Time to talk about my all-time least favorite superhero movie. I rewatched the superhero movie Batman & Robin, released on June 20, 1997. Directed by Joel Schumacher, it takes place in Gotham City. Starring George Clooney, Chris O’Donnell, and Alicia Silverstone, it is rated PG-13.
Batman and Robin, along with new ally Batgirl, must stop the new supervillains Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy, along with Ivy’s henchman Bane. However, Batman and Robin are having a hard time getting along due to Batman’s lack of trust in Robin. Making matters worse, Batman’s dedicated butler, Alfred, gets an incurable disease. Can our heroes stop the bad guys and learn to trust each other? Can Alfred be saved?
As I have been really into the superhero genre lately, I thought it was fitting to review the superhero movie I hate the most. There are many elements to why this film is terrible. Starting with the tone. The first two movies in this series, as well as the franchise as whole, is meant to be dark and complex, adding to why Batman is my favorite superhero franchise ever. While the previous movie Batman Forever did focus much more on being lighthearted and comedic, it still had some depth to it and was at least fun to watch. This movie abandons any of the quality there might have been in favor of the most annoyingly ridiculous thing you will ever see. The entire movie is nothing but listening to the characters say terrible one-liners, especially Mr. Freeze whose dialogue mainly consists of ice puns. It also has horrible action, fighting sequences, and effects, complete with a few cartoon sound effects. We additionally get bat suits with exposed parts for no reason. Unlike the Batman television show from the 1960s, this is campy and kid friendly in all the wrong ways.
The actors are horrendous to watch. George Clooney is easily the worst Batman I have ever seen. There is never any indication he took this role seriously; with the dull way he goes about everything. Chris O’Donnell, after being my favorite part of Batman Forever, turns Robin into a bratty and unlikable character. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s performance of Mr. Freeze is easily the worst part of the movie. As mentioned, his ice puns are hard to sit through, and he lacks any of the fun of other Schwarzenegger performances. It is a shame because when he plays the character emotionally, he does very well. In fact, this movie’s strengths are when a scene is emotional, the acting turns rather good. Michael Gough did a good job as Alfred in the first three movies, but playing a dying yet satisfied man lends the film a lot of heart. I also did really like Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl and Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy, both bringing the comic book characters to life in their own unique ways. There are positives, but it cannot save the acting.
There are story problems to discuss. The conflict with Batman not trusting Robin does not work because Robin keeps acting impulsive and Batman is his adoptive father trying to protect him. As such, Batman comes off as much fairer than Robin, which is not what the story was going for at all. Batman has a girlfriend named Julie Madison, played by Elle Macpherson, and she has no reason to be here. Not only does she play no role in the story, but she does not even have that much chemistry with Batman. Bane is written into just being a mindless henchman rather than the awesome villain he is in the comics, with this not being corrected until The Dark Knight Rises in 2012. They even go so far as to kill off the character Dr. Jason Woodrue, even though he becomes the supervillain Floronic Man in the comics.
Overall, this movie is an absolute disgrace to the Batman franchise and the superhero genre. Apart from the emotional timing and some of the performances, there is no reason to enjoy this. It is no wonder this got rebooted with Batman Begins, creating the epic Dark Knight trilogy.
Batman spends his days fighting crime because of how crime ridden his city is. Unfortunately, there are many places like this in real life. Crime running amok, good people turning bad, and the innocent suffering for it. We need to make societal changes so we can at least limit the spread of crime. There are many ways we can do this. One way would be to create a neighborhood watch to deter criminals. There also needs to be better programs in jail so criminals are more inclined to turn over a new leaf. Better education in schools can help, as we need high school programs to help educate young men and women with the challenges they will face and the ways they can deal with it. Encouraging after school programs can prevent youngsters from spending time in gangs. The most important one is getting more businesses to hire ex-cons. While I understand it can be hard to hire people with criminal records as you fear they may commit crimes again, it is wrong to completely deny them the chance. The likelihood of them committing more crimes increases when they are not accepted back into society, because they have no other choice then. Hopefully, with these actions, we can help bring crime down and make the world a safer place, with your help.
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