Batman Collection

George Clooney

Uma Thurman

Chris O'Donnell

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Alicia Silverstone

Michael Gough

Pat Hingle

Elle Macpherson

John Glover

Vivica A. Fox

Vendela Kirsebom

Elizabeth Sanders

Jeep Swenson

John Fink

Michael Reid MacKay

Eric Lloyd

Jon Simmons

Christian Boeving

Stogie Kenyatta

Andy LaCombe

Joe Sabatino

Michael Paul Chan

Kimberly Scott

Jay Luchs

Roger Nehls

Anthony E. Cantrell

Alex Daniels

Peter Navy Tuiasosopo

Harry Van Gorkum

Sandra Taylor

Elizabeth Guber

Jack Betts

Marc Glimcher

Mark Leahy

Jim McMullan

Patrick Leahy

Jesse Ventura

Ralf Moeller

Doug Hutchison

Tobias Jelinek

Greg Lauren

Dean Cochran

Coolio

Nicky Katt

Lucas Berman

Uzi Gal

Howard Velasco

Bruce Roberts

John Ingle

Gene LeBell

Azikiwee Anderson

Michael Bernardo

Steve Blalock

Steve Boyles

David Cardoza

Christopher Caso

Mark Chadwick

Danny Costa

Simon Kim

Todd Matthew Grossman

Jim Hardy

Steven Ito

Dennis Keiffer

Stephan Desjardins

James Kim

Dennis Lefevre

Jean-Luc Martin

Cory M. Miller

Chris C. Mitchell

Christopher Nelson

Jim Palmer

Jeff Podgurski

Robert Powell

Chris Sayour

Don Sinnar

Paul Sklar

Takis Triggelis

Corey Haim

Greg Bronson

Spitfire Brown

Johnathan Brownlee

Ryan Allen Carrillo

Ellen Dunning

Eva Ford

Earnest Hart Jr.

Matthew Hurley

Valentina Marie Lomborg

Khristian Lupo

Julie Michaels

David Novak

Gloria Koehn Straube

Dick Shawn

Deron McBee

Mark Stevens

Peter Macgregor-Scott

Mali Finn

Barbara Ling

Stephen Goldblatt

Dennis Virkler

Michael Uslan

Joel Schumacher

Elliot Goldenthal

Ve Neill

Benjamin Melniker

Akiva Goldsman

Bob Kane

Billy D. Lucas

Danny Epper

Faith Minton

Tracy Keehn-Dashnaw

Dana Hee

Cheryl Wheeler Duncan

Rita Minor

Jennifer Caputo

Melissa R. Stubbs

Debbie Evans

Noby Arden

Donna Keegan

Cinda-Lin James

Dana Dru Evenson

Stacy Oversier

Mic Rodgers

Kenny Endoso

Erik Rondell

Jeff Dawn

Darrin Prescott

Lane Leavitt

Keith Campbell

Mitchell E. Dauterive

William M. Elvin

Marian Green

Bill Corso

Wendy Rogers

Norman Howell

Spice Williams-Crosby

Troy Gilbert

Richard Holland

Susan Miscevich

James R. Bayliss

Dorree Cooper

Andy Carter

Harald Belker

Dick Johnson

Emily Schweber

James W. Kristoff

Carol Kiefer

Geoff Hubbard

Matt Rose

Robert Turturice

Andrew George Fink

Carlos Arguello

Gary Barnes

Miller Drake

Erin Michelle Hopkins

Ingrid Ferrin

David C. Potter

Dennis Seawright

Dorothy Baca

Layne Brightwell

Charlie Daboub

Simon Jayes

Greg John Callas

Ahmed Saker

Kevin Abercrombie

Damian 'Rocky' Polito

Francie Brown

Matt Sweeney

Bob Putynkowski

Billy Craft

Carl Fischer

John Dykstra

Elliot Markman

Andrew Adamson

Kai Blomberg

Michael Connell

Michael Adkisson

Peter Alvarez

Brook Mansbridge

Michael Denering

Craig Pinkard

Martin Weight

Kimberly Jase

Lee Ann Brittenham

Jackie Brady Baugh

John Timothy Botka

Lowell Crisp

Craig Ring

Trevor Waterson

Action

Science Fiction

Adventure

Batman & Robin

Warner Bros. Pictures

Polygram Pictures

United States of America

Gimly

_Batman & Robin_ is fun in exactly one way: Fun to laugh at. It's terrible, God is it terrible, but it's terrible in that right kind of way. Doesn't stop it from being terrible, but does make it worth watching.

Joel Schumacher delivers us the final nail in the lid of Batman's coffin with none other than George Clooney in the guise of the Caped Crusader, probably the worst on screen Batman we'll ever see. Clooney was actually a pretty inspired choice if you're thinking solely about the billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, but ask any Batfan and they'll tell you: the character's true identity is Batman, Bruce Wayne is just a mask he wears.

Finally, this isn't a real complaint but something that I'm going to address anyway: The Batman movie with Batman and Robin is called _Batman Forever_, but the one with Batman, Robin and Batgirl is called just _Batman & Robin_? Go figure.

_Final rating:★★ - Had some things that appeal to me, but a poor finished product._

**_Easily the best of the four_**

Staunch fundamentalist fanboys have declared 1997's "Batman & Robin" to be a blasphemous blemish in the superhero's chronicling, but it's easily the most entertaining of the four Batman films that came out between 1989-97.

Let's face it, all four of these flicks have the same cartoony tone. They were a couple rungs above the 60's TV series in campiness, but with better costumes and a super budget. And "Batman & Robin" was the most entertaining of the four. I'll admit that I'm not a big fan of the goofy/surreal style of these movies; I prefer Christopher's Nolan's raw realistic approach in the Dark Knight trilogy ("realistic" to a point, that is). It's just that "Batman & Robin" is the most entertaining of the earlier series. Which is why I never got the whole "Tim Burton's Batman is a masterpiece" mindset. Really? Not to me. It LOOKED great, but the story was tedious.

Again, all four of these films have the same general cartoony tone and there's simply no validity to the position that Burton's "Batman" or "Batman Returns" are more serious/realistic in approach compared to Joel Schumacher's "Batman Forever" and "Batman & Robin." I've seen 'em all back-to-back and they each have the same colorful we're-not-taking-this-too-serious style. 

For anyone to enjoy these films you have to be willing to accept the comic booky world the filmmaker's have created. If you're willing to do that, these can be fun, half-serious Batman movies. You can't watch them expecting the tone of "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight Rises" or you'll be severely let down. 

With this understanding, "Batman & Robin" is my favorite of the four. Here's why:

- It has the best Batman/Bruce Wayne in George Clooney. Although Val Kilmer has the better Bruce Wayne demeanor (i.e. grimmer), Clooney just LOOKS like Wayne. In addition, he's charismatic and entertaining in the role from beginning to end.

- It has the best sense of family between the inhabitants of Wayne Manor. The warmth and camaraderie of Bruce, Dick/Robin (Chris O'Donnell), Alfred and Barbara/Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone) is a pleasure to behold. 

- It has Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl. Nuff said.

- It has Uma Thurman shining in the role of Poison Ivy. I usually don't find tall, thin women appealing (I'm more attracted to females akin to Silverstone), but I have to admit that Uma completely owns the over-the-top role of Poison Ivy and is thoroughly alluring.

- Arnold Schwarzenegger is great as Mr. Freeze. Yes, every time he merely opens his mouth you know it's Schwarzenegger, but he's amusing and he has a great look and costume.

- The film has heart. Although Poison Ivy is truly ee-vil and gets her comeuppance, you can't help but sympathize with Freeze's love for his wife and desire to resurrect her. Batman is able to see under his icy veneer and see a warm heart that's willing to accept redemption and make restitution. Furthermore, as noted above, you really feel the love of Bruce and Alfred and the others at Wayne Manor.

- Lastly, the film is full of vibrant colors and goofy over-the-top thrills. It's just a fun movie, if you're in the mood for a half-serious/half-campfest superhero flick.

I also like that Smashing Pumpkins song that plays over the end credits.

The film runs 2 hours, 5 minutes. 

GRADE: B+

Andre Gonzales

This is the worse batman movie out of all of them. Besides Clooney, the acting was horrendous. No wonder why Clooney regrets being in this movie it sucked.