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Batman & Robin

Batman & Robin

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $17.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: "Bomb... bomb... bomb..."
Review: How ironic that the stupiest character in the movie is able to sum the quality of "Batman & Robin" up perfectly. Yes, this is a bomb. And though it did okay at the box office, people still despise this movie. It's like a live action cartoon... a BAD live action cartoon. The Batman Animated Series was one of the finest animated programs to come out in years, as it explored the mythos of Batman, showing us the pain, the anguish and the dilemmas Bruce Wayne went through. We were led to believe he was a dark figure, constantly bordering on insanity. But because Batman is such a strong character, he held his own and made good on the vow he made to his parents after their demise. Yet in "Batman & Robin," he's not troubled. He's not a mental case. He's not even cool.

George Clooney is a fine actor, and he might have made a good Batman had someone else wrote this script. Instead, Akiva Goldsman (who won an Oscar for his "Beautiful Mind" screenplay) decided to throw away the credibility of the Batman legend, turning him into some sort of one-dimensional Bruce Campbell saturday morning cartoon hero. This script is lame. It's lamer than lame. It makes other lame scripts look not so lame. Seriously, how many of you didn't feel like spitting on your television screen when Batman pulled that "Forever" credit card out of his utility belt during that flora benefit?

"Alright, everyone. Chill!"

That line is basically the gist of what Schwarzengger has to work with. Stupid one-liners that are supposed to make you laugh, but make you cringe instead. In other Gotham City news, Uma Thurman teams up with the bungling Mr. Freeze to, um... take over the world together. This has got to be one of the most over-acted performances I've ever seen in my life. Over-acting can be fun to watch (who doesn't love Al Pacino in Scarface?), but this is just dreadful. Poison Ivy is supposed to be sexy chick with a hypnotically silky voice, but Uma decides to go along on a different route. She just sounds stupid. There's no other way to put it.

Chris O'Donnell is okay as Robin, but the script killed his character. All he does is whine in this movie about how he's being treated like a child. Here's a tip, Robin. Complaining like a five year old won't help you out.

Alicia Silverstone lends her "talent" as Batgirl. Could someone please tell me something - since when is she Alfred's niece?

And then there's Bane, who's probably the most ill-concieved characer in movie history. In the comics and the animated series, Bane was lethal. He nearly kills Batman. But in "Batman & Robin," Akiva Goldsman simply writes him off as this mongoloid who does whatever he's told without thinking twice about it. The man who played Bane was named Jeep Swenson, who died after "Batman & Robin" was completed. A true shame. He was a remarkable actor. *snicker*

Michael Gough, who's played Alfred for all four Bat-flicks, actually does a pretty marvelous job considering the material he's working with. I couldn't picture anyone else in this role. Pat Hingle does his typical thing as Commissioner Gordon - tell Batman what's going on with the baddies and then just step aside. They've had this character all wrong from the get-go.

Joel Schumacher, who directed this mess, was panned by everyone for ruining the Batman franchise when he lit things up a bit in "Batman Forever." He's certainly not as good as Burton is, but on their own merit, the two latter Batman films are pretty decent looking. I'd much prefer the darkness of the first two movies, but Schumacher has this Sam Raimi-esque style about his films that captivate your eye. Sure, sometimes it's a little bit of an overkill, but he's not the terrible director everyone says he is. Is he great? No. But he's not terrible.

I think most of the blame for this dreck should fall on Akiva Goldsman, who destroyed a potentially outstanding series of films with his dumb attempt to revisit the campy Batman of the 60's. Like I said, it's a nice looking little romp, but the plot is so lame and the dialogue so trite that it will make you want to gag. Whatever you do, do not, I repeat, DO NOT watch this film immediately following the amazing, yet slightly flawed, original Batman movie. After comparing the two, you'll wonder where the heck Warner went wrong with their choices for producing this series, you'll get mad and then you'll probably hurt someone. It's for your own good, folks. If I were you, I'd just forget that "Batman & Robin" ever even existed. We'd all be better off.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Not Good
Review: Batman & Robin was a movie that had potential but being the 4th in the series gave it every bit of potential to be bad, eventhoug it could've been grand. But a few mistakes were present in making and producing this film.

For one, the acting is VERY sub-par. George Clooney is a great actor but for some reason he can't do Batman. He's not a good Batman/Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton has so far been the best since Batman in 1989). Arnold Schwarzenegger would've been my LAST choice to play Mr. Freeze. It doesn't work out well with his accent either. Aside from these two flaws the casting and acting wasn't really that bad. Chris O' Donnell was still a good Robin and Uma Thurman wasn't THAT bad as poison Ivy.

The script is also poor. Bad dialogue makes this very bad. Nothing anyone says really stands out in your mind (I can't even remember any of the lines in this movie!). So the dialogue is terrible so the action has GOT to save this movie right?

Well, the action as well as the "Plot-Twists" are bad too. The action isn't like in the previous three Batman Movies. Is it because George Clooney is a bad Batman? Nope. It's because they're choreographed badly. Not as breathtaking as other movies with fight scenes. Nothing really stands out.

This movie is for the Batman-junkie. If you're a HUGE Batman fan and must have everything Batman then get this movie but that doesn't mean you'll like it. It's rather poor and could've been a lot better.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Amazingly terrible
Review: This is probably one of the worst films ever made for any franchise."alcar" doesnt really have much taste in film making. Look at his comments on the fellowship of the ring book. Boromir dies in the two towers but they put in it the fellowship of the ring for a reason. Isnt very smart this guy is. This probably wont get posted but I hope he or she somehow sees this.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: this movie made me fall asleep
Review: terrible movie, one of the fruitiest idiotic movies ever, it makes batman forever look good. all the acting was horrible except michael gough as alfred, this movie killed the batman franchise, it shoulfd have killed several careers, avoid thid movie like it is the plaque, in fact it might be.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: "Bombs away, Batman."
Review: It's funny how Arnold's character said this one liner of many nearing the end of the madness of this horrid film describing bombs planted on the telescope base while at the same time describing the film. I sense some irony there. Batman and Robin was intended to be the box office smash of the summer of 1997 and instead took it's throne as the worst sequel to a good series of films since 1987's Jaws: The Revenge. Hmm never noticed the 10 year difference. Maybe they'll ruin another classic in 2007. Forrest Gump 2? Maybe. The future and past aside, let's look at the problem at hand. This was a flat out turkey. I have been a huge Batman fan since birth and this just ruined that devotion to the Dark Knight. LOOK AT IT! It screams "tacky and childish"! This is one of those movies you get so hyped about and then when it comes out, you get a huge letdown. Cough, HULK, cough. The action was kiddie stuff. Like in the beginning, Batman and Robin face Freeze's ice minions and fall flat on their backs at one point. Then with a click off the heels, they have skates! How convenient. It's like what they need appears right there whether they grabbed it before leaving or not and it just makes me sick. The real Batman depended on improvisation and detective skill. This clown can press a button and a fully functioning crime lab will spew out of the utility belt. It's amazing how badly you can ruin an age old icon. I used to think that was impossible then I watched this film and i was proven so wrong. The acting was over acted. I can't blame Arnold for this. He didn't come up with the crap he was paid to spew. Avika Goldsman did and boy oh boy did he screw up. Clooney did good to come fresh from ER. Silverstone was just there. Her acting in this film was similar to that of Bane. Bane was ruined. In the comic and the cartoon, he was a military genius. He broke Batman's spine in half! In this crapfest, he's what I like to call "a 'TIMMAH!' Mr. Universe". I think his only line was "bah". Thurman came off not as a seductress but as that drunk chick guys shun at parties. Micheal Gough as Alfred is always a treat because he's the closest to his comic book counterpart and I admire that. O' Donnell is still in the "why don't you trust me?" phase and the real Robin doesn't act that way but hey, this was the Party of Five generation. I give him acting credibility because he was believable as a non believable Robin. I just can't describe Schwarzennegar. He did good but his script material just sucked. If the writer made Freeze the cold and vengeful man he was in the comic, then Arnold would have still been tremendous. This reminded me of how they took Freddy Krueger, a classic villian and made him into something scarier. A comedian. I can't really rag on anyone else except maybe Gossip Gertie who is always a treat to point fun at. Now, I know that I am looking at this from my viewpoint. I mean hey if i were five then maybe i would cry everytime i watched it with tears of joy. Instead i cry with tears of sarcastic laughter. My least favorite scenes were:
1. Any scene with Gossip Gertie
2. The bike race (wasn't needed, it was just extra eye candy.)
3. Scenes where Poison Ivy was an wannabe porn star
4. Scenes where Freeze tried to make a joke
5. Heck, all scenes in general
Please, if you have money and you want to buy a good batfilm, buy the first, second, or maybe the third one. The animated films are tremendous too. But for the love of all that is sane, don't buy this. As a man who knows the meaning of a true Batman experience, don't do it. IF you do, you will ruin your love of Batman forever. And maybe Batman Forever too.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Bat-Stinker
Review: Awful film. I'm a comic book movie buff. And I'm very forgiving whn it comes to certain...less appetizing entries into the world of superheroes on celluloid. This was by far the lowest of the low. This coming from a man who enjoyed The Punisher (1989) and Captain America (year unknown). What was the director thinking when he put this film together. "Ok, places everyone. Remember I want you all to act real gay!!! Get those bat-skates ready. Action!"

There's a certain charm to the campy TV show of the 60's. It's ridolent with the mood of the time. One can at least watch it and smile, if not entirely embrace it. Batman and Robin was just ridiculous!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The worst in the Series.
Review: Batman & Robin is the fourth installment in the Batman trilogy. What Schumacher did was take the cheesy television show, and remake the film. He completely disregards the Tim Burton style and makes Gotham not Gothic but a slippy and silly metallically colored slapstic wonderland. This film's effects were okay, and the sets were pretty good, but what really killed the movie was it's acting. George Clooney was a good Bruce Wayne, but horrible in the cape. Aarnold S. plays "Mr. Freeze" and boy did he do awful. Aarnold was perfect for the role but to me, "Freeze" was a doomed character from the start. Whoever thought of BatGIRL should be kicked out of showbusiness, however I do applaude Uma Turman's role as "Poison Ivy" She made the character. All in all, this movie is a good special effects film to watch, and I belive it could've done better had it maybe continued with the Gothic style that filled the original two films. See this film if you are a Batman fan, or a fan of the cast. Don't expect much.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The Black Sheep of the Bat-Films
Review: In 1997 fanboys and moviegoers would go into theaters to the the worse Bat-film ever.The entire film put DC Comics,the entire francise,and the 1966-68 tv series to major shame.Now seven years later,with the upcoming release of Catwoman(which has nothing to do with Selina Kyle,Batman,nor Gotham City),it's very clear that the WB studio executive have thier heads up thier arses(asses).Within years bat-readers still trashed the film,direcor and cast.

The script was beyond poor,plus the costumes totally suck(In 1999 we wuld see the batsuit George Clooney wore would be re-fix for the On-Star commercials and In 2002, the batgirl suit would also be retooled to be the Barbara Gordon/Batgirl suit worn by Dina Meyer on the short-lived Birds Of Prey television series on the WB network).

It's best that no one should see this film.Never.If those who want to see this film,you are warned!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Shame On Them
Review: Everyone who was even remotely involved in this mess should be ashamed of themselves. A complete and baldfaced sellout to the highest bidder results in lowest common denominator filmmaking. A live action cartoon. One of the most promising series in recent Hollywood is driven into a brick wall in this extravaganza of loud noises and garish colors. Just sad.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fun movie for Batman fans
Review: Batman and Robin is a fun, lighthearted movie that doesn't take itself too seriously like the second Burton film, Batman Returns. The vision of this movie's filmakers was a balance between the Batman pathos and the campiness of the 60's series. The sets were gorgeous. Gotham City is depicted as it should be, a dark urban forest that both dominates and is dominated by the night. The only groaners were Arkam Asylum that looked like a giant church organ that no one is his right mind would use as an asylum, and the Gotham Observatory, held like a bottle of Gatorade in the hands of a giant statue.

Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy is precious, amazing, delectable, delicious. She steals the show. To paraphrase Comic Book Guy, "Best movie entrance EVER!" The orchestration of the sixties hit "Poison Ivy" is great.

George Clooney as Batman is, well, George Clooney. He certainly looks the part, especially as bachelor Bruce Wayne, but as the Caped Crusader his relaxed demeanor as seen on E.R. and "O Brother Where Art Thou" is present though it should not be. Clooney is surprisingly graceful in the costume, and does some very Batman-like flourishes with the cape. And his scene with the dying Alfred is so touching, as well as flashbacks to his days as a boy in Wayne Manor with his father.

Alicia Silverstone is cute, and she is fine in her role. Chris O'Donnell is great as Robin, too. I love Arnold's over the top presentation as Mr. Freeze. It couldn't have been any other way.


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