Batman is a rather dark hero, who also has a quite serious underlying tone in his films. Batman and Robin, on the other hand, is the total opposite and for many fans, a hated film. MyMMO author Nikolas Hernes loves the film because it is silly and stupid.
Despite its poor reputation, Batman and Robin has a respectable cast for 1997 on paper.
- George Clooney as Batman
- Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze
- Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy
But the big names didn’t help, as the film flopped with critics. According to boxofficemojo.com, the film grossed 238 million dollars worldwide on a budget of 125 million dollars, but compared to Batman Forever, that doesn’t look so good. With a budget of 100 million dollars, the film earned 336 million dollars.
The film is mainly criticized for its silly jokes and the designs that rely heavily on dull comedy. I still watch the film every year and enjoy exactly what is being criticized: the silliness.
You can see a trailer for the film here:
Bad Puns to the Max
First, I must say that you need a certain type of humor to enjoy the film. The dialogues consist of a lot of puns. True to the silly mood, they are not cleverly written. One example is Mr. Freeze, who says something like: What killed the dinosaurs? The Ice Age!
This continues throughout the entire film. Uma Thurman makes plant jokes and Arnold Schwarzenegger makes ice jokes. To my shame, I have to say that I laugh every time. It hits my humor just right when I am in the mood for the film.
Also, the gadgets and costumes of Batman and company are anything but dark. There are the infamous bat-nipples, integrated ice skates, and if something breaks, George Clooney just pulls out his Bat-credit card to pay for everything.
I enjoy that because one must not forget that along with all the dark comic adaptations, there are also silly comics and Batman had those early on. Besides Joker, Scarecrow, and Bane, who also appears in this film, there were also villains like Polka Dot Man or Calendar Man.
Batman and Robin wants to be silly, and if you approach it that way, many of the stupid aspects actually work quite well.
It’s an Schwarzenegger Film
The actors all play way over the top, most of them even play quite poorly in my opinion. George Clooney has a certain charm as Bruce Wayne, but as Batman, he completely fails in my opinion.
The true star of the film is Arnie as Mr. Freeze. His acting style reminds me of his comedies, and coupled with his bad jokes, his large stature, and his charm, he is fun to watch. More screen time with Arnie would probably have benefitted the film.
His secret base also resembles that of a villain in a cartoon, which I find quite good. Everything else in the set design is terrible and doesn’t hold up to the style of the Burton films either. The effects are a disaster, but they are always saved by the humorous tone.
In conclusion, I have to say the film is not good, in many parts even very bad. Batman and Robin is one of the worst Batman films and objectively really difficult in many aspects. But it has a trash charm. If you have to laugh at bad puns and are a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger, I can only recommend the film. With friends, the film is, despite its quality, an unforgettable experience.
If you want to read more about Schwarzenegger, you will enjoy this quirky story: Legendary wrestler once lifted Arnold Schwarzenegger like a small child to put him on a shelf
