Batman & Robin (1997)

Director: Joel Schumacher

Starring:  George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris O'Donnell, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, John Glover, Elle Macpherson, Vivica A. Fox

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Strength. Courage. Honor. And loyalty. On June 20, it ALL comes together...

Plot: Batman & Robin try to keep their relationship together even as they must stop Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy from freezing Gotham City.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Oh, yes.

Retarded and cheesy?  Hell, yeah, but it's also fun.  For fifteen years I've heard nothing but horrible things about this picture.  I was prepared for the worst, but after seeing BATMAN FOREVER (1995) for the first time the other day I kept wonder how much worse can it get?  Last night was the night and I really liked it.  It's  just over two hours long which is too much but it's filled with cornball dialogue and situations, over the top performances and loads of silliness which I found fun and highly entertaining.  Yes, I was bored at times (the motorcycle race was long and dull) but the crazy shit had my attention (I LOVED the bidding war Bruce and Dick got into over Poison Ivy at the charity).  And when Bruce whips out the Batman credit card?  I was in fucking stitches with laughter.  This is by fare the goofiest of all the Batman movies (except for the Adam West & Burt Ward picture in '66) and it was meant to be.  Excessive shots of Bat ass?  Yep and it's funny as hell.  The next time you watch it, pay close attention to Alicia Silverstone's lips EVERY time she speaks.  There's something weird and rubbery going on that I can't figure out.  Schwarzenegger was fucking hilarious and Thurman was fun but she didn't fare as well when she was Dr. Isley.  I get how die hard Batman fans hate this picture along with BATMAN FOREVER but it's a throwback to the 60s campy TV show which was a lot of fun.  We're talking about movies based on comic books, not Tolstoy.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion.  I'm in the minority on this one.  I liked it and I'm going to watch it again.  So there!