I no longer hate Batman & Robin....

[DangerousInc.]

^^No they wont, not for movies. Maybe in cartoon.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

^^No they wont, not for movies. Maybe in cartoon.

That's what some fans thought when Batman came out in 1989.

 

[Spidey Lover 10]

Maybe Spider-Man 3's message of forgiveness has overwhelmed me, but I don't mind Batman & Robin anymore. In 1997 it was a nightmare, because I had to see dark and brooding Batman....but we have that again with Nolan and Bale, so B&R can be seen as the overblown superhero extravaganza it was always intended to be.

Here's something I've discovered recently; it's actually darker - or atleast more serious - than I thought. Schumacher tells the story with visuals; he doesn't care as much about the dialogue. So whilst a scene may feature endless puns and seem silly to the viewer, Schumacher sees two characters standing in the darkness, and the dialogue is just throwaway. If you watch the film on mute, most of it takes place in the shadows, despite the neon lighting (which is in the background).

There are a lot of gay overtones, but you'd be surprised how many movies have gay overtones - although few as obvious as B&R, admittedly. It's balanced anyway - Poison Ivy is so over-sexualized, and Alicia Silverstone wears mainly a Batgirl costume and a school uniform.

I know a lot of fans watch it and think, "Blasphemy! That's not like the Batman of the comics,".....but B&R is far less silly (I won't use the word camp as it's nearly always mis-used on these boards) than most of the Batman comics of the 40s and 50s.

So if we short-circuit that issue, the question becomes (as it always should be) is it a good movie? It has some wonderful cinematography. There are plenty of shots that are simply awesome. Pacing and editing is far superior to Burton's films. Finally, B&R has plenty of plot (Bruce and Dick falling out, Freeze, Ivy, Bane, Alfred dying, Barbara becomes Batgirl), whereas we all know Burton doesn't like plot. And it all builds to a satisfying climax.

For all it's faults, B&R does tell a story about loss, trust, and protecting our families.

It's not a good film, but it's a decent one.

I NEVER noticed ANYTHING WRONG ABOUT THE MOVIE AT ALL!!!! LAY OFF BAR!

 

[Kevin Roegele]

I NEVER noticed ANYTHING WRONG ABOUT THE MOVIE AT ALL!!!! LAY OFF BAR!

Really? Nothing at all?!

 

[Spider-Fan]

but onlly dumb adults would see it like that, not kids 10 and below.


anyways, this is enjoyable for a good laugh. if i want serious brooding batman, i go watch the first 2 burton films or batman begins.

Well, kids love crap. It is that simple. That is why movies like this get made. It will sell to kids and make money, even if adults hate it.

 

[Warhammer]

I NEVER noticed ANYTHING WRONG ABOUT THE MOVIE AT ALL!!!! LAY OFF BAR!

Well, that sure says something about...

*Nevermind*

 

[El Payaso]

I NEVER noticed ANYTHING WRONG ABOUT THE MOVIE AT ALL!!!! LAY OFF BAR!

lol

 

[david misas]

i think it's a fun, dumb movie, and would put it in the same category as catwoman. not to be taken too seriously

 

[Kevin Roegele]

i think it's a fun, dumb movie, and would put it in the same category as catwoman. not to be taken too seriously

Yeah, I think we all kind of got that ten years ago....

 

[The Kid]

I didn't. I enjoyed it immensly on repeat viewings and still do for its cheese factor and great fx and Alicia Silverstone.

Where else are you going to see comic characters raped so badly? Like someone said in another thread, without movies like batman and robin, superman IV, catwoman etc. we wouldn't have a clear idea of what NOT to do.

 

[Rockbottom]

I must agree that i loved Alicia Silverstone and still do. Obviously not because i liked her acting...

 

[hippie_hunter]

i think it's a fun, dumb movie, and would put it in the same category as catwoman. not to be taken too seriously

Dude, as much as I hate Batman & Robin, don't you ever dare put it in the same category as Catwoman. I never left pissed off in a movie theater and I had the lowest expectations possible and didn't take it seriously in the first place. And I saw it for free too!

 

[Bat Attack]

I must agree that i loved Alicia Silverstone and still do. Obviously not because i liked her acting...

Was it her big knockers, or sweet ass?

 

[The Kid]

Both

And say what you want about B&R but you can't say it wasn't pretty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkPdhY6FZ28

 

[DocLathropBrown]

I would love to see B&R with the puns edited out. I've painstakingly analysed the film before (Because I have that kind of time...), and if you remove those damn puns/jokes, you have a pretty solid film. Especially Arnold, whom, if you cut out his jokes (95% of his dialogue, really), he's a lot more silent and menacing.

Uma was actually perfect as Poison Ivy. Hard to see it due to the film, but she was. Clooney was perfect as Wayne, and we all know he had potential as Batman. O'Donnell actually gave a good performance with the material that made him act annoying.

I think Silverstone and Bane are the unsalvagable parts of the film. Even the worst of the stuff that you can't cut out like the neon, the lame "toys", it's still bearable but Silverstone and Bane are not.

Am I the only one who wished we would have just gotten a sequel afterwords, with Dick going off to college and Barbera leaving, so that Bruce goes solo again, a'la Pre-Crisis continuity? It would have been sweet to get that vibe, as I've always loved the Pre-Crisis continuity better than the post, in some ways. In-accurate franchise or not, I would have kept watching. Not let Schumacher direct it, mind you, but boldly keep it in continuity.

 

[Superwoman Prime]

Scour YouTube man.

 

[Superwoman Prime]

Btw here's a thread I made a while back ago . . .

Batman & Robin Appreciation Thread

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Both

And say what you want about B&R but you can't say it wasn't pretty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkPdhY6FZ28

That's my video!

 

[Paste Pot Pete]

Am I the only one who wished we would have just gotten a sequel afterwords, with Dick going off to college and Barbera leaving, so that Bruce goes solo again, a'la Pre-Crisis continuity? It would have been sweet to get that vibe, as I've always loved the Pre-Crisis continuity better than the post, in some ways. In-accurate franchise or not, I would have kept watching. Not let Schumacher direct it, mind you, but boldly keep it in continuity.

Despite what I've read about the planned Batman 5, it would've been a huge leap from B&R back to something more serious. The narrative would've (for me) required something dramatic, to shake Batman out of his recently aquired super jolly mood (the death of someone major in his life, perhaps). The character himself was almost at a point of no return. It's almost impossible to even recognize Clooney's Batman as the same human being as Keaton's.

We heard it straight from Clooney on (I think) the B&R DVD. He says, "Here's a guy in his 30s, he's a billionaire, has all these cool toys, he's Batman. Quit crying over your dead parents." (I'm paraphrasing, but that's basically exactly what he says)

Now I don't know if Schumacher just brainwashed him or what, because Clooney is an incredibly intelligent and artistic guy; he just, for whatever reason, couldn't take Batman seriously.

And that's a hard thing to bounce back from. It was done in the comics, but in a film continuity it's trickier without being incredibly jarring. That's why I still believe the Begins route was the right way to go.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

We heard it straight from Clooney on (I think) the B&R DVD. He says, "Here's a guy in his 30s, he's a billionaire, has all these cool toys, he's Batman. Quit crying over your dead parents." (I'm paraphrasing, but that's basically exactly what he says)

Recall that in Forever, Bruce overcame his trauma about his parents. Schumacher and Goldsman cured Batman. So it makes sense in it's own context that Batman is less brooding in B&R.

 

[NUFFSAID2004]

No, it isn't a decent film.

Man, reading your posts ... do you ever try to stand out and be different just for the sake of doing so. Either way you cut it, Batman and Robin is a horrendous film. And I'm not speaking on petty terms of their being nipples on the bat-suit, etc.

I totally agree with you! This has got to be one of the worst superhero movies ever made!

 

[SHADOWBAT69]

some may think its the worst ever made, but I can think of some thats worse on my lists:

Superman III
Superman IV
Hulk
Supergirl
Catwoman
Daredevil

Im even gonna throw Howard the Duck and Robocop 3 lower than B&R.

 

[mystory64]

No, it isn't a decent film.

Man, reading your posts ... do you ever try to stand out and be different just for the sake of doing so. Either way you cut it, Batman and Robin is a horrendous film. And I'm not speaking on petty terms of their being nipples on the bat-suit, etc.

Have to completely agree with ya on this one, I was at San Diego Con at the panel when they unveiled the art for this film and boy was there a collective groan form the audience. I remember standing up and asking if maybe Elfman was coming back (cause I HATE the Goldenthal Score) and at first the lead panelist (the guy who designed Freezes Costume and his sno-bunnies, (on a side note I also asked why would Freeze have sno-bunnies if he was in pain over loosing his wife, they had no answer for that, too bad Akiva wasn't there that day) so the lead panelist replied YES and we applauded, like 120 of us... it was great... and the panelists' talked amongst one another and immediately retracted saying "No, sorry I meant he's doing Space Jam (which was also a part of the Panel) and I swear to ya, a couple dozen people walked out.

It was a dark summer of '96 I tell ya

some may think its the worst ever made, but I can think of some thats worse on my lists:

Superman III
Superman IV
Hulk
Supergirl
Catwoman
Daredevil

Im even gonna throw Howard the Duck and Robocop 3 lower than B&R.

Hey now, at least Superman three had that cool fight between evil-Superman and Clark Kent, certainly fun to watch. I start and stop there. And Jerry Goldsmiths score for Supergirl was pretty cool, but uh.... I agree with everything else t:

Despite what I've read about the planned Batman 5, That's why I still believe the Begins route was the right way to go.

Right on the money cat

I have to admit it, in the fall of 1998 my favorite web site was the Anti-Schumacher site, as much as I did the Kiss From a Rose song and Robin in Forever was cool, uh, it was too much a departure from Burton for me to care. And that Goldenthal score just pales to Elfmans', weird how they always used Elfman's theme in the Schumacher trailers tho....

 

[Victarion]

The best thing about this movie was the Alfred subplot. Brings a tear to my eye.

 

[Dark Carnage]

some may think its the worst ever made, but I can think of some thats worse on my lists:

Hulk

Idiot.