Subject: REVIEW: BATMAN AND ROBIN (1997)

From: [email-masked] (James Berardinelli)
Date: 23 Jun 1997 17:13:25 GMT

BATMAN AND ROBIN
                       A film review by James Berardinelli
                        Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli

RATING (0 TO 10): 4.0
Alternative Scale: ** out of ****

United States, 1997
U.S. Release Date: 6/20/97 (wide)
Running Length: 2:06
MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Violence, profanity)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Cast: George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris O'Donnell, 
      Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, 
      Elle Macpherson, John Glover, Jeep Swenson
Director: Joel Schumacher
Producer: Peter MacGregor-Scott
Screenplay: Akiva Goldsman, based on characters created by Bob Kane
Cinematography: Stephen Goldblatt
Music: Elliott Goldenthal
U.S. Distributor: Warner Brothers

     With BATMAN AND ROBIN, the fourth entry in the recent BATMAN movie 
series, the profitable franchise appears poised to take a nosedive.  
This film, which places yet another actor in the batsuit, has all the 
necessary hallmarks of a sorry sequel -- pointless, plodding plotting; 
asinine action; clueless, comatose characterization; and dumb dialogue.  
Sadly for all the batfans who have been waiting with baited breath for 
this one, BATMAN AND ROBIN has become the latest blight on the long 
summer movie season.

     Fetishists will probably love BATMAN AND ROBIN.  There are rubber 
nipples, crotch and butt shots as the dynamic duo (and later Batgirl) 
suit up, bikers and crooks decked out in kinky, CLOCKWORK ORANGE-like 
regalia, and Uma Thurman dressed and acting like a dominatrix.  It all 
goes nicely with the film's attempt at sensory overload.  Director Joel 
Schumacher has taken Tim Burton's dark vision of Gotham City and shifted 
it into overdrive.  This is a weird, wild, wacky world where gothic 
skyscrapers reach like twisted fingers into the clouds, and where the 
batsignal shines brighter than the moon.  However, like the movie as a 
whole, this aspect is as briefly captivating as it is hollow and 
soulless.  It quickly becomes clear that the picture's lone selling 
point is that it looks great, but, in an era when blockbuster budgets 
are routinely topping $100 million, that's no longer special. 

     Never has Batman been less believable or human.  It's not actor 
George Clooney's fault -- he gives it a game try, but, really, his 
function is to provide a body to put into the costume.  We see even less 
of Bruce Wayne's heart than we do of his face.  Gradually, over the 
previous three movies, bits and pieces of Batman's character began to 
surface.  Not so here.  All attempts at development are obligatory, 
perfunctory, and not terribly convincing.  The same is true of Chris 
O'Donnell's Robin, who comes across more as a spoiled brat with an ego 
problem than an integral member of an unusual family.  Then, to further 
complicate matters, yet another cardboard-thin hero is added in the 
person of Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone), who equals her caped cohorts 
when it comes to a ready supply of wisecracks and a lack of personality.

     In the previous BATMAN movies, the villains took center stage.  
First it was Jack Nicholson's Joker (BATMAN), then Danny DeVito's 
Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman (BATMAN RETURNS), followed by 
Jim Carrey's Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face (BATMAN FOREVER).  
Now, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman add Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy 
to the roster.  These are the two least-interesting bad guys to date.  
Schwarzenegger, aside from looking like a cross between the Michelin Man 
and Robocop, appears totally confused about what he's doing.  Sometimes 
he's in TERMINATOR mode; on other occasions, he's chomping on a cigar 
like he's back in LAST ACTION HERO.  Meanwhile, Thurman manages to do a 
pale imitation of Carrey.  Her character is essentially a female 
representation of the Riddler (scientific experiments gone awry give a 
mentally-unstable nerd extraordinary powers), only far less engaging.  
There's also a hulk of a creature called Bane (Jeep Swenson), who's 
reduced to playing Oddjob to Poison Ivy's Goldfinger.  His fate is 
rather pathetic, which proves that it doesn't pay to be the henchman in 
a movie like this.

     There's actually a poignant story behind Freeze.  He's a one-time 
peace-loving scientist who became obsessed with saving his terminally 
ill wife, regardless of the cost.  The forces driving him are, 
therefore, incredibly complex -- too complex for Schwarzenegger to 
convey effectively (wasn't there a point when Patrick Stewart was being 
mentioned for this role?) or for Schumacher to care about exploring.  As 
a result, Mr. Freeze ends up being a frustratingly incomplete brute 
who's out to smother Gotham City under a blanket of ice.  

     Old friends like Commissioner Gordon (Pat Hingle) and the ever-
reliable Alfred (Michael Gough, gamely trying to give a serious 
performance amidst all this silliness) are back.  Both of these men have 
kept the same face while the lead character has gone through three 
changes.  Supermodel-turned-actress Elle Macpherson is one of many 
newcomers, but her role as Bruce Wayne's girlfriend is so small that 
she's reduced to a background decoration.  

     At times, BATMAN AND ROBIN comes close to matching the tone of the 
'60s TV series.  Only two things are missing:  the on-screen cartoon 
captions ("pow!" "bam!") and an Adam West cameo.  Meanwhile, anyone who 
comes to BATMAN AND ROBIN expecting great action sequences will be 
disappointed.  The fight scenes aren't interesting -- they're poorly 
choreographed, badly edited, and interrupted by too many one-liners.  
The "hockey team from hell" sequence is a perfect example:  it seems to 
go on forever, but we're never really sure exactly what's happening (or 
why it's happening, for that matter).

     BATMAN AND ROBIN moves at a dizzying pace, yet goes absolutely 
nowhere.  Somewhere between the quarter and mid-point of this film, 
things turn repetitious and tedious.  We see basically the same fight 
scene re-enacted three or four times -- and it isn't all that impressive 
on the first occasion.  We become numb to the glitz and glamour, but, 
looking beyond it, we see only a vacuum.  In trying to put the "comic" 
back into "comic book", Schumacher has reduced BATMAN to the equivalent 
of a daily newspaper strip -- disjointed and painfully shallow.  The 
character probably deserves more respect, but, in BATMAN AND ROBIN, he 
doesn't get it.  And, for that matter, neither does the audience.

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