B&R: What did you expect?

[nite-owl]

I was nine so not much.

 

[dr.strange]

one of the local radio stations held an early showing of it,we copped some free tickets ,so we went.i remember seeing the peview for spawn.i thought it (spawn)would be awesome. it wasnt all bad,but it wasnt great.b/ r had its moments,bane,having been reduced to a mindless idiot,ripping the bat signal out of the ground was cool.and yeah i did laugh when batman pulled out the credit card.after it was over i remembered wishing i could get a refund or something.the campiness outweighed the seriousness.

 

[NightWarrior]

Oh boy, how I remember! There was ads all over the place. Everyone was talking about it and I was in kindergarten. I was six years old when I went to see Batman & Robin. How I remember it. It seems like yesterday. I went on June 21, 1997 at a 2:45 P.M showing. The theater was packed, nothing but laughter throughout the whole film and a few boos and amazingly a few "hey that's neat" and "awesome". It was all over the news, the media storm that surrounded it. Tell me, was this the heaviest promoted film of all time? That is what it seems like to be. I remember the Taco Bell ads and the Pop Tart ads with Mr.Freeze, Batman, Robin, and Batgirl but no Poison Ivy Pop Tarts. I also remember the toys that came with the Taco Bell meal including a mini Bat signal. I remember all the action figures that were wall to wall in the toy stores. Summer of 1997, a summer I will never forget!!!

 

[Road Warrior]

I was 10 years old, so my response was, "another Batman movie? Cool."

 

[Catman]

Oh boy, how I remember! There was ads all over the place. Everyone was talking about it and I was in kindergarten. I was six years old when I went to see Batman & Robin. How I remember it. It seems like yesterday. I went on June 21, 1997 at a 2:45 P.M showing. The theater was packed, nothing but laughter throughout the whole film and a few boos and amazingly a few "hey that's neat" and "awesome". It was all over the news, the media storm that surrounded it. Tell me, was this the heaviest promoted film of all time? That is what it seems like to be. I remember the Taco Bell ads and the Pop Tart ads with Mr.Freeze, Batman, Robin, and Batgirl but no Poison Ivy Pop Tarts. I also remember the toys that came with the Taco Bell meal including a mini Bat signal. I remember all the action figures that were wall to wall in the toy stores. Summer of 1997, a summer I will never forget!!!

The saddest thing I've read since Kev Roegele confessed his love for the live-action He-Man movie.

 

[TwilightPro101]

I went in with high expectations since I had read the book as a kid, I liked it overall. Too campy at times, yes, but I liked it then. Now, it's like WTH was I thinking with a movie like that?

I prefer the first three over that one in particular if we're talking old timeline wise.

 

[SHADOWBAT69]

Oh boy, how I remember! There was ads all over the place. Everyone was talking about it and I was in kindergarten. I was six years old when I went to see Batman & Robin. How I remember it. It seems like yesterday. I went on June 21, 1997 at a 2:45 P.M showing. The theater was packed, nothing but laughter throughout the whole film and a few boos and amazingly a few "hey that's neat" and "awesome". It was all over the news, the media storm that surrounded it. Tell me, was this the heaviest promoted film of all time? That is what it seems like to be. I remember the Taco Bell ads and the Pop Tart ads with Mr.Freeze, Batman, Robin, and Batgirl but no Poison Ivy Pop Tarts. I also remember the toys that came with the Taco Bell meal including a mini Bat signal. I remember all the action figures that were wall to wall in the toy stores. Summer of 1997, a summer I will never forget!!!

The saddest thing I've read since Kev Roegele confessed his love for the live-action He-Man movie.

heh. Sad thing is, he remembers it correctly, for being 6 at the time. The media blitz and advertising blitz for B&R was huge. Just as big as Forever, just not as big as 89, but close. There were signs everywhere, for everything. I work at a regional grocery chain and even we had alot for the movie. In addition to the food tie ins, there was a pop display with standees, our Hallmark card section had displays with various items, and even our bakery dept. had a display showcasing the different cakes that were available. I also remember Wal Mart being covered in red&black signage and there being displays all over for different merchandise. Toys, clocks, misc. clothing, posters. Fuji film promotions, battery promotions. Taco Bells were heavily promoting the movie, huge window signs, cups, kids toys, the game piece contest. You have to remember, all this started before the movie was released, so the buzz was big.

 

[Vile]

The saddest thing I've read since Kev Roegele confessed his love for the live-action He-Man movie.

Masters of the Universe IS the grestest sci fi film of all time, dammit! I love that freaking movie!


Ahem...

As to Batman and Robin...

Like many have said, Batman Forever set the tone so I wasnt all that surprised.

 

[Cain]

The saddest thing I've read since Kev Roegele confessed his love for the live-action He-Man movie.

Cut the guy some slack he was 6 at the time. I had the same experience with BATMAN when I was 6 except I never got to see it in cinemas cause I went out the country for the summer. Not to mention that BATMAN was of much higher quality but still it's not like we know any better when we're kids. I think those of us who grew up in the late 80's and early 90's are too spoiled. We really had it good back then.

 

[Catman]

Masters of the Universe IS the grestest sci fi film of all time, dammit!

 

[DarthDaveBanner]

Well i was at a age were i didnt really care as long it was Batman, i know i didnt like it as much as Forever, but i did like the "im Batman" bit at the start. Thing i remember most about that was collecting these pogs to put in a big shield from packs of Frosties LOL

OMG I collected those too! I still have the shield somewhere too!

I actually loved the film back then. And to this day I like it for what it is. It aint Batman, but seriously who can admit to seeing ANYTHING as hilarious than a bald Arnold walking around in polar bear slippers and saying even one of his lines...?

 

[Vile]

Frank Langella as Skeletor?

I'm known for reciting his 'transformation' speech atleast once while drinking.

t:

 

[Paste Pot Pete]

Frank Langella as Skeletor?

I'm known for reciting his 'transformation' speech atleast once while drinking.

t:

Too bad he was never able to make good on his "I'll be back!" threat.

They're making a new movie, supposedly. But whoever plays Skeletor has a big rubber mask to fill.

 

[Catman]

Frank Langella as Skeletor?

Langella was awesome! Langella and Bill Conti's score were the only good thing about that movie.

 

[Vile]

Langella was awesome! Langella and Bill Conti's score were the only good thing about that movie.

Agreed!

And too true, Paste Pot Pete!

 

[Spider-Bat]

Before I saw it I first saw a clip of Batman and Robin on Extra and was ticked off that they changed Robin's costume, he just got in the movies and was barely in the third and they already changed his suit. I wanted to see the classic in action again.

I had a magazine before I saw it also.
I thought Arnold looked cool and was a good choice, but I didn't like the helmet all that much, Uma looked okay as Ivy, and I didn't like that they changed Bane's mask, only a little but they still didn't have to do that, it was fine the way it was, I'm tired of how they always have to do something, they just have to change some detail on these costumes, oh it ticks me off.

I was expecting something ike Forever, I didn't think they were going to get worse and that ******ed.

I wanted to cry in the theater, and walking out I had a feeling I wasn't going to be seeing Batman on the big screen for a while.

 

[SKSpawn]

I remember liking it. The media was huge and it was promoted really well. I honestly believed that each Batman movie got better and better.

I remember hearing about Robin finally being in Batman Forever and that became my favourite movie of them all for ages because, unlike a lot of people, I think Robin's great and loved how they did him in Forever, so the Batman and Robin aspect was one I really enjoyed about B&R. I was annoyed at the cahnge in his suit, but it looked just as awesome as his classic suit.

I didn't like the actor change from Kilmer to Clooney (he seems as short as Keaton...) but I got over it. I grew up on Arnold's action movies so I was happy to see him in it. I liked the Alfred sub-plot (I remember being annoyed at some kids who sat in front of me in the cinema and said "Aw man, he's gay" when Bruce and Alfred told each other they loved each other. Idiots).

So I thought it was great...but as I got older I preferred the darker, more serious Batman, and my view of this film plummeted. It wasn't as good as Forever either.

I re-watched it last night and I don't honestly hate it, it's just cartoonishly stupid and had terrible expositionary dialogue and acting laced throughout. The best parts are easily Robin/Chris O'Donnell and, I guess, George Clooney (I hate him as an actor but he seems to get his portrayal of Bruce Wayne, maybe not Batman though) and the tension between the two of them (even though I hate to see them uncomfortable and be at odds when they should be a unit).

I also remember being dissapointed in bane's portrayal and, continuously, annoyed that Bane wasn't on the video cover and Jeep Swenson's name wasn't even put in the credits until the very end: He WAS one of the three villains, after all...

 

[DieSmiling]

I was highly anticipating it, and I absolutely loved it at the time. I was oblivious to how campy and stupid it was -- I was only ten and I was way into it, got all the action figures and everything.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

The saddest thing I've read since Kev Roegele confessed his love for the live-action He-Man movie.

Masters of the Universe is one big tribute to Jack Kirby, how can you not love it?

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Frank Langella as Skeletor?

I'm known for reciting his 'transformation' speech atleast once while drinking.

t:

Weirdly, Frank Langella has a very similar scene at the climax of The Ninth Gate - he even uses some of the same lines!

 

[Spade]

I feel young in comparison to everyone else in terms of 'your age when this movie came out'...but I digress- my expectations were high and at my age Batman & Robin wasn't horrible. I just preferred Forever to B&R. As a fan of Knightfall way back when my cousin let me read his collection I strongly remember being disappointed at the Bane adaption, and felt that the Riddler and Two Face were better. But even as a kid there was something behind the crashes, use of Batgirl and useless Batman/ Robin spats that just seemed stupid and off-beat in comparison to my beloved Batfilms of yore. But then again, I was always a perceptive kid. I remember the publicity blitz and the buzz around Kilmer's replacement (I didn't really like Clooney replacing him at the time and still feel Clooney is the worst cinematic Batman), and the subsequent audience reaction.

Looking back, age makes up for a lot of my forgiveness for this film. Listening to the dialogue when you're older makes one wonder how my eyes and ears didn't melt during the viewing. The Agony Booth has a long review of the film that is spot-on. I'm really so glad I was so young when I saw it and hadn't read things like Year One, The Long Halloween or Dark Victory. To put it simply- once it was all said and done, I still liked my worn-out Batman '89 copy and Batman Returns loads more than the post-Burton films. With no offense to other Spidey fans, if I could compare the feeling of expectations lowered by the actual experience it would be like the hype for Spider-Man 3: loads of steam building up to a lackluster finish.

 

[slave2catwoman]

When I saw all the pink and green lights, when I saw Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl, I was not very hopeful. The funny thing is, Clooney could have been a good Batman if he had had a decent script.

 

[The-Dark-Knight]

i remember seeing the first trailer for the first time in my local warner bros store with freeze walking down some steps and i thought 'oh no'

i honestly was really excited for it, but i wasent expecting too much i left the cinema after seeing it for the 12th times (yes i saw it in the cinema 12 times) and was pretty sad knowig it'd be the last time i'd see batman on the big screen for a while. compared to batman 89 its a massive step away, but if you watch it asa tribute to the 60's series, its not that bad.


Oh and Masters of the universe the movie ruled

'I WILL NEVER KNEEL BEFORE YOU SKELETOR'

'KNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL'

whoa the amount of times i said that to freinds in theschool yard, did they kneel?

did they feck.

 

[mjbull23]

I vaguely recall this movie receiving a bad buzz before it was released. I think quite a few people foresaw the disaster that was imminent. I dont recall what the opening numbers were, but if anything brought people out to see the movie it was the curiosity factor. That and "Arnold" as Freeze.

 

[Bat Attack]

I saw a preview for it a few months before and I remember being excited because it was Batman, but then again I was only 7 at the time so the one-liners and stuff weren't really an issue.