It used to be that studios would make movies in trilogies. Many of the great movies... Star Wars, Back to the Future, are made in three parts. Lately with Aliens 4 and Batman and Robin (part 4) this trend is starting to break. It used to be that only bad horror flicks had alot of sequels. Now, as Hollywood is starting to run out of fresh ideas, they are deciding to make sequels in the hope of attracting crowds who had liked the films that the sequels were being made from. The problem is, I really hate the fact that movie studios decide that since a film was already popular and many people know about it, that they will go see the sequel no matter what. Since the general public does not really pay attention to movie reviews, they don't know if a sequel is good or not. They just go see it because the first one was good. This thinking in turn causes really bad scripts to be put together just to put out another film.

Batman and Robin is a perfect example of this. Batman is such a well known action figure, that people will go see it just because it's Batman. I loved the first one, Micheal Keaton brought passion to the Batman figure and Tim Burton directed many good actors and the sets were perfect with a spooky and not to over the top feeling. In this film, Batman along with Robin are up against Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy. The plot isn't good at all, just the regular "capture the bad guys before they take over the world." Even though the plot isn't that special, one might dismiss it because it's just a superhero action film so you can't expect much from the plot. Unfortunately for this film, there were alot more problems than just the plot.

First of all, Joel Shumacher directed the film. To me he's more like a gay fashion expert than a real director. He has no talent to his work. All he does is try to elaborate on everything and make everything look over the top. The first Batman was good because it was just Batman, in a city that could very well be New York City. In that film, it was just the struggle of one character to revenge his parents death and try to keep the city crime free. We actually felt for his character. In this film it's batman along with robin and batgirl fighting in what seems to be a circus. Shumacher made all the sets colorful and full of people and just plain noisy. It was like watching a really bad MTV TRL video in which everything is glamorous and bright and shiny. Why did he have to do this? It actually made me mad the way he changed everything from the look of the city to the batmobile to even batman's suit. Even the action parts were bad because you couldnt even tell what was going on. It was like watching a pinball machine with the camera constantly moving around quickly and you couldnt even understand what was going on. It was all just plain confusion.

Also, we can't just blame Schumacher because I guess the studio decided it would be cool to have Batman fight along with a million other people against the bad guys. I like watching the superhero's because usually they are all alone in their own world and as superheros fight alone, it makes it all more exciting because we feel for them in their lonely struggle. In this one robin and batgirl come along and the movie isn't even a batman movie anymore. It's like Good guys vs Bad guys. I can just see the movie studios saying, we'll get as many big names as possible to be in the film so people get interested. I would have preferred just batman.

The acting and lines in this film are horrible. George Cloony and Arnold Swarzenneger say their lines in monotone voices. The lines are even cornier than the ones from the old tv show. It's like they were actually reading lines their lines for the first time right there on the set and lines that were written by a 5 year old. Cloony just has no feeling for his character and just seems like he wants to finish the film as soon as possible. Arnold's dialogue and speech is just so embarrassing to watch that it's laughable. Alicia Silverstone and Chris O'Donnel play their parts in an average way but as I said, they shouldnt be there in the first place, they are just taking the emotion out of the idea of Batman. They are just an extra distraction. Only Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy gives a decent performance.

I'm just angry about this film because I love Batman as a superhero. There are so many places that they can go with his character. Batman could have been kinda like James Bond and made many films. Instead of repeating good scripts, the idea seemed to be to make each one more and more elaborate with more colors and more characters to the point that it just looks so fake and is confusing to watch. I really hope that if they do make another Batman that there won't be a robin and batgirl or batboy or batwhatever next to his side. I also hope Tim Burton will come back and direct. Joel Schumacher should just go on and design women's shoes... he'd do a better job at that.

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older