Batman & Robin (1997) User Reviews

What almost killed the Batman franchise? "The Ice Age!"

[Darkside-Reviewer · 5/10 · 2 June 2020]

I saw this movie upon it's release in 1997 I was just six years old and honestly I loved it so much I even had a Batman & Robin movie poster in my room that I got for attending the movies opening day. I got the movie on VHS for my birthday after it was released and I watched it pretty much every weekend at least twice but now that the movie is over twenty years old and I'm an adult with much better taste in movies I thought I'd watch the movie again on Blu Ray and give a review on my nostalgic experience and see if my opinion on the movie has changed much over the years.

The first thing I will say about Batman & Robin is that it's the worst Batman movie of them all hands down no amount of nostalgia or good memories of the movie will change that it is simply awful but having said that it's still a fun movie to watch simply because of how over the top and cheesy the movie is from the over the top acting down to the absolutely terrible Batman jokes like the Bat Credit card and the hilarious Mr Freeze one liners told by Arnold Schwarzenegger himself it is impossible not to laugh when watching this movie it's not the serious Batman movie we wanted and it doesn't do the Batman character justice at all.

This movie alone was the reason we didn't get a Batman movie for eight years because Batman & Robin failed completely and almost killed the franchise luckily in 2005 we got Batman Begins which introduced the true Dark Knight and would lead to the greatest Batman movie ever made in 2008 Batman The Dark Knight.

I love the cast involved Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr Freeze is hilarious and Uma Thurman as the sexy, seductive Poison Ivy she really makes a deadly character like Poison Ivy a lot of fun and she really does make the character look sexy as hell.

This movie is absolutely hilarious and is a guilty pleasure for me I don't watch it because it's a good movie I watch it simply because it's entertaining and enjoyable it's essentially Batman the parody it's not to be taken seriously it's a bunch of famous actors dressing in spandex so tight we actually get crotch and butt close ups so if you've always wanted to see a Bat suit with actual nipples and a cod peice then your in luck. This isn't the best Batman movie but try and enjoy it for what it is an hour and a half of entertaining fun.

A pain in the ice.

[The_Movie_Cat · 3/10 · 15 October 2000]

Strangely enough, that's one ice-related pun that Mr.Freeze doesn't use in this film. Though it does adequately describe the movie. What was I thinking, watching Batman & Robin for a third time? Even worse, what was I doing actually starting to enjoy it?

Yes, there's something endearingly awful about a film that fails on almost every technical level. But it wasn't always so. The first two films in the franchise, anchored by the strong, and much undervalued lead of Michael Keaton, were enjoyable pop-art excursions by Tim Burton. The first, still by far the best, allowed Jack Nicholson to ham it up amongst retro stylings and the music of Prince. The second, Batman Returns, was a less successful effort to homage German expressionist cinema, the darkest of the four films, and struggled slightly under the weight of three villains.

The lesson wasn't learnt, and the usage of multiple baddies has been a fixed staple ever since. With the third, Batman Forever, the flat acting of new bat Val Kilmer was coupled with Joel Schumacher's garish direction and Chris O'Donnell's irritating Robin. Akiva Goldsman was now the writer, and any sense of depth had given way to trite puns and disjointed set pieces.

And so it was that everything that was symptomatically flawed with the series was expanded upon and magnified for the fourth, and by far the weakest, instalment. George Clooney has accepted a lot of the blame for this film, a humble admission but unfair. While he's clearly miscast as both Batman and Bruce Wayne, he doesn't give a bad performance per se. Rather, it's his back up that lets the side down. Uma Thurman (am I the only one who doesn't think she's that good-looking?) has a great time overdoing it as Poison Ivy, but she's joined by Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze. Schwarz, not exactly known for his acting skill, is unrecognisable under his costume, so what's the point? He gets to call Batman "Batunbuuurg", refers to Robin as "Buuurd Bouy" and only has 100 lines in total. The fact that 26% of these lines are lame puns on the word "ice" that even a two-year-old would struggle to find funny is even more deplorable. And when you hear Freeze tell Batman "Yew arr not zending mee too da cooola" the urge to use the video's "stop" button is almost insurmountable.

Bane makes up the trio, a monosyllabic muscleman in a gimp mask. A completely unnecessary addition, he offers nothing to the plot and goes largely forgotten. The introduction of wonky-mouthed Alicia Silverstone as a fatuous Batgirl character is also grating. And why doesn't her costume come fitted with Batnipples like the rest?

Tiny traces of amusement can be gleaned from Ivy's dialogue, with her urges that her "garden needs tending" adding some form of adult tone to the humour. However, it's unrelenting innuendo - "I'll help you grab your rocks" - does start to wear thin very quickly. I did smile at Batman's cashcard: "I never leave the cave without it"; and it's also nice to see some small references from other films. Even if it is just a glimpse of the Riddler's costume from Forever, some guards paraphrasing Cobra or some street bystanders dressed as Clockwork Orange Droogs. In fact, the idea of a Batman film as completely OTT comedy send-up may have worked, were the rest of the humour more sophisticated. "It's the hockey team from Hell"; "So this is where you hang out"; "I'll cancel the pizza"; oh, how lame and functional the dialogue is!

The film wraps up with a rather pathetic plot contrivance, and George having to dish out bland platitudes. "Not all heroes wear masks"; "to give life... that's true power". Oh, it really is abominably bad. Batman & Robin exists as a classic example of the Hollywood system folding in under its own weight. However, the universal slating this one got neglects one factor: while the least successful, it still made over $230,000,000 at the box office. I wonder how many people would be satisfied with "failures" like that?

Quite Possibly the Worst Movie Ever

[Nephalim · 1/10 · 24 February 2004]

Don't get me wrong, the old Adam West Batman TV show was certainly funny, and given the times, a more accurate representation of what Batman was trying to be wouldn't have succeeded nearly as well. But the show still betrayed all the emotion and grimness of Batman's themes.

In Batman & Robin, Schumacher seems to be getting back to those roots. He treats the entire Batman franchise like a joke. Even if it was funny, this would be betraying the name of Batman. But here, seeing as it's NOT funny, it only succeeds in becoming the worst of the Batman movies, and, arguably, the worst films ever created. And I'm taking into account Plan 9 From Outer Space, Gigli, and You Got Served.

George Clooney just plays George Clooney. Which is the road he usually takes, but this suave, dashing, and charming Batman seems more like Mystery Men's Captain Amazing than the crimefighter of legend.

There's Chris O'Donnell, the angst-ridden Robin trying to break out of Batman's shadow. The only thing he ever really does is act like a child.

Alicia Silverstone. Wow. I seriously wonder what makes someone say, "Hmm, who should we get to play Batgirl . . . I know! Alicia Silverstone!" No offense to Alicia, but she's out in right field on this one. Her tough-girl performance is sprinkled with reminders of her Clueless days. But all that aside, she actually does very little.

Now, onto the villains. Uma Thurman, who we know CAN act, is hamming it up to ridiculous proportions. First, when she's playing the nerdy Dr. Pamela, she exaggerates that to a level I thought impossible. And then she inexplicably turns into an extremely sexualized villainess whose plan, by the way, would kill all the plants she advocated protecting.

Arnold seems like the worst possible choice for Mr. Freeze. I mean, of all the Batman villains I could see him playing - Bane, for christ's sake - Mr. Freeze is not on that list. He possesses none of the emotionless, calculated, and cold (no pun intended) sociopathy which makes Mr. Freeze such a good character.

And then, all that aside, they're handed ridiculous catch phrases and cliches they're expected to say with any level of sincerity? At one point Mr. Freeze says "chill out." Of all the ways it sounds, menacing is not among them.

Seriously, I'd have more respect for Schumacher if I discovered that he hated Batman, and had intentionally ruined it with this garbage. Then, this might actually be just his own personal joke. Instead, it borders on a travesty of good cinema. I only wish that 0 stars was a selectable option at the imdb, for this film ALONE.

I really can't believe Joel did this

[Smells_Like_Cheese · 2/10 · 19 September 2002]

Batman & Robin, the big summer movie of 1997, I remember seeing this in the theater when I was 12 and even then I wasn't impressed. But when I was more grown up, I watched this film again, I figured since I loved the 3 previous Batman films, why not give this one another shot? Now, seeing this movie once again, I can understand the low rating on IMDb, this movie was just a pathetic attempt at merchandising Batman and making an over the top action movie that really had nothing to do with Batman. The casting was just oh, so plain wrong. We have Arnold Schwartzenegger as Dr. Freeze?! Not to mention the accent, the character was just someone you felt like you could laugh off. Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl, she was alright, but again, questionable casting since she seemed out of place. Now, George Clooney?! I couldn't believe how Val Kilmer got complained about, but George Clooney I can see why. He was just the most awkward Batman ever and didn't fit the role at all, he was only used for his popularity.

Batman is living it up with his bachelor lifestyle, but Robin is a bit upset that he is living under Batman's shadow and wishes to be the star. Alfred is becoming very sick and needs serious help; his niece, Barbara comes to his aid and hopes to help him and stays with Bruce Wayne. Dr. Freeze is our new villain and is looking for a cure for his wife who is frozen until he can find a cure for her, he also is intending for the world to pay for what has happened to him and his wife for some reason. Dr. Pamela Isley is a plant scientist/right activist and while her boss sees her finding out more than she needs to know about an experiment on his version of Frankenstien, named Bang, he "kills" her with her plants. But the plants chemicals have an effect on her and actually make her into Poisen Ivy. She and Freeze team up to take over Gothem and of course to split Batman and Robin forever, oh yeah, then kill them I guess.

Batman & Robin was really beyond over the top, the costumes were a bit silly and the story was just too family friendly. This is Batman, the Dark Knight, it's not meant to be this bright and so crazy. I couldn't believe Joel did this, I really wish I could get past this, I know he's going to get a bad rap for this film for the rest of his career. The acting was just stupid and not true to Batman at all. The problem here was that the story and setting just had nothing to do with what Batman truly is and was just an excuse to spend stupid money. Please, don't watch this film if you love Batman, or you'll be sorry.

2/10

I've Lost Faith In Humanity

[ReelCheese · 1/10 · 7 May 2006]

BATMAN & ROBIN will make you lose all faith in Hollywood, indeed humanity as a whole. Stunningly awful, this was a disaster from the moment George Clooney traded in his scrubs for the black rubber boots. And it's not even awful in a cute, SHOWGIRLS kind of way. You won't laugh, but you might cry over the fact you've just flushed 125 precious minutes of your life down the crapper.

While everyone involved brings shame to their families, from the uncomfortable Clooney as the lamely-interpreted hero to Governornator Arnold Schwarzenegger as the junior-high-dialog-spewing Mr. Freeze, director Joel Schumacher must be punched the hardest. Even those who thought he embarrassed the franchise with the light-hearted BATMAN FOREVER were taken aback. Schumacher treats the audience like a group of eight-year-old boys with ADD, constantly trying to impress us with unexciting action scenes like a hockey-themed opening battle reminiscent of the under-appreciated genius of MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS.

The writers only make things worse with their "witty" hero chatter ("This is why Superman works alone"... har har, where do they come up with them??) and drawn-out "human" angles, such as butler Alfred's illness and a childish romantic triangle between Batman, Robin and the sexy Poison Ivy. This isn't root-on-the-heroes entertainment. On the contrary, you'll find yourself wishing Poison Ivy would tongue kiss both masked men to put us all out of our misery.

I love Batman and superhero flicks. I'm not a movie snob by any means, as I'm willing to forgive many a gaffe. But I absolutely loathe BATMAN & ROBIN. I loathe how it disgraces the characters it depicts. I loathe how the "talent" involved is still allowed within 100 feet of a film set or writer's room. It must be said again that BATMAN & ROBIN is the kind of experience that will make you lose all faith in Hollywood -- and humanity.

Holy Cr**py Movie Batman!!!!!

[renodc · 1/10 · 31 August 2004]

This is the most disappointing movie in the history of film for me.

A 2 out of 10 is generous. I should give it a zero strictly based on the Bat Credit Card scene.

Every single individual whether it be producers, director, writer or actors (minus Chris O'Donnell) should be "Bat-Whipped" for this piece of junk. This is your typical "absolutely cannot fail" franchise in film getting raped by studio execs making critical content decisions about a film when they have no talent to do so. Batman is popular simply because of the comic book not because of that retarded TV show starring Adam West, but this movie is more fashioned after that campy trash. This was nothing but a slap in the face to every true fan of the Batman. The direction of Joel Schumacher was deplorable. The set designs looked cheap (the ice looked and acted like dried craft glue) and were visually painful, especially the overuse of the red neon hue in many scenes. The digital effects were OK but often over done. The production cost was extensive, and I wonder what percentage of the budget went to the salaries of Arnold, George, Uma and Alicia. I'm sure it was high. I know Arnold got $20 million, so the percentage had to be fairly high. Well, everyone one of them needed to give back large portions of their salaries because their performances were atrocious. Alicia Silverstone needs to give her entire salary back. Hers was probably one the worst performances ever in a major motion picture. Arnold can't act anyway so I wasn't really expecting much, but I was disappointed when I heard he was cast as Freeze because he in no way fits that character. Freeze was a scientist and when I look at Arnold my first thought is not "Scientist". Ben Kingsly or Patrick Stewart would have fit better. Uma, who is normally a credible actress, was too "drama queen" which made it hard to immerse yourself in scenes she was in. Clooney was totally miscast as Bruce Wayne/Batman. I mean it's hard not to laugh when Batman is shorter than Robin. George like Uma was too overly dramatic, especially in scenes with Alfred, which made it hard to take him seriously. Chris O'Donnell was really the only actor that seemed real. With all that, I would have to say the overwhelmingly worst part of this movie was the script. Akiva Goldsman should have been banned from Hollywood after this script. It was a completely brainless jumbled mess. The story, which was pitiful at best, gets completely lost in entirely too many characters. It was so frustrating seeing the origins of certain characters ripped too shreds as Goldsman attempted to jam them into the script. Batgirl, who should have never been in this film in the first place, was changed from Commissioner Gordon's daughter to Alfred's niece, which made absolutely no sense. In an attempt, to explain why Freeze was so muscular it was explained he was an Olympic gymnast. How freakin' stupid is that? Gymnasts by necessity need to be small in stature to perform well in gymnastics and Arnold is enormous. Goldsman's use of dialogue was highly irritating consisting of nothing but one juvenile one-liner after another after another after another. One other thing that really irritated me was the complete mishandling and waste of the character Bane. Bane is a much more complex and vicious villain in the comics, and this movie version with Bane reduces him to a mindless henchman. Bane deserves much more character development than he received in B&R. The same thing happened in Forever, when one of the most highly complex and interesting villains in the comics, Two-Face, got reduced to second billing. Note to Warner Bros. stop screwing with Batman he can sell himself, and stop trying to cram so many characters into the films, and understand nobody wants to see a Campy Caped Crusader.

I ask you God, what have we done to deserve this?

[eamon-hennedy · 1/10 · 8 December 2003]

This is hands down the worst film ever made in the history of the existence of the universe. There have been some bad films made but this is a travesty. It is hard to believe that money was spent to make this. It could have been used on something else (charity I suppose). I was 12 when I went to see this and it broke my heart. Batman was my favorite comic book and character when I was a kid and this film broke my spirit. The excellence of the Tim Burton/Michael Keaton films are long gone. The dark emotional center and development of the hero and the villains is sidelined for action sequences, action sequences and some more action sequences, some of them incorporating the worst CGI and model work ever seen on film.

The casting itself had to the potential to make a good film. George Clooney could have made a great Batman (square jawed, popular with the ladies), the only thing going against him being that can be too laid back (maybe with a better script he could do the darker material). Uma Thurman is perfect for Poison Ivy. She is a good looking yet quirky actress, but you wouldn't know it by the emphasis on camp context and innuendo in this film. Arnie is maybe a little miscast as Mr Freeze, but he does well getting a chance to use some 'great' puns, but someone who can come across as more evil would have been better. Then there is Chris O'Donnell and Alicia Silverstone as Robin and Batgirl. Let's just say more charisma can come from a line of fridge freezers with nothing in them. The only decent performance comes from Michael Gough as Alfred, only one of two actors to have appeared in all four films. His performance is wonderful in this otherwise mess of a film.

The blame for this disaster can be laid at the hands of Joel Schumacher. His direction misplaced and his intentions misguided. He may have redeemed himself with Phone Booth, but he will always be the man who destroyed Batman in my eyes.

Don't take this serious than its ok

[info-65411-11763 · 6/10 · 7 December 2020]

Clearly a flashback to the 60s batman this was done with a wink. We got a ok cast here. Action is good but ofcourse over the top. And the lines are great just great. Arnie stole the show on this on. This is also a great one to watch with kids since it's not that dark as Batman or Batman begins and ofcourse the new trilogy. Kids who love Batman will love this, if your looking for a serious superhero action movie and don't feel nostalgic skip this please. I rate 6 because it's a refreshment in the series and has a great cast. This is a movie that produces memes 👍🏻

Uncalled for, overrated and idiotic

[fjhuerta-2 · 1/10 · 13 August 2000]

I know that there has to be some justice in this life, so everyone will pay for their sins and crimes someday. I shudder when I think what will happen to Joel Schumacher for killing the "Batman" franchise.

"Batman", the best of the series, was a dark, psychotic and complex movie with over the top acting and settings. The Batmobile was beautiful, as were the sets. The movie was forceful and interesting. "Batman Returns" shared some of the traits of its predecessor while adding more lunacy to the mix. It did suffer from the lack of top of the line talent (Jack Nicholson).

And then Mr. Schumacher ruined everything.

"Batman Forever" is a shame of a movie, but NOTHING compared to what this piece of garbage is. Since its from the same series, there is no excuse for the director to run wild and away from the spirit of the originals, in which a sad soul has to fight crime in order to mantain sanity. In Schumacher movies, Batman has to have the coolest cars, to kiss the most beautiful girls and to have a lot of fun while doing this. The first 2 movies acknowledged that killing or hurting people was a conscious choice which was painfully taken by Batman; in the last 2 it is as if violence was fun and part of Batman´s life.

There are so many wrong things about this film it is useless to count them. But there are two things that are an insult to every film goer: the Batmobile is reduced to a clownmobile, and Batman´s suit has NIPPLES in it. What a disgrace of a movie. This doesn't even qualify as "so bad it is good". This is merely "so bad it is bad".

Dont take it seriously and you'll love it.

[baileydodsworth · 10/10 · 13 February 2019]

Unlike the movies of today, referring to the DCU, you shouldn't be bored watching this old film, it's become a joke, a meme, but it didn't deserve what it got.

Believe me I know, Batman and his world is supposed to be dark and moody, but not doing that made for a surprisingly enjoyable experience, meme's aside I honestly thing this movie is worth a watch, it's fun for the kids and for the friends that you bring over to watch a movie or few on a night with.

Give Batman and Robin 1997 a second chance, and don't take the movie seriously when you do, that way you'll see the charm and comedy unintentional or not, that I see.

The key I found to actually enjoy this movie for what it is

[lostboy666 · 6/10 · 9 November 2020]

Back in the day, I felt disappointed when I watched it in theaters and I really disliked the movie for many reasons: it wasn't dark like the first two (same thing for "Foverer"), the dialogues ("chicks dig the car") the over-the-top silly acting, the props (batmobile, suits, weapons, etc), the goofy villains... However I loved the color palette and cinematography - it's pure Schumacher of course.

Over the years I have watched it again several times and when the BluRay came out I watched it more in depth and finally it happened: I like the movie now. Why? How? Well, nowadays I feel like I'm watching a "modern" take on the 60's TV series and it really makes sense to me for the very same elements I mentioned before: goofy villains, lots of colors, over-the-top cheesy acting, family-friendly overall tone. Gradually I started enjoying the movie in this context and I can say that I like it for what it is.

Unfortunately, this was the latest entry in the "comic-style" franchise.

A Well-Done Bad Movie.

[Movie-ManDan · 5/10 · 4 November 2014]

Generally considered one of the worst things ever brought to the screen, Batman & Robin is very fun. When people say this movie is terrible, I agree but they never acknowledge the redeeming qualities, which are what make this movie bad. Doesn't make much sense? Arnold delivers cheesy puns and one-liners galore, they do suck but are hilarious at the same time. George Clooney does such a bad job, you can't help laughing. Everybody is so over-the-top and cheesy, you have to laugh. That may be why Chris O'Donnell's and Silverstone's careers were pretty much ruined after this: gets recognized for Scent of a Woman; breaks out in Batman Forever; then gets screwed in this. Silverstone does some music videos, breaks out in Clueless, then gets screwed by this. All other actors pretty much had their feet firmly planted. The set design and special effects were actually well-done. But people criticized this portion for being too weird-looking and overly-extravagant. Maybe they were, but doing all that the way Schumacher did is extremely difficult. Plus it saves us from the bad story and bad acting. I did say the acting is funny, but after a while it gets to be too much. It starts off fun, but eventually gets boring since there is no good plot or characters. It just keeps going until you have enough. I know that two hours isn't very long for a movie, but in this case, it was. Just take twenty minutes away and it would have been better.

2/4

It's a frozen Turkey.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 2/10 · 25 February 2023]

Batman and Robin take on Mr Freeze...

Joel Schumacher, what on Earth was he thinking with this one?

Compare this with the earlier Batman films, and you'll see its multiple failings, it lacks any of the darker atmosphere, opting instead for a note garish tone, it tries to be funny, it really isn't.

The one decent scene, Poison Ivy's big reveal, outrageously camp, but fun. The rest of the film is overdone in every aspect, over produced, over acted, it's all just too much. Too many heroes and villains.

As for the casting, all I can think of here, was that they packed it out with names, simply to smash The Box Office, whether they were right for the part of not, in this case, most of them were miscast.

There is no denying the brilliance of George Clooney, but in this instance, he was just totally miscast as Batman, I'm not sure his agent had his career in mind with this one. As for Arnie.... I'd rather think of him in Terminator and T2, this performance, is better forgotten.

The special effects look so cheap and tacky, this thing really hasn't aged at all well.

I think I deserve a Starbucks after sitting through it again, 2/10.

Ummm....The original Batman (1989) was cool...

[cornchip69 · 1/10 · 11 August 2000]

I understand what Schumacher tried to do with this movie...it seems like a giant comic book, but...oh, hell...the movie is horrible. I don't think I've seen such bad performances in my entire life. I wasn't only disappointed by this movie, but mildly insulted that something like this was supposed to be a blockbuster at one point; yeah guys, maybe if we were all five. Whatever happened to the original Batman? Michael Keaton and Kim Bassinger? Yeah, see, back in the good old days, good comic book adaptation movies were made. Batman and Robin is TO BE AVOIDED LIKE THE PLAGUE

How to make the worst movie EVER! In 10 easy steps.

[MinorityReporter · 1/10 · 20 September 2007]

1. Cast Arnold Schwarzenegger as a scientist and have him spout nothing but one-liners for the entire movie. I cannot stress how bad his performance is. Even by his standards the level of acting is shockingly poor. Also Mr. Freeze was an intelligent guy in the comics then it doesn't do to cast a guy who can't even speak American without a heavy accent. Despite Schwarzenegger's intellect (he is one of the governors in USA with the highest IQ) he comes off as an ignorant person because of his accent.

2. Allow George Clooney to play Batman as gay. I am actually a fan of Clooney but his performance in this movie is disgraceful to say the least. He has stated himself that he found it amusing to play Bruce Wayne as gay. I, a great fan of the comics, did not find this amusing at all.

3. Move away from the serious tone of the first movies (which made them successful) and do a poor imitation of the 60's camp show with Adam West.

4. Cast Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy. I usually think Uma Thurman is hot but her overacting in this movie is so distasteful she loses all kind of sexual appeal, which in turn destroys any kind of menace the character should have had. Poor, poor, poor.

5. Allowing Joel Schumacher free reins over the movie after seeing which direction he was taking the franchise with the previous movie. This is just the sign of a bad producer.

6. Remove all tension in the fight sequences by dumbing them down to the point where it is beyond stupidity. Batman and Robin playing hockey with a diamond is not my idea of a cool fight scene. Several fight scenes actually had me gasping with shock as to how poor they are.

7. Cast Alicia Silverstone as a bad girl (Batgirl). She cannot pull it off.

8. The nipples people. THE NIPPLES!!! How ridiculous is this?! Batman and Robin's suits have nipples but when Batgirl makes her entrance notice the lack of the same.

9. Write a script that makes no sense whatsoever.

10. Turn one of the most memorable villains of the comics into a brainless henchman. I am referring of course to Bane who in the comics is one of Batman's worst enemies because of his strength and intellect. Bane has actually beaten Batman on several occasions and although The Joker is undoubtedly Batman's nemesis Bane isn't far off. I squirm with the way they treated him in this movie.

In my honest opinion this could in fact be the worst movie... no scratch that... worst thing man has ever created. So with that I give my final score.

1/10

Better than 3.8

[vespalavis · 5/10 · 21 January 2022]

I tried watching it again as an adult and it was not bad as the comments. Or because I expected worse. But the MOST disturbing thing was Uma Thurman's accent. It was unbearable...

one of the ten worst films of all time

[hs371 · 1/10 · 13 November 2004]

How did the Batman series begin so well and come to this? OK, none of the films are masterpieces, but this one is insulting. Anyone who paid to see it should join a class action to recover damages against the filmmakers.

Lousy acting from great actors. And some of the worst -- perhaps the worst -- set design ever. The plot is a grab bag, literally. A little of this, a little of that. No particular rationale behind any of it. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall as the cast watched the film. Every single one must have thought, "It can't get any worse than this."

The most amazing thing of all: Director Joel Schumacher has actually been entrusted with directing jobs after this.

Not All That Bad

[Rainey-Dawn · 7/10 · 8 September 2021]

I think this film is better than the 3.8 IMDb rating - this is undeserving in my opinion. The movie isn't perfect by any means but it is better than the rating. Overall, the film is quite fun to watch - I only have a couple of pet peeves with it.

Pet Peeves: 1) Batgirl. I hate the way she comes in and steals Robin's bike and goes out after lying to her uncle Alfred that she's going to bed. She is NOT a role-model while bashing Poison Ivy for not being a good role-model. Batgirl please!! I also didn't like how she knew how to work all of the bat equipment without proper training. That is bull. 2) Batnipples and batbutts - come on that is so dumb!! 3) Colours to bright on the screen at times. 4) Too cartoony at times.

What I like: 1) Fun story and film. 2) The retro feel at times - sometimes it's almost like watching Adam West and Burt Ward - I dig that. 3) It feels like watching a live action comic - love the comic book feel.

7/10.

Absolute horse.....

[madlovemonkey · 1/10 · 1 October 2001]

The Batman series was started by a reimagination by Tim Burton. He took his dark style and adapted it to a tortured comic book hero. The results were pretty good. Batman was a fun flick to watch. Batman Returns was too dark, and so when a motion was put forth to lighten up the next film, Tim Burton walked away. Enter Joel Schumacher. Now, not that Joel Schumacher is evil, but he is kinda. His idea to turn Batman into a big-starred parody somehow managed to go by with little scrutiny with Batman Forever. Probably because there was so much hype. And now Batman and Robin. No need for a good actor, George Clooney says he'll do it. The result is a relative disaster, making all believability and style Batman had go out the window. Joel Schumacher just didn't care about the characters, dialogue, integrity, watchability, anything other than dollar signs...

I love this film

[R_Mocanu · 10/10 · 5 December 2022]

Ice to meet you.😂🤣😂My life wouldn't be the same without this film, I think I would cry if I could never see this film again, life changing, poised ivy is very hot. I would be very happy if I could to have some bat skates and I don't think I would ever be sad again if I could just get the bat credit card. I would kiss loosen Ivy even if it killed me. Batman and robin has made my childhood and moulded to be the man I am today. A tragic story of mr freeze he is just a poor man trying desperately to safe the life of his beautiful wife. He is not a villain just a miss understood lost soul. "I'm a villain not a monster"

Funny and entertaining

[Ken_Buddha · 6/10 · 28 May 2009]

I can't help it, but I would take "funny" over "dark" every day and twice on Sundays. I recently purchased "The Dark Knight" on DVD, but in some way I regret it, and I am pretty sure that I will watch "Batman & Robin" again before giving 2008's Batman a re-run. That dark stuff just doesn't cut it for me, I don't care how many people rated "The Dark Knight" 8.9 out of 10. "B&R" is entertaining if you don't take the movie (or maybe yourself) too seriously. And that's what I remember about reading DC comics in the sixties: it was fun. "The Governor" as Mr Freeze alone is worth the price of the DVD (probably now around five dollars), because he takes the term "camp" to levels nobody dared to think of, which is fine by me since he's just a comic book villain. No masterpiece, but certainly not as bad as most of the other reviewers have stated.

An Unheroic Ending

[xiaoli7377 · 3/10 · 24 November 2021]

The final film in the initial 1990s run of "Batman" Hollywood adaptations, "Batman and Robin" is just an awful movie by all accounts. I gave "Batman Forever" some slack because that movie honestly does have its moments. Val Kilmer is both a much better Batman and a much better Bruce Wayne than George Clooney, and Jim Carrey's Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones's Two-Face are much better villains than what we see here. Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze just spouts too many puns, almost every word that comes out of his mouth is somehow connected to "ice" or "cold" or "freezing." Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy isn't that bad, she's probably the best character in this movie. Bane (Robert Swenson) is just a straight-up butchering of the character from the comics and acts as more a beefy hulking sidekick for Poison Ivy to bark orders to. Chris O'Donnell's Robin has somehow lost all of his charisma and charm from the previous movie, acting like a spoiled brat, even when he's not under Poison Ivy's spell. Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl is awful as well, she's bland and just delivers a terrible performance. Nothing good can be written about the story or the acting in this movie, save for a half-decent performance by Uma Thurman, as stated earlier.

Honestly the only things that elevate this movie to get as high as 3 stars in my book are the production values and the costume and set design. And by that metric, you would just as well watch any other of the "Batman" movies. Heck, nearly any other action movie period. This movie sucks.

The Worst batman Movie Ever Made

[tkdlifemagazine · 1/10 · 28 February 2022]

All of the elements were there to make this a fun and interesting movie. George Clooney was born to pay the caped crusader. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the embodiment of Mr. Freeze. Uma Thurman is the perfect person to play Poison Ivy. Chris O'donnell is Robin. Yet this movie is one of the most unwatchable pieces of trash ever made. The movie was thrown together to capitalize on the Franchise. The dialogue and script are infantile. The visuals are horrific. This film is glued together by one cheesey and corny line after another to substitute for a story. It is actually amazing that anyone attempted to create a new Batman movie after this one so embittered the public and critics on the character and franchise. A Big Disappointment.

Definitely the worst of the Batman movies.

[TheLittleSongbird · 3/10 · 11 May 2009]

The film does have nice costumes, and nice sets. Unfortunately that is about it. One major problem is some of the choices of actors.They were all wasted. George Clooney is quite a charming actor, but he is not my idea of Batman. Batman I don't think is supposed to be charming, he's supposed to be dark and brooding, and Clooney lacked that. What would Michael Keaten and Val Kilmer and even Christian Bale say when they see that Batman has turned charming? Chris O' Donnell looked uncomfortable, and in almost every movie where he is a hero, this includes the 1993 version of the Three Musketeers, he is rather lifeless. Uma Thurman does her best, but what they gave her to work with was ridiculous, and she just failed to deliver, while Alicia Silverstone was extremely annoying. The worst case was poor Arnold Schwarznegger. He was completely miscast as Mr Freeze, completely lacking the coldness and evilness that makes the character so memorable. Schwarznegger is a talented actor, but his skills are hidden beyond recognition in this movie, he just looked so uncomfortable and totally out of character. The direction from Joel Schummacher was disappointing as well, it lacked the artistic flair and the temperament that is needed to make a great film. This is further disadvantaged by a truly pathetic script that nobody in the cast could do anything with.(these actors deserved so much better)The special effects were okay, but very confused in terms of execution. In conclusion, not the worst movie, I have ever seen, but it is one of those films, where everything needed to make it memorable falls flat. 3/10 for effort. Bethany Cox

its my childhoof but man its so bad

[gyeyeyuyuyyyuygwgyweec · 1/10 · 1 October 2022]

Hears a movie you wish to not give a single star but, that just means you haven't reviewed it yet. This may be the worst superhero movie ever, even one of the worst movies ever. Let's start with the costumes. They have rubber nipples as part of their costumes, it shows a closeup of both their butts, the batman costume looks more dark blue than black, and robins suit is the new 52 nightwain with a cape. Why does the batmobile look like the inside has one of those electric orbs? This movie has batgirl, and her acting is the worst ever in any superhero movie, even worse than as many people point out how Brie Larson's acting is wooden in captain marvel this is 100 times worse. Now onto mister freeze, he's supposed to be one of batman's most sympathetic villains, but in this movie he makes ice related puns while smiling and freezing random civilians. So in this movie their are puns every 10 seconds, robin is an idiot, theirs a bat credit card witch batman flashes while him and robin are bidding over poison Ivy witch is basically prostitution. Lissen to this dialogue.

Mr. Freeze: you have 11 minutes to thaw the boy. (Robins completely ingulfed in ice how do you know he has that long, that's not even correct.) Batman: commissioner you have 11 minutes to thaw these people. (How is commissioner Gordon supposed to do that?) Theirs also poison Ivy who's acting is almost as god awful as batgirl's but still horrible. Her dialogue is bad, her costumes are rediculouse, and she's defeated by being kicked into her flower chair and having it closed on her. Theirs also a scene of batman showing Mr freeze a tiny bat screen that shows poison Ivy confessing to killing freezes wife even this their was nothing their to record it. Bane is also in this movie, he looks rediculous and in the comics he's supposed to be very intellectual and smart, and very strong and an expert to fighting even without his serum. In this movie he's the exact opposite of everything I just used to describe his comic counterpart, the closest thing he gets to a line is, "monkey work".