Batman & Robin (film)

With the box office success of Batman Forever in June 1995, Warner Bros. immediately commissioned a sequel.[16] They hired director Joel Schumacher and writer Akiva Goldsman to reprise their duties the following August,[9] and decided it was best to fast-track production for a June 1997 target release date, which is a break from the usual 3-year gap between films.[16] Schumacher wanted to homage both the broad camp style of the 1960s television series and the work of Dick Sprang.[17] The storyline of Batman & Robin was conceived by Schumacher and Goldsman during pre-production on A Time to Kill.[18] Portions of Mr. Freeze's backstory were based on the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Heart of Ice", written by Paul Dini.[19] Goldsman, however, expressed concerns about the script during pre-production discussions with Schumacher.[20]

While Chris O'Donnell reprises the role of Robin, Val Kilmer decided not to reprise the role of Batman from Batman Forever. Schumacher admitted he had difficulty working with Kilmer on Forever. "He sort of quit," Schumacher said, "and we sort of fired him."[21] Schumacher would later go on to say that Kilmer wanted to work on The Island of Dr. Moreau because Marlon Brando was cast in the film.[20] Kilmer said he was not aware of the fast-track production and was already committed to The Saint (1997).[9] Schumacher originally had a strong interest in casting William Baldwin in Kilmer's place, but George Clooney was cast instead.[22] Schumacher believed Clooney could provide a lighter interpretation of the character than Michael Keaton (in Batman and Batman Returns) and Kilmer.[9][23] The shooting schedule allowed Clooney to simultaneously work on ER without any scheduling conflicts.[17]

Ed Harris, Anthony Hopkins, and Patrick Stewart were considered for the role of Mr. Freeze,[10] before the script was rewritten to accommodate Arnold Schwarzenegger's casting.[24] Schumacher decided that Mr. Freeze must be "big and strong like he was chiseled out of a glacier".[9] Schwarzenegger was paid a $25 million salary for the role.[25][13] Mr. Freeze's armor was made by armorer Terry English, who estimated the costume cost some $1.5 million to develop and make.[9][26] To prepare for the role, Schwarzenegger wore a bald cap after declining to shave his head and wore a blue LED in his mouth.[20] His prosthetic makeup and wardrobe took six hours to apply each day.[27] Thurman took the role of Poison Ivy because she liked the femme fatale characterization of the character.[9] Alicia Silverstone was the only choice for the role of Batgirl.[10]

According to Schumacher, during the scene in which the costumes of the Riddler and Two-Face are seen, he originally planned to put Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze escaping from Arkham Asylum while many other villains saw them from their cells.[20] The scene was not included in the final film.

The original start date was August 1996,[21] but principal photography did not begin until September 12, 1996.[28] Batman & Robin finished filming in late January 1997,[29] two weeks ahead of the shooting schedule.[17] The film was mostly shot at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California.[9]

When comparing work on Batman Forever, O'Donnell explained, "It just felt like everything got a little soft the second time. On Batman Forever, I felt like I was making a movie. The second time, I felt like I was making a kid's toy commercial."[9] He also complained of the Robin costume, saying it was more involved and uncomfortable than the one he wore in Batman Forever, with a glued-on mask which caused sweat to pool on his face.[30] According to John Glover, who played Dr. Jason Woodrue, "Joel [Schumacher] would sit on a crane with a megaphone and yell before each take, 'Remember, everyone, this is a cartoon'. It was hard to act because that kind of set the tone for the film."[9] Production designer Barbara Ling admitted her influences for the Gotham City design came from "neon-ridden Tokyo and the Machine Age. Gotham is like a World's Fair on ecstasy."[31] Rhythm and Hues and Pacific Data Images created the visual effects sequences, with John Dykstra and Andrew Adamson credited as the visual effects supervisors.[32]

O'Donnell said that despite hanging out with Schwarzenegger a lot off set and during promotion for the film, they never worked a single day together; this was achieved with stand-ins when one of the actors was not available.[9] Stunt coordinator Alex Field taught Silverstone to ride a motorcycle so that she could play Batgirl.[30]

Batman & Robin was released on June 20, 1997 in North America, earning $42,872,605 in its opening weekend,[3] making it the third-highest opening weekend of 1997.[40] The film declined by 63% in its second week.[41] Batman & Robin faced early competition with Face/Off, Hercules, and Men in Black.[42] Schumacher blamed it on yellow journalism started by Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News and other film websites such as Dark Horizons.[43] The film went on to gross $107.3 million in North America and $130.9 million internationally, coming to a worldwide total of $238.2 million.[3] Warner Bros. acknowledged Batman & Robin's shortcomings in the domestic market but pointed out success in other markets.[42]

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 11%, based on 93 reviews, with an average rating of 3.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Joel Schumacher's tongue-in-cheek attitude hits an unbearable limit in Batman & Robin, resulting in a frantic and mindless movie that's too jokey to care much for."[44] On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 28 out of 100, based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[45] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.[46]

Schumacher and producer Peter MacGregor-Scott blamed the negative reception of Batman & Robin on Warner Bros.' decision to fast track production. "There was a lot of pressure from Warner Bros. to make Batman & Robin more family-friendly," Schumacher explained. "We decided to do a less depressing Batman movie, and less torture and more heroic. I know I have been criticized a lot for this, but I didn't see the harm in that approach at all."[9] Upon release, the film received near unanimous negative reviews. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times criticized the toyetic approach and Mr. Freeze's one-liner jokes in his "thumbs down" review of the film.[47] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times believed the film "killed" the Batman film series.[48] Desson Howe of The Washington Post disapproved of Schumacher's direction and Akiva Goldsman's script, as well as the returning costume design from the first film.[49] Mick LaSalle, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, said, "George Clooney is the big zero of the film, and should go down in history as the George Lazenby of the series."[50] However, Janet Maslin of The New York Times gave a more positive review, and praised Uma Thurman's performance.[51] Andrew Johnston, writing in Time Out New York, remarked, "It's hard to tell who B&R is intended for. Anyone who knows the character from the comics or the superb animated show on Fox will be alienated. And though Schumacher treats the Adam West version as gospel, that show's campy humor is completely incompatible with these production values."[52]

Clooney himself has spoken critically of the film, saying in 2005, "I think we might have killed the franchise",[53] and called it "a waste of money".[54]

In his book Batman: the Complete History, Les Daniels analysed the film's relatively strong performance internationally: "nuances of languages or personality were likely to be lost in translation and admittedly eye-popping spectacle seemed sufficient."[55]

Batman & Robin was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film, as well as Best Make-up and Best Costume, but won none. Alicia Silverstone won the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress. Other nominations at the Razzie Awards included Schumacher (Worst Director), George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell (Worst Screen Couple), Akiva Goldsman (Worst Screenplay), both Chris O'Donnell and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Worst Supporting Actor), Uma Thurman (Worst Supporting Actress), as well as Billy Corgan (Worst Song for "The End Is the Beginning Is the End"). Batman & Robin also received nominations for Worst Picture, Worst Remake or Sequel and Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property. Ultimately, out of 11 nominations, Batman & Robin garnered only one Razzie Award. At the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, the film garnered five nominations, of which it won four: Worst Picture, Worst Director (Joel Schumacher), Worst Supporting Actress (Alicia Silverstone), and Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing More Than $100M Worldwide Using Hollywood Math. However, it lost Worst Sequel to Speed 2: Cruise Control.[56] Later, the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards unveiled their "100 Years, 100 Stinkers" list which "honoured" the 100 worst films of the 20th century. Batman and Robin managed to rank as the #3 worst film of the century, behind Wild Wild West at #2 and Battlefield Earth at #1.[57][58]

During the filming of Batman & Robin, Warner Bros. was impressed with the dailies, prompting them to immediately hire Joel Schumacher to return as director for a fifth film. However, writer Akiva Goldsman turned down an offer to write the script.[17] In late 1996, Warner Bros. and Schumacher hired Mark Protosevich to write the script for a fifth Batman film. A projected mid-1999 release date was announced.[59] Los Angeles Times described their film as "continuing in the same vein with multiple villains and more silliness".[38] Titled Batman Unchained, Protosevich's script had the Scarecrow as the main villain. Through the use of his fear toxin, he resurrects the Joker as a hallucination in Batman's mind. Harley Quinn appeared as a supporting character, written as the Joker's daughter.[60] Clooney, O'Donnell, Silverstone, and Coolio were set to reprise the roles of Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and Scarecrow. It was hoped that the villains from previous films would make cameo appearances in the hallucinations caused by Scarecrow, culminating with Jack Nicholson reprising the role of the Joker. Following the poor critical and financial reception of Batman & Robin, Clooney vowed never to reprise his role.[15][61]

In "Legends of the Dark Knight", an episode of The New Batman Adventures, three teenagers discuss their ideas about what Batman is really like. They briefly meet a youth called Joel whose idea of Batman reflects characterizations and costumes portrayed within Schumacher's Batman & Robin. The teens treat Joel's ideas with utter disdain.[62] In Watchmen, director Zack Snyder and comic book artist Dave Gibbons chose to parody the molded muscle and nipple Batsuit design from Batman & Robin for the Ozymandias costume.[63][64] The film is referenced in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Legends of the Dark Mite!", when Bat-Mite briefly uses his powers to transform Batman's costume into the same suit shown in the Schumacher Batman films, before declaring it "Too icky".[65]

Additionally, there were worries within Warner Bros. surrounding the negative critical reception of Batman & Robin and how it could come to harm the success of the subsequent direct-to-video animated film Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, which was originally planned for release at around the same time as Batman & Robin but was subsequently delayed.[66] SubZero received a far stronger positive response from critics than Batman & Robin, with Mr. Freeze's role within it being seen in a much more positive light, returning his popularity as a Batman villain to a level comparable to that reached by him within the two Emmy-winning episodes the character featured in of Batman: The Animated Series.[66]