Batman & Robin (1997)

Preceded by: Batman Forever (1995)

Cast inkluderer:
Karakter	Skuespiller	Vurdering
Mr. Freeze / Dr. Victor Fries	Arnold Schwarzenegger	½
Batman / Bruce Wayne	George Clooney	½
Robin / Dick Grayson	Chris O'Donnell	½
Poison Ivy / Dr. Pamela Isley	Uma Thurman	½
Batgirl / Barbara Wilson	Alicia Silverstone
Alfred Pennyworth	Michael Gough	-
Commissioner Gordon	Pat Hingle	-
Julie Madison	Elle Macpherson	-
Dr. Jason Woodrue	John Glover	-
Ms. B. Haven	Vivica Fox	-
Nora Fries	Vendela Kirsebom	-

Review

There are several problems with this ill-fated sequel, but the three most critical ones can be summed up as follows: 1) Like its predecessor Batman Forever, the movie is not really about Batman himself; 2) The creators don't seem to agree with themselves whether they are making a children's adventure or a dark sci-fi movie; and 3) Why on earth is this film entitled Batman & Robin?

It's also quite remarkable that when Joel Schumacher is hired to direct his second Batman film in as many years, the title character has already been recast. Out goes Val Kilmer, in comes George Clooney – incidentally the third Batman in five years. Something is not right with this erratic series. Nevertheless, all the Batmans for some reason always play second fiddle to the villains, who this time are more overdrawn and underwritten than ever. Whereas Jim Carrey was quite fun as The Riddler last time around, Arnold Schwarzenegger is pitifully close to pathetic as Mr. Freeze, and Chris O'Donnell and Alicia Silverstone aren't much better as Batman's allies. As with Schumacher's direction and the producers lacking vision, their various performances pull in different directions at any given time. And this erratic variation between giddy, childish, bleak and at times convoluted kills off any hope this movie had of ever working.

If Batman Forever wasn't quite convincing, Batman & Robin is a total bewilderment. And to round this review off with my initial objection with the title: The Robin character is given about the same relevance as a prop, so the film would be more aptly titled Batman & Batgirl, but not Robin. I'll give George Clooney the benefit of the doubt and say that he could have been a really good Batman, however, but this film doesn't give him the chance to prove it.