Underrated
I've never understood what people don't like about this movie because It's actually quite good. This time Batman is played by George Clooney , I actually quite like him as Batman while he's no Michael Keaton he is quite good. I don't care if he doesn't sound grim enough or doesn't do the batman voice because Clooney has an awesome sounding voice to begin with so I didn't think he needed to.Chris O'Donnell makes for a terrible Robin who spends most of the movie whining and arguing with Batman over Poison Ivy. Arnold Schwarzenegger is really good as Mr. Freeze, however Uma Thurman was awful as Poison Ivy. I agree that she seemed more like a prostitute than an environmentalist. Alicia Silverstone makes a great Batgirl and Michael Gough is great as always as Alfred. Pat Hingle returns as Commissioner Gordon and is given almost nothing do throughout the movie. Jeep Swenson makes for a horrible Bane and John Glover is really good as Dr. Woodrow Woodrue despite his small amount of screen time. I'm not sure why they decided to turn Bane into a mindless brute because Bane is one of Batman's greatest enemies and this he has no more than two words to say at a time.Jesse Ventura also has a small role as an Arkham Asylum guard who is killed by Poison Ivy.
I think that one of the reasons why people don't understand the movie is that they don't understand the tone of the film, Batman doesn't have to be played grim and dark, he doesn't have to be the Dark Knight because really up until 1986 the batman comics always had more of a lighthearted tone to them.
The movie kind of drags in the middle and during that time we are subjected to needless arguing between Batman and Robin over Poison Ivy. I have know idea why they decided to throw in a pointless motorcycle race that has almost nothing to do with the rest of the movie, I guess it was added in just to give Alicia Silverstone's character something to do. There is one scene that people seem to be unable to get over and that is the bat credit card scene, I actually don't mind that scene and I think it's perfectly legitimate for him to have a bat credit card. The sky surfing sequence isn't bad but Mr. Freeze's butterfly wings were jut awful and I'm not even sure how they support his massive weight.
The batmobile was given overhaul from Batman Forever and is probably my second favorite Batmobile. The bathammer was pretty awesome and is my favorite vehicle from the series. The batsuits were quite good and the arctic one at the end is probably my favorite batsuit. People are obsessed with the fact that there are nipples on the batsuit, it doesn't bother me because it doesn't detract from the film and they are hardly noticeable. I liked Mr. Freeze's Freeze gun but the suit was awful looking and his car was even worse..When Bane steals Mr. Freeze's costume you can see the Riddler's suit, Two-Face's suit, and the Scarface doll showing that it's the same character who fought The Riddler and Two-Face in Batman Forever and also fought The Ventriloquist on an undocumented occasion.I really didn't care for Schumacher's Gotham City though, there were too many gigantic sets and the city was filled with naked Greek Statues. The action scenes are well shot and most of the effects still hold up to modern standards.
All in all an underrated movie that is a decent entry in the Burton-Schumacher Batman films.
5 Comments