Batman & Robin
1997
D: Joel Schumacher
**********
Pros: Visual Style, Some Funny Moments, Arnold
Cons: Lack of a Plot, Not That Funny, Robin, George Clooney, Some Bad CGI
I usually do the anniversary of a movie’s initial release, but I suppose wide release will be sufficient for this one. I’ve gotten so fatigued by gritty Batman, that I decided to give this movie a second chance. (You know something’s wrong when the guy with the goth dragon edglord fursona has had enough of dark and gritty superhero movies.)
I’ll just have to say that I love the look of this movie. It’s just so over-the-top and creative. It’s like a cartoon stage production on crack, and I must give credit to production designer Barbara Ling, art directors Richard Holland and Geoff Hubbard, set decorator Doree Cooper, and costume designers Ingrid Ferrin and Robert Turturice for the best part of the movie. I would have loved to see it in a better film, though. The visual zaniness could have been enhanced by better humor, though. The jokes consist of lame dad puns, and the movie lacks the creativity of the 60’s Adam West series in that respect. There are a few funny moments and gags, though, and Arnold’s delivery makes some of the lamer jokes cross the line twice. In contrast to Jim Carrey’s intermittently grating nature, Arnold’s natural campiness suits the movie perfectly, and his scenes are the most consistently entertaining.
If not humor, I would have also expected a better plot. Batman Forever, despite its questionable villains, was ultimately a good movie for combining Schumacher’s style with effective arcs involving Batman’s accepting his identity and Robin’s struggling to come to terms with his desire for revenge, making him an excellent foil for a hero with the hindsight to know better. In contrast, Batman has little to do and Robin is reduced to an annoyingly entitled brat who just wants as much attention as Batman. He does have some likability in the moments in which he guides Barbara Wilson/Batgirl (Alicia Silvestone). One wonders why they could not have made her Gordon’s (Pat Hingle) daughter; it might have given him an actual substantial role in this series. Forever even has plenty of genuinely witty dialogue that could have enhanced this movie's style.
With little but style and humor to go by, this movie is at least forty minutes too long. That’s what ulitimately kills it. Without a seriously engaging plot, you should not go over 90 minutes at most. The problem may be due to the lack of Tim Burton’s involvement; he was not credited as a producer as he was in Batman Forever, and the lack of the previous movie’s full writing team.
Most of the cast is solid in this movie, but George Clooney is sadly out-of-place. I’ve pointed this out before, but Clooney is most suited for deconstructed heroism; goofballs who aren’t nearly as cool as they think they are. Even the campy Batman is an earnest badass in his own right. Uma Thurman is very fitting as Poison Ivy, and she does well as both a sultry femme fatale and a nerdy scientist. I’d also be tempted to add a whole star to the movie just for this one scene in which Bruce Wayne stands up for anthropocentrism in the face of her radical environmentalism.
Batman & Robin is not particularly good, but it is stylish and it’s more interesting than the banality of many modern superhero movies. It’s funny how we cornered Schumacher into apologizing for this off-beat romp while people like Rian Johnson now smugly gaslight anyone who questions their failures.
QUOTES
MR. FREEZE: What killed the dinosaurs? THE ICE AGE!
DR. PAMELA ISLEY: I have here a proposal showing how Wayne Enterprises can immediately cease all actions that toxify our environment. Forget the stars look here at the Earth, our mother, our womb, she deserves your loyalty and protection. And yet, you spoil her lands, poison her oceans, blacken her skies. You’re killing her!
BRUCE WAYNE: Well, your intentions are noble, but no diesel fuel for heat, no coolants to preserve food, millions of people will die of cold and hunger alone.
DR. PAMELA ISLEY: Acceptable losses in the battle to save the planet.
BRUCE WAYNE: People come first, Dr. Isley.
[Bane and Ivy rescue Freeze while delivering his costume]
MR. FREEZE: A laundry service that delivers. Wow!
POISON IVY: What are you, a fifty big and tall?
MR. FREEZE: No, I always go one size smaller. It makes me look slimmer.
BATMAN: And you are?
BATGIRL: Batgirl.
BATMAN: That’s not awfully PC. What about Batperson or Batwoman?
BATGIRL: Bruce, it’s me, Barbara. I found the Batcave.
ROBIN: We gotta get those locks changed.
BATMAN: She knows who we are.
ROBIN: I guess we’ll have to kill her.
BATMAN: Yep, we’ll kill her later, we have work to do.
