Following Val Kilmer's portrayal of the caped crusader in Batman Forever, the fourth Batman feature stars George Clooney under the pointy-eared cowl, with Chris O'Donnell returning as Robin the Boy Wonder. This time the dynamic duo is up against the nefarious Mr Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who is bent on turning the world into an iceberg, and the slyly seductive but highly toxic Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman), who wants to eliminate all animal life and turn the Earth into a gigantic greenhouse. Alicia Silverstone lends a hand as Batgirl, and Elle McPherson plays the... thankless role of Batman/Bruce Wayne's fiancèe. A sensory assault of dazzling colours, senseless action and lavish sets run amok, this Batman & Robin offers an overdose of eye candy, but it is strictly for devoted Bat-o-philes. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com [show more]
If 'Batman Forever' was thin on story then 'Batman and Robin' is anorexic. 'Batman Forever' served up continuous noise from start to finish, but noise is literally all that 'Batman and Robin' has. When the effects are raging and the action's blazing the scenes are very watchable, even though many will find it the equivalent of being screamed at for a very long time. But when people stop to talk... oh dear!
Akiva Goldsman, who co-wrote 'Batman Forever', came up second time round with a screenplay that ranks as utterly worthless. Quite frankly, there is nothing holding the so-called story together and the dialogue (save a sprinkling - note, sprinkling - of decent jokes) stinks. Genuine humour is spartan with a capital "spuh" - the film is chock-a-block with one-liners that just fall flat. Joel Schumacher and his Overkill Army are obviously aiming for the camp style of the legendary '60s TV show here, but the only times they succeed is when the action sequences are at their most ludicrous. When Goldsman tries to write camp dialogue it's clear he doesn't know the first thing about How To Do It. And Schumacher is equally incapable - Uma Thurman, who I rate very highly, is painful to watch. She's in pathetic panto mode throughout, but she ain't to blame. And as for Schwarzenegger...
Most Schwarzenegger roles require the erstwhile er... "actor" to simply turn up. A 'Batman' villain requires an actual actor, in other words one who can act, you know? An actor. AN ACTOR!! CHECK THE DICTIONARY!!
(pause)
Every time he opens his mouth, we cringe - it really is like watching someone in a a school play. He was paid $25 million and got top billing, and he's unwatchable - the worst thing about this whole sorry, overlong, overcrowded mess... this... this most desperate pile of bat guano. At least George Clooney got away with his dignity intact.
In 1989, Tim Burton skillfully steered Batman away from being perceived by the public as kid's stuff, however, eight years later, this bat-botch-up sent the Caped Crusader back to square one. Roll on 'Batman Begins' - Warner have (apparently) seen the light!!
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The fourth outing in the popular movie franchise features yet another personnel change as George Clooney dons the mantle of the bat. Joel Schumacher directs for the second time as Batman (Clooney) and Robin (Chris O'Donnell) have to stop the vengeful Mr Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) from taking over Gotham City by using his new ice weapon. To make matters worse, the venomous Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman) decides to join forces with Freeze, so making an almost undefeatable double-whammy of a team. Luckily for the caped crusader and his rebellious ward, they are able to team up with a tough and courageous new partner - Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone).
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