Movie Plot – Batman & Robin: Mr. Freeze plans to put Gotham City in its icy grip by plunging the entire city into a permanent winter. However, Batman & Robin are there to stop him!
Director: Joel Schumacher
Writers: Akiva Goldsman
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Chris O’Donnell, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone
The old me vs. the young me
Did the subtitle confused you? No problem, I’ll explain.
I’m going to do this movie review differently than my other ones. So this review will also be unique. I’ve watched Batman & Robin when I was a kid, which was even my first Batman movie. You should know that I am born in 1991 and that I was six years old at the time. I might have seen another Batman movie before, but I don’t remember that.
So, like many Batman movie fans know, the reason Joel Schumacher made the movies back then was to make it kid-friendly. If you don’t know the story behind the scenes, I wrote an article about it.
So this film was aimed at children. And who was a child back then? Yes, you’ve already figured it out! I was a child back then. And I was crazy about this movie, and I watched it many times. Now, of course, I realize how catastrophic it really was, and I look at the movie with a different attitude. Namely, a film so bad that it is good or at least enjoyable. A bit like The Room, but in its own way. And because of that, it’s also one of my guilty pleasures.
Okay, but I still haven’t answered so here it comes! I’m going to review this movie as a child and as an adult. This will give you my train of thought from two different perspectives. And honestly, it’s going to sound very silly.
Chilling with Mr. Freeze.
Right from the start, we dive into the action scenes with Mr. Freeze. From the suits to the wack fighting scenes in the museum.
Young me: Oh my god, I am so ready to see this movie again! This is really cool to see their suits, and what a cool Batmobile. I am so happy to have it myself.
Mr. Freeze looks so dangerous, and he just froze a cop with his ice gun. Luckily, Batman & Robin are there to stop him, but they have to fight the other crew members first. And wow, blessed they have ice skates with them, they are really prepared. This is so cool.
Mr. Freeze’s origin story is so sad. How he wants to save Nora is so beautiful and brave. I can understand why he does all this, but he does it in a bad way. But his origin story makes why this movie is so good.
Older me: This film really doesn’t waste any time, and immediately goes into action. And of course, we start with the Bat Nipples. However, I have to admit that Batmobile was really cool, even if it was so that it could be sold as a toy.
Time for Mr. Freeze’s hilarious introduction. I’m going to watch this movie as a comedy, and Arnold Schwarzenegger always makes me laugh with his hilarious puns. They’re so terrible. And the ice skates, what were they thinking? Next time I’ll make a drinking game out of this.
No matter how sad Mr. Freeze’s origin story is, its delivery is so weak but funny. How Arnold Schwarzenegger gets his transformation is just super bad acting and over the top. But so hilarious.
The seducing Poison Ivy
Now it’s time for Uma Thurman’s Poison Ivy.
Young me: I am so in love with Poison Ivy. She is so seductive, and I understand why all those men fall into her trap.
Whatever I would like to kiss her. (Yep, I was already madly in love as a little one). She can kiss me, even if it means death to me. (Yeah, I was a little insane when I was a kid).
Older me: I’m not really into Uma Thurman, but as Poison Ivy, she remains really tempting. However, her origin story is really weird and random.
Even in the beginning, she sets the whole thing on fire. A bit contradictory with her motivation. She wants to save the plants, but first, she sets fire to a planetarium. Well, this film never made any sense to begin with.
Bane …
When I was young, I always thought Bane was a dumb bad guy who only had muscles. It took me a long time before I discovered that this character in the comics was also very smart. (I only started reading comics in my late teenage years.)
This interpretation of his character can really be compared to a caricature. Joel Schumacher really dishonored him. I am glad that Christopher Nolan, in his Dark Knight Rises, has brought honor to the character on the big screen.
Batman & Robin … & Batgirl
Now it is the turn of the superheroes. What did I think of them when I was just a little boy?
Young me: This guy (George Clooney) is really Batman. Every time I see him on the television, I’m all like this guy is also Batman! He’s the real deal!
Although he is unreasonable to Robin, his sidekick, I understand his frustrations, and Batman should let him do more. I also think it’s cool that Robin rides a motorbike. Especially in that super cool race.
Oh cool, Batgirl is in this too! Nice!
Older me: Yes, so for a long time, George Clooney was my Batman, not Michael Keaton. It should have been, but yes, this was the first Batman movie I had seen. So give me a break!
I still think he would make a good Bruce Wayne. He does have the looks in the end. However, I don’t see him as Batman.
I also find Robin to be a real brat in this film. He’s always crying and being angry for stupid stuff. Like for real, just stop doing dumb shit. And of course, Batgirl is also in it, who hasn’t trained that properly yet. Because you know, anyone can become a superhero in one day.
What were they thinking?
I am now going to stop giving my two perspectives. As you can already see, a lot is going wrong with this movie. It is so focused on children that they completely forget that adults are watching it as well. Ultimately Batman is a character that is loved by many. Instead of finding a balance between the two audiences, the focus is only on the children. And in their defense, it also plays to their advantage because I was completely fond of it as a child.
Now I look at this film as a comedy, but that wasn’t the intention at all. Even Schumacher has apologized for making this film. In addition, the involved actors didn’t know what they were doing, and so on. That says it all.
And there is a lot of random “junk.” For example, Batman has a Visa card with a bat symbol on it. Or Batman & Robin are surfing in the air with doors like a board. Yes, you read that correctly. This is not a joke.
The collaboration between Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze has no point at all because their plans are contradictory. If you’re going to freeze things up, it means you can’t grow any plants. It’s one of the other!
Conclusion
Batman & Robin was one of my favorite movies as a child and will always be a bit nostalgic in my eyes. Although I now see it as an unintentional comedy movie because that’s the only way to enjoy this movie.
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