever" in 1995, I was certain that the Batman film franchise had hit an all-time low.
I know what you think I'm going to say now, but my purpose for all that is a little different. You see, I went into "Batman And Robin" expecting quite literally the worst film I would ever see. I was expecting the most mind-bending, thought-numbing, heart-wrenching heap of manure that I had ever been forced to endure. Every friend I had who had already seen it told me not to bother: to save my money and go see something else - *anything* else.
Surprise, surprise. "Batman And Robin" is actually pretty good. Certainly it has monumental problems. Firstly, Akiva Goldsman's screenplay is badly conceived, ill-plotted and filled not so much with dialogue as with a string of unfunny one-liners and puns that would have had Adam West and Burt Ward quaking in their boots. Similarly, much of Joel Schumacher's direction is gratuitous, overly flashy and confused. The production design is hideous, with excessive neon lighting, 40 story statues built around the city and a Batmobile even sillier than the last one.
On the *other* hand... The actors all cope very well with what they're given. George Clooney is convincing as Batman, and does a reasonably good job as Bruce Wayne. Chris O'Donnell, one of the very few highlights of "Batman Forever", keeps his good effort up in his second involvement. Uma Thurman hams it up wonderfully as Poison Ivy, while Alicia Silverstone is passable in a role that Goldsman's script tends to forget with frightening regularity. It is only Arnold Schwarzenegger who sticks out in the cast, fluctuating wildly between a one-dimensional wisecracking villain and a tragic character destroyed by the events of his life. One or the other (preferably the latter of the two) would have been good. Leaping from one to the other, he merely created a confusing mess.
The music this time around is an improvement, and the Smashing Pumpkins song at the end outdoes U2's effort completely. The costumes for Batman, Robin and Batgirl are all very good, with the strange nipple fixation the only drawback to an otherwise impressive look.
"Batman And Robin" is very big, extremely loud and undeniably very, very stupid. In terms of scripting and direction, it's a careering disaster in the making, it's cast holding on for grim life from one collision to another. But it's also very, very fun to watch. And let's face it, that's what these kinds of movies are all about.
SCORE: 7.5 out of 10
Review copyright (c) 1997, Grant Watson (nzone@iinet.net.au). It may be reprinted freely, as long as the author is notified.
__________________nzone@iinet.net.au_______________ "Science fiction is about the future and fantasy is about the past - the myth of the way things used to be. Science fiction is, in a sense, trying to construct a myth of the future."
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