Batman & Robin Review!

Batman & Robin is the second entry in the Schumacher film series.

Story: Batman & Robin is all about Mr. Freeze and his revenge. It starts out with him wanting to restore Nora Fries (his wife) back to life. But later when Poison Ivy and Bane are introduced into the story, things change. Meanwhile, over in South America, Dr. Pamela Isley witnesses the creation of Bane. A super-human soldier fueled with "Venom." Dr. Jason Woodrue for some reason shifts his interest from the Bane presentation to Dr. Isley. In an attempt to join forces, he gets rejected. So he felt he needed to kill Dr. Isley. Too bad for him she comes back from the dead as, "Poison Ivy."  

Ivy and Bane become a team and they decide to travel to Gotham. Why Gotham specifically? I have no idea. I wouldn't mind this, but why did they have to mess up Bane so badly? Since when was Bane a scrawny little man, turned into a muscle pumped idiot? Joel, you have failed yet again.  

As usual, I won't spoil the rest of the story for you, but that's pretty much a summary of the intro.

Cast: Oh Lawdy, what did we do to deserve this horrendous cast? Was it the pollution, the crime, or the war? I feel George Clooney was robbed in this film. He is usually a terrific actor. He plays a fantastic Bruce Wayne... You know, a rich playboy -- oh wait, George IS a rich playboy! No wonder he played it so well... he was playing himself. As bad as his Batman was, it was no where near as bad as Mr. Freeze or Bane.  

It's amazing how wrong the characters in this film are. Freeze is supposed to be a depressed, angry man full of hatred. Not a body builder in a neon suit with more cheesy puns than a 70s sitcom. 

Bane was portrayed the worst. He's not supposed to be a dumb drone, let's remember: he was smart enough to tire Batman, then do what no body else has done before... he broke Batman in two. Poison Ivy wasn't bad, she was probably the best actor in the movie... sad, eh?

Style: Neon lights, half naked men, huge statues, and Batnipples. That's pretty much Batman & Robin's style. We can't blame Joel entirely for this, Warner wanted a lighter incarnation of Gotham. But there was a lot of unnecessary stuff.

Gadgets: In the beginning of the film, we're treated a wonderful view of Batman's gadgets. But what gadgets were relevant to the film? Well, there were the Ice-skates, the laser used to thaw Robin, Batarangs, and a whole bunch of grapnel guns. The gadgets are mediocre at best.

Overall: Batman & Robin is not a good Batman film, but a great comedy. I laughed more than I should have, and I'm sure most of you have, too. As an action film, Batman & Robin earns a 2/10, but as a comedy, it earns a solid 9.5/10. If you're in a bad mood, watch some Batman & Robin!

-Elite