Movie · 1997 · Action, Science Fiction, Adventure · 2h 5m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 0.2/10 (603.5K ratings)
Strength now. Courage always. Family, above all. Batman and Robin!
Overview
Batman and his sidekick Robin attempt to the foil the sinister schemes of a deranged set of new villains, most notably the melancholy Mr. Freeze, who wants to make Gotham City into an arctic region, and the sultry Poison Ivy, a botanical femme fatale. As the Dynamic Duo contend with these bad guys, a third hero, Batgirl, joins the ranks of the city's crime-fighters.
Ratings
Curator score: 0.2/10
IMDb: 3.8/10
Letterboxd: 1.93/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 11%
Metacritic: 29
TMDB: 4.4/10
Director
Joel Schumacher
Production
Warner Bros. Pictures, Polygram Pictures
Cast
George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Elle Macpherson, John Glover, Vivica A. Fox, Vendela Kirsebom, Elizabeth Sanders, Jeep Swenson, John Fink, Michael Reid MacKay, Eric Lloyd, Jon Simmons, Christian Boeving, Stogie Kenyatta, Andy LaCombe
Where to watch
Max
Curator Review
Verdict
A spectacularly garish, camp-first superhero sequel that’s more fascinating than good. It’s worth watching as a time capsule of pre-MCU comic-book excess, but the thin script, cartoon logic, and relentless puns can be exhausting.
Best for
Viewers who enjoy camp and intentional silliness
Fans of late-90s studio spectacle and production design
People curious about infamous superhero misfires that became cult objects
Audiences who like over-the-top villain performances and maximalist color
Skip if
You want a serious or emotionally grounded Batman story
You’re allergic to cheesy dialogue and nonstop joke-pun writing
You prefer coherent plotting and character development
You only want superhero films that play it straight
Overview
Batman & Robin is less a conventional sequel than a neon-lit dare. Joel Schumacher pushes the franchise into full comic-book opera, with glossy sets, ice-blue lighting, rubbery performances, and a tone that treats every scene like a punchline or a fashion spread. The result is messy, but never dull: a studio blockbuster so committed to excess that it has become its own kind of artifact.
Worth noting
What sinks it is the screenplay’s thinness and the movie’s refusal to slow down long enough for emotion to land. The villains are colorful, the production design is outrageous, and the whole thing has a bizarre confidence, but the jokes are often blunt-force and the drama feels perfunctory. Even so, that same lack of restraint is part of the appeal for viewers who like their blockbusters flamboyant and strange.
Bottom line
Seen now, it plays like a relic from a different era of superhero filmmaking, before seriousness became the default. If you’re open to camp, it can be a blast; if you’re looking for a satisfying Batman movie, it’s a hard pass. As a cultural curiosity and a piece of pop-art excess, though, it still has a pulse.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Patrick Willems (2.5★) · 3353 likes
What used to be "THE WORST SUPERHERO MOVIE EVER" is now a weird relic from before the superhero movie boom. Time has been oddly kind to it. We've now seen so many gritty and/or grounded takes on these characters, so many serialized sequels and interconnected universes, that this feels special, even if it's not especially good.
lee (2★) · 2712 likes
You either die The Dark Knight,
Or live long enough to see yourself become Batman & Robin.
SilentDawn (4.5★) · 1864 likes
*Was a 63, now an 88*
MBGA: Make Batman Gay Again
In regards to the vicious drubbing Batman and Robin has received since its release in 1997, I'm going to quote Richard Jenkins in Step Brothers by saying "I'm not buying that crap anymore!" What sort of mind-boggling gymnastics do you have to achieve to watch Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever follow-up and say: "oh, yeah, definitely an unintentionally terrible movie!"? Because this consistently 100%, cape and cowl, balls-out Slice of… more
Logan Kenny (4★) · 1689 likes
nerds hate fun. glorious camp nonsense, batman is reduced to a glamour icon, with ripped muscles and nipples on his suit, a credit card in his own image and the mirage of celebrity that dominates both him and his counterpart bruce, the differences between them seem virtually non existent here, stars in a glorious disco wasteland. gotham is an extravaganza of late 90s fashion and opulence, a hideously garish overstylised hellhole populated with ice, ivy and roid filled mania, nothing… more nerds hate fun. glorious camp nonsense, batman is reduced to a glamour icon, with ripped muscles and nipples on his suit, a credit card in his own image and the mirage of celebrity that dominates both him and his counterpart bruce, the differences between them seem virtually non existent here, stars in a glorious disco wasteland. gotham is an extravaganza of late 90s fashion and opulence, a hideously garish overstylised hellhole populated with ice, ivy and roid filled mania, nothing… more
adambolt (2★) · 1438 likes
LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE ON ICE
-mr freeze to his dying wife