Batman & Robin

This is it. This is my last review. I am about to lose all credibility as a critic. It's the end.

Batman & Robin is a very campy throwback to the Adam West series, with a ludicrous plot, cartoon action, puns galore, and resulted in the death of the Batman for about 10 years in film. But before we delve into the plot, let's look at the good parts. George Clooney is perfect casting to play Batman and he is a terrific Batman but he had to deal with some bullshit in this movie! If not for the awesomely ridiculous plot this would be one of the best potrayals of Batman ever. Second, I still love the look of Gotham City in this movie. The art designer himself stated it was like "...the world fair on steroids" and that is pretty awesome! Also, big praise towards the fact they adopted the Animated Series origin of Mr. Freeze, that was pretty great that they added that human emotion to his character. And lastly, the best part of the entire movie is when Bruce and Alfred talk about life and death. Alfred is terminally ill and that already is very heartbreaking but it gets more sad, they are very quiet scenes where Bruce and Alfred talk about their relationship. Life and death, happiness and sadness, the fact that they are not just master and butler but family who love each other. That is what I take away from this movie. Alfred has always reminded me of my grandfather, and my grandfather got very sick and passed away. And everytime I see those moments, I remember him. And it is because of those scenes that elevates this film higher than most other people would deem it. Sorry about that emotional bomb, it's just what I remember most. But we will delve into the plot now. Crazy plot even whenever summarized so bear with me here. Batman is called to action once again battling the frigid Mr. Freeze, who teams up with both the lethal Poison Ivy and the behemoth Bane to destroy Gotham and break the Bat. It gets more ridiculous in depth, but I just wanted to give a brief overview of the madness. Now for the bad parts! And I'll try to keep it short and coherent. Where do I begin? You know, the whole bat nipple thing never really bothered me especially after Joel Schumacher said he modeled the suits after Greek statues and I thought that was pretty clever so no issue there. But my God, they butchered Bane. If you saw The Dark Knight Rises, you know how Bane is and he is so much more than that potrayal in the comics but they screwed him up the most more than any other villain! At least with the others, they got the basics right about what they can do, what their backstory is, simple stuff like that but with Bane...fail! The ice puns...they actually kinda make me laugh just because how horrible they are. Yeah the jokes really suck in this movie, and the action ain't much better. I'm still debating which is worse, but I think I lean more to the jokes. At least the action, while silly is still done well (kinda). I just can't recommend this movie unless you are morbidly curious or just enjoy bad movies. Take what you will from this review for better or worse, and decide if you have the sheer nerves to sit through the whole thing.

And with that ends the Batman marathon. After this review, I need something good. Something that makes me happy. Something maybe new! Next week, the first week of May so let's get some more brand new films in here.

Batman Forever

Yeah, this was the movie that made me the Batman fan I am today.

I may view this movie through rose tinted nostalgia but I love this movie. When you see a movie at such a young age it always leaves an impression on you. It went from the dark and disturbing previous film to a more mainstream, safe and marketable version of the Batman. But hell even in a kinda cheesy, fun, and all around good time several things have always stuck in my mind above the rest. And that's something since I can pretty much quote the whole movie from beginning to end. First is the casting of Jim Carrey as The Riddler, and most people have a problem with that but honestly I think he is perfect for it. Yes, it's more of a homage to Frank Gorshin's Riddler from the 60's TV series but there is one scene right at the end that cements that even a fun superhero movie like this can be very dark and kinda scary. Second is the music, specifically the soundtrack and not the original composed score. Now everyone and their mother remembers that Kiss From A Rose by Seal was the hit song from this album but Bad Days by The Flaming Lips is perfect, it hits that sweet spot right when Nigma snaps and I love it! Did you know that Bob Kane, the creator of Batman actually said Val Kilmer was the best choice to play Batman so far? And I think he does a really good job! He's a great Batman! In fact, most of the cast is pretty great. Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face is a sight to behold and I just love the scene chewing, it's marvellous. Chris O'Donnel is a bitter, angry, and haunted Dick Grayson who rises through the movie to become Robin. Like I said, Jim Carrey is terrific as The Riddler and except for like maybe two other people, he is the only actor worthy of potraying him in a live action film. Also major big props to the art director, taking a dark gothic city and bringing such color and grandeur to it all! The plot is still a little busy, with some interesting ideas behind it so I'll see if I can properly recount it to you. Batman must now face two of his most memorable foes, Two-Face who has sworn vengeance against the Bat for failing to save him, and the subsequent birth of The Riddler who teams up with Two-Face to amass wealth and power to answer the greatest riddle of all: Who is Batman? Meanwhile, Bruce takes in an orphaned trapeze artist after Two-Face kills his family, who soon learns of his secret night life and wishes to become his partner in crime fighting. Fairly straightforward, highly enjoyable to me. Yes I don't care that I am biased, this was my very first Batman movie and I hold it highly for introducing me to my favorite superhero of all time. And you know, you're not gonna believe me but um...I really like Batman & Robin too. I do not think it is that horrible of a movie, it takes cues from the Adam West show and I really love the Adam West show but I still have a few problems with it. Tune in tomorrow where we finish this Bat-A-Thon with the film that killed the Batman movie franchise for about 10 years.