BATMAN AND ROBIN: 4K Blu-ray (Warner Bros., 1997) Warner Home Video

The final nail-in-the-coffin for the original Batman film franchise remains director, Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin (1997), an insufferable ‘family-friendly’ flick that is as chaotic in its pacing as it is unreservedly and hopelessly uncalled-for in its execution. Since Batman Returns (1992), Warner Bros. had been skewing its film franchise to satisfy the market-rich ‘tween’ base, weaned on its popular WB network Saturday morning cartoon series. The chief difficulty herein lay with the studio’s unspoken verve, never to regress into the mire of pure camp from whence the 1960’s television series, starring Adam West, had so blatantly bastardized the original concept as devised by creator, Bob Kane. By the early 1970’s Batman was hardly a viable property to be exploited any further. But in 1997, the Bat was riding high, thanks to an unceasing flood of press and promotion; marketing tie-ins with McDonalds, Coca-Cola, and roller coaster enthusiasts, as ‘Batman-inspired’ attractions began cropping up all over Six Flags’ theme parks.  During the filming of Batman and Robin, Warner Bros. had leaked news to suggest Joel Schumacher would return to the director’s chair for a fifth outing. But by then, even writer, Akiva Goldsman could see the writing on the wall. So, in late 1996, the studio pressed on with Mark Protosevich to pen a script, with a projected mid-1999 release date already announced. All this expenditure of time and money was, of course, as Batman and Robin had yet to enter its final round of edits, and, months before it would hit theaters, and, regrettably, the ‘horse-pucky’ in public backlash that would hit the proverbial ‘fan’. Ironically, the studio had already courted George Clooney (the latest actor to don the cape, rubberized breast plate and tights) to return to the fold, as well as an offer made to Jack Nicholson, whom they planned to star again as the Joker in the, as yet untitled follow-up to Batman and Robin. Aside: not exactly certain how this would have worked as Nicholson’s dastardly punster had met with a grotesque end in the first movie.

Oh well…immediately following Batman and Robin’s premiere, all of this needless planning came to an abrupt end. Aside: I seem to recall a very old adage pertinent here: something about being wary of putting the proverbial cart before the pony? But I digress. Indeed, Batman and Robin was not the latest summer blockbuster in the vein of genius that had inspired three pictures before it, but a staggering miscalculation to have squandered star-power on the flimsiest and most fantastical picture in its back catalog. Although Batman – as a lucrative marketing franchise – would survive even this misfire, Warner Bros.’ plan for a fifth sequel was immediately put on perpetual turn-around where it would remain with some trepidation until Christopher Nolen’s 2005 reboot. But by then, Schumacher’s reputation in the industry had suffered irreparable damage. For his part, Schumacher and producer, Peter MacGregor-Scott chose to blame the picture’s negative reception on the studio’s decision to rush Batman and Robin into production with an edict that its’ appeal be less exclusive to adults. So, less cruelty to pets and humans (nothing in that for the kiddies) and more cape-swinging heroism to become the order of the day. With a grotesque reliance on special effects at the expense of a good solid story, and a thoroughly cartoonish performance by Arnold Schwarzenegger as the indomitable Mr. Freeze – whose Bondian one-liners were afforded a rather heavy-hand of gushing punctuation – the blame game moved on to Akiva Goldsman’s rather quirky and derisive script; also, George Clooney’s charm-free rendering of the title character. As though this were not enough to sink the picture’s reputation with fans, Batman and Robin was nominated for a slew of Razzie Awards, including Worst Supporting Actress – Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl, Worst Director, Worse Screen Couple (for Clooney and Chris O’Donnell – the latter, reprising his role as the eponymous Robin), Worst Screenplay, and Worst Song. O’Donnell and Schwarzenegger tied for Worst Supporting Actor and Uma Thurman received the nomination for Worst Supporting Actress.

Not that it matters – as virtually nothing about Batman and Robin should – but the emphasis of Stephen Goldblatt’s cinematography often favored an adulation of Clooney and O’Donnell’s nippled body armor and amply endowed – nee, padded – buttocks and crotches, and, as equally paid homoerotic homage to the impossibly bulging musculature of co-star, Robert 'Jeep' Swenson as the muscled and veiny Bane. Aside: Swenson, a pro-wrestler and stunt double would die of heart failure at the age of 40, likely brought on by steroid abuse this same year. In defense of Ingrid Ferrin and Robert Turturice’s costume design, Schumacher would add, “I had no idea that putting nipples on the Batman and Robin suits was going to spark international headlines. The (inspiration) comes from Ancient Greek statues, which display perfect bodies. They are anatomically correct.” In more recent times, both Chris O’Donnell and George Clooney have spoken more candidly about the decision to add heft to the Dynamic Duo’s rubberized appendages. While O’Donnell suggested Robin’s codpiece came with its own discomfort and controversy, Clooney has more blatantly explained how Schumacher inferred to him that Batman was likely gay. “I think we killed the franchise,” Clooney later admitted, adding that the movie was a complete “waste of money.” And while O’Donnell diligently performed his duties in the costume that made him, at times, very ill-at-ease, he later concluded that the atmosphere on Batman and Robin was ‘very loose’. “I felt like I was shooting a kid’s toy commercial.”

The irony, of course, is that without the success of Batman Forever, Schumacher might never have been given the opportunity to derail its sequel. Almost immediately following the earlier picture’s premiere, the studio eagerly recalled Schumacher and writer, Akiva Goldsman to reprise their duties. Hunkering down on the allotment of time between pictures, as much of an insurance to catch the tail fires of the previous hit status, Schumacher thought the best attempt for the new movie would be to pay homage to the campy sixties’ TV series. Basically borrowing Mr. Freeze’s origin story from the WB’s Batman: The Animated Series, Goldsman quickly began to express his concerns that the franchise was veering far off its already well-established base. Worse, the production was faced with recasting the central character of Batman/Bruce Wayne yet again after, as Schumacher explained it, Val Kilmer “sort a’ quit and we sort a’ fired him.” For his part, Kilmer has suggested contractual obligations on the big-screen reboot of The Saint (1997) were the real cause for his inability to reprise the role in Schumacher’s follow-up. The first actor up for consideration as Kilmer’s replacement was William Baldwin. But then George Clooney entered the picture – the movie’s shoot, in no way conflicting with his star-status on the then popular, and long-running TV hospital drama, ER.

In the preliminary stages, Patrick Stewart was up for the part of Mr. Freeze. Again, Schumacher intervened, believing Schwarzenegger’s girth better suited to the character whom he perceived as having been chiseled out of a glacier. Without effort or further frustration, Uma Thurman signed on to play the botanically inclined femme fatale, Poison Ivy, and Alicia Silverstone (who had appeared in a cameo in Batman Forever, as the intended victim of a gang rape) now returned as the perky Batgirl. At this juncture, production stalled for nearly a month as Schumacher and Goldsman ironed out the details in their shooting script. Owing to the studio’s demands, Schumacher shot diligently from September 1996 to January 1997, bringing in the picture under its proposed shooting schedule, shot entirely on sound stages at Warner’s Burbank Studio facilities. Reuniting production designer, Barbara Ling, with SFX artists, John Dykstra and Andrew Adamson, if anything, the Gotham City now depicted in Batman and Robin bent even more riotously into a cartoonish nightmare of neon-lit dens of iniquity; Ling, describing her inspiration for ‘this’ Gotham as an ever-so-slightly demonic “World’s Fair on ecstasy.”

Batman and Robin is set nearly two full years into the future after the events depicted in the previous movie. By now, Robin has firmly established himself as the valiant sidekick to Gotham’s most famed crime-fighting crusader. Called into action by Commissioner Gordon’s (Pat Hingle) Bat Signal, the Dynamic Duo prepare to thwart the iniquitous Mr. Freeze (a.k.a. Dr. Victor Fries) from stealing priceless gems from Gotham’s Museum of Natural History. Alas, Freeze makes off with a single diamond. Before the lab accident to have transformed Freeze into an arch-villain, Victor Fries was working diligently on a cure for his ailing wife, afflicted with MacGregor’s Syndrome. Unbeknownst to anyone as yet, Bruce’s ever-loyal butler, Alfred (Michael Gough, memorable as ever and for the last time) is also suffering from the first signs of this deadly disease. Afterward, Fries was forever altered, and, as the newly christened Freeze is now forced to wear cryogenic armor to maintain his subzero temperature. Meanwhile, at Wayne Enterprises’ Brazilian laboratories, botanist, Dr. Pamela Isley (Uma Thurman) is working under the deranged Dr. Jason Woodrue (John Glover) on a new drug, - Venom, with ominous properties and side effects. Woodrue uses convicted serial killer, Antonio Diego as his lab rat. Injected with the serum, Diego is transformed into the hulking monstrosity - Bane. When Isley threatens to expose Woodrue for his human experiments, he plots to murder her, overturning a shelf full of rare toxins that will surely poison Isley to death. Instead, she is resurrected as the supple, but spiteful Poison Ivy. Killing Woodrue with her toxic kiss, Ivy sets the lab ablaze, escaping with Bane, who is as enormous as he proves mindless and thus easily manipulated. Believing Wayne Enterprises is as corrupt as Woodrue, Ivy travels to Gotham for a showdown with Bruce. Meanwhile, Alfred’s niece, Barbara Wilson (Alicia Silverstone) makes an impromptu visit to Wayne Manor. Bruce invites her to stay until it is time for her to return to school.

We move ahead to the dedication of a new telescope bequeathed the Gotham Observatory by Wayne Enterprises. Alas, the star-studded assemblage is intruded upon by Poison Ivy who pitches a fairly lethal concept that would preserve the environment at the expense of wiping out most of Gotham’s citizenry.  Not taking ‘no’ as her answer, Ivy plots to seduce both Batman and Robin, pitting one against the other with her mind-controlling elixir. At the gala, Mr. Freeze arrives unannounced and steals yet another diamond. Although captured and detained at the Arkham Asylum, Freeze escapes with Ivy and Bane’s help. Meanwhile, Dick, who is smitten with Barbara, discovers she is spending her spare time competing in drag races to raise money for Alfred’s ailing condition. Owing to Ivy's noxious seduction of Robin, a rift occurs between the Dynamic Duo. At first, Bruce cannot understand what has overtaken Dick’s usually impetuous but otherwise normal and youthful sanity. But then, it begins to dawn on him that Robin is not behaving like himself. He is under another’s influence. Eventually, Bruce convinces Dick to trust him and a cure is provided to restore Robin to his former self. Now, Robin agrees to meet Poison Ivy, only this time, wearing rubber lips so as not to become re-exposed to her mind-altering toxins. With so much espionage taking up their time, no one seems to notice – or mind - that Barbara has since discovered the Batcave. Indeed, in anticipation of the inevitable, an A.I.-incarnation of Alfred reveals he has already made Barbara her own crime-fighter’s suit. So now, Barbara becomes Batgirl. Meanwhile, Ivy captures Robin. Mercifully, he is spared her gruesome manipulations by Batman. Batgirl’s quick-witted intervention causes Ivy to stumble and be consumed by her deadly throne plant, but not before she reveals her true identity to all. Hurrying to Freeze’s lair, this crime-fighting trio discovers Freeze has since managed to lay the entire city under a paralytic cold snap. Attacked by Bane, Robin and Batgirl kick apart the tubes supplying his body with Venom. In an instant, the muscles vanish and Bane is reduced back into the helpless Antonio Diego, lying weakened and decimated on the floor. Just say ‘no’ to steroids, kids!

While Batman and Freeze fight in a survival of the fittest showdown that ends only after Batman disconnects Freeze from his temperature-maintaining body armor, Batgirl and Robin set about to reverse the effects of the Freeze-ray on Gotham.  Now, Batman plays a recording for Freeze. In it, Ivy admits to murdering Freeze’s wife.  Miraculously, this too appears to be false, as Mrs. Fries has been in suspended animation in a cryogenic slumber ever since her diagnosis to delay the progression of her illness. Before being moved to Arkham Asylum, Batman pleads with Freeze to finish his research on the experimental drug that may save both Mrs. Fries and Alfred’s life. Atoning for his sins, Freeze imparts his research on Batman, and the experimental drug is administered to Alfred, saving his life. Freeze is detained in Arkham. However, Ivy, who has survived her ordeal, is now imprisoned in the same cell and Freeze, vows his revenge for almost killing his wife. Despite Bruce’s initial misgivings, it is agreed upon that Barbara will remain at Wayne Manor and become a part of the duo’s crime-fighting team.

Batman and Robin is a nonsensical movie. Despite its heavy-hitting cache of box-office titans to play each and every part, the resulting spectacle is far more ‘gumbo’ than ‘gargantuan’ or ‘great’. It is more than a little disconcerting to see Arnold Schwarzenegger – once the box office muscle man of all box office muscle-men, having already passed his prime as Grade ‘A’ beefcake, playing second fiddle to Jeep Swenson’s Bane, who gets a lot of ‘flex time’ in this picture. Aside: it has oft been suggested by stuffier critics that Schwarzenegger’s appeal lays strictly in his biceps and pecs. But there have been ‘other’ muscle men, both before and in Arnold’s time, who rarely – if ever – possessed as much self-deprecating charisma or comic timing to augment their physical girth. Schwarzenegger’s great skill can hardly be called ‘acting’. But his personality shines through, making him one of the irrefutable highlights of this otherwise turgid spectacle. The other great performance is Michael Gough’s Alfred Pennyworth – worth far more than penny, indeed! We do not see nearly enough of Alfred this time around and this is a shame. But Gough is an actor of the first magnitude; the proof being, that even in a cameo, he manages to distinguish himself as a far more compelling character than any of the principals. The worst of the lot is George Clooney. I have often wondered just how well Clooney thinks of himself. In whatever movie he has appeared he always seems to be aiming for ‘his good side’, self-conscious of his looks and constantly thinking, not about ways of improving upon his character, but appearing before the camera as the handsome male mannequin, to be admired by the gushing female attendees seated in the audience. That makes for a very dull performance – and frankly – not very much of a man either. I have yet to see Mr. Clooney fully relaxed or even partially thawed and assimilated into any part he has played. He gets roles because he is eye candy – period! Doesn’t say much for Hollywood, does it?

And there is not much left to say about Batman and Robin in 4K Blu-ray either. As with Warner’s previous efforts on the Batman franchise, this installment is a pluperfect example of UHD mastering with zero complaints. Colors are robust and fully saturated. Fine details abound, showing off Stephen Goldblatt’s colorful cinematography to its very best advantage. This is a sumptuous video presentation. Contrast has been greatly improved, and shadow depth and delineation are first rate. Even the darkest sequences reveal a startling amount of fine detail in hair, clothing, skin and background details. While some may question the reality of scanning ‘older’ movies in at 4K resolution – Batman and Robin is a textbook example of how the format easily beats the pants off any previous home video presentation. We also get a new Dolby Atmos mix that is, as ever, immersive, with subtly nuanced spread across all 7.1 channels, adding immensely to our appreciation of the original sound field, as well as Elliot Goldenthal’s original score.  This 4K release also includes a Blu-ray, containing all of the extra features that were a part of the original home video release: so, more ‘making of’ featurettes, isolated commentaries, brief character studies, music videos and, yes – a theatrical trailer. Good stuff for a fairly crummy movie. PS – I usually do not comment on cover art – although I profess that which has accompanied all of these 4K reissues is fairly atrocious - but I find it fairly ironic that a movie with both Batman – and – Robin in the title does not afford any likeness of Chris O’Donnell on the front cover. There, I said it. Bottom line: Batman and Robin looks phenomenal in 4K. You might very well ask ‘what’s the point? A bad movie in UHD is still a bad movie, n’est pas?’ Agreed. Judge and buy accordingly.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

1

VIDEO/AUDIO

5+

EXTRAS

5+