You know, originally, I had decided that this was a "so bad it's good" kind of movie. I mean, from the terrible acting, to the horrible script, to the disgustingly awful costumes, this film made me laugh. Hard. But there was one factor in this movie that was so unforgivable, so offensive and so downright awful I can't
even give it the title of best worst movie.
The reason this movie is nonredeemable is because of it's portrayal of he characters. "Hercules" has more respect for it's source material than "Batman and Robin". How so?
#1: Batman is making public appearances in front of crowds of people. Isn't this the same Batman who would destroy any evidence of his existence and was as secretive as possible? The whole psyche of Batman is about blending in and being invisible! Also, one of the things that makes Batman great is that he DOESN'T spew catch phrases every 5 seconds. Here we hear catchphrases out of him all the time.
#2: Poison Ivy, in the comic books and animated series, is not nearly as evil as she is in the movie. She's no saint, not by a longshot, but she's more of an antihero than an ouright villain. She wants to create a world where plants and humans can live in harmony. Here she just wants to flat out destroy it. Not to mention she is not nearly as promiscuous as she is in the movie. Arriving as a candidate for a sexist auction? No way in hell. And do I even HAVE to bring up the Orphans?
#3: The Governator as Mr Freeze? Seriously? Mr. Freeze was always more about intelligence and cunning more than brute strength. Arnold conveys none of that. He was also an incredibly dark villain. Meaning that he doesn't spew ice puns every 5 seconds
Now that we have that out of the way, we can talk about the acting. Oh the acting. Remember how bad Jeremy Irons was in the live action "Dungeons and Dragons" movie ("LET THEIR BLOOD RAAAAAAAAIN FROM THE SKYYYYYYYYY!!!!!) Well Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr Freeze was even worse. I have never seen over acting this hilarious. Uma Thurman on the other hand...Well, her overacting was just painful. She overacts and underacts giving a downright dreadful performance (She would make up for it in Kill Bill however) Alicia Silverstone was down right horrible as Bat Girl. On the other hand, I always found Bat Girl to be an annoying character, so maybe she did well.
The script was laughable at best. "This is why Superman works alone", "Tonight's forecast; A freeze is coming!" "Stay cool, Birdboy!" I mean seriously? Can you believe this is the same guy who wrote the script for Lost Boys?
Batman & Robin could have been an enjoyable experience for me. Not good, God no, but enjoyable. Unfortunatley, it's utter disrespect for the characters ruined what could have been a great horrible film, and turned it into an all around horrible film. I will NEVER forgive Joel Schumacher for what he did!
October 23, 2011
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