Joel Shumacher has on two occasions apologized to fans for Batman and Robin. Listen closely, though, and you’ll hear an apology that the film wasn’t what the fans wanted. On the DVD commentary and in the special features interviews for the film Schumacher makes a point that he went along with the direction the producers at WB had decided upon, and Schumacher admits that among the producers he heard the word “toyetteque” tossed around a few times. Batman and Robin was a film designed to sell toys to kids and it shows, but Schumacher makes no apologies for the quality of the film and the direction he took, and why should he?
Fans and critics were in an uproar over the paper thin plot, one dimensional heroes and villains the the drawn out action sequences. Like Batman Forever, the new and final instalment in the franchise was all style and no substance, but though this was clearly not the direction that Batman fans wanted the film to go, it was in no way inconsistent with the way the character had been represented in the past. Batman and Robin was a modernized update of the 1960s series with Adam West and Burt Ward, and if the “Holy Rusted Metal, Batman” line from Batman Forever didn’t clue you in to Schumacher’s fondness for incorporating kitsch and camp into his films then you were simply blind.
As a narrative film, for what it is Batman and Robin has a decently thought out story. Freeze and Ivy team up together but their goals are ultimately at odds. Ivy wants to bring forth a new era for Mother Nature while Freeze wants to save his wife, Nora, from an as of yet incurable disease. Ivy convinces Freeze to turn Gotham to ice so that life can cease to exist, allowing her plants to reign supreme, but unbeknownst to Freeze she kills Nora in the process, giving him further motive against Batman and the citizens of Gotham. Taken on its own, many other parts of the narrative work, while some clearly don’t; it’s too much of a coincidence that Alfred and Nora suffer the same extremely rare condition, but it’s certainly convenient for our narrative.
If Batman and Robin wasn’t so intent on that garish style the narrative wouldn’t have been so comedic, but with its roots clearly showing in 60s camp and 50s noir (Uma Thurman relishes the chance to be a femme fatale) the film isn’t concerned with anything except being a shiny excuse to sell toys, and Schumacher was in on it. Batman as an enterprise at the time wasn’t ready for the kind of film Christopher Nolan eventually gave us. As I’ve looked back on the previous films in the franchise it’s clear that the style and tone of the comics took front and centre, the stories from the comics rarely translated from page to screen. Was this a condition of Warners or a condition of the time?
The film was certainly lighthearted. It’s villains plain and Commissioner Gordon at his worst as a supporting character. His opening line reads like a plot description: “There’s a new villain in town, Mr. Freeze. He’s frozen Gotham Museum.” It’s beyond wooden, Gordon’s function is to simply advance the plot and give us brief details. As much as we like to admire Burton’s films, they’re no different and there is little character depth in his films.
All in all, I can’t blame Schumacher for the way Batman and Robin turned out because Burton and the producers at Warner Brothers had set the frame for the film to adhere to. Burton’s films weren’t as thin and vapid as Batman and Robin, but they certainly had elements that allowed it to happen. Spoiled fanboys were upset that someone else had a campy interpretation of their favourite Dark Knight, but the 60s had also set the precedent for that interpretation. Fanboys were angry, but Batman is a larger institution that extends beyond them and Batman and Robin is a constant reminder of that.
Bits and Bats
- We get to see Bane on screen. The character initially was created in 1993 by Graham Nolan in the “Knightfall” saga. Shumacher’s Bane? Not the same thing. It was great to sell toys, but to this day I have no idea why they reduced Bane to a barely intelligent brute. The Dark Knight Rises looks to set this right.
- Rumour has it that if you run into Clooney and have an original ticket for Batman and Robin, he’s been known to give you your money back.
- Clooney aside, Batman and Robin killed the careers of its stars. Think about it, how much Chris O’Donnell, Alicia Silverstone, Uma Thurman or Arnold (on screen) have we seen since?
- The origin and narrative of Victor Freeze borrows heavily from the animated series, which is surprising from a film that goes its own way with other characters. Unfortunately it still reduces Freeze to a catchphrase spouting maniacal villain instead of the tortured, desperate character he could have been.
- A certain exchange seems like it’s from The Naked Gun: Robin: “I need a sign.”/Ivy: “Slippery when wet!” Akiva Goldsman you are a genius!
- Even Warner’s took a dig at B&R later on (notice the type of shop shown at the top of the frame):
Next: I promised the comics of Loeb and Sale, and that’s what’s up next.
Paul Sawchuk 