Review of Batman & Robin (1997) by Matthew D — 21 Jun 2017

If you try to watch this as a serious Batman movie it's horrible: constantly cringe-worthy with execrable dialogue and the series' most over the top performances (which is saying something). Surprisingly, though, there are a few breaks in the puns for some of the series most heart-felt moments, the sub-plot with Michael Gough's Alfred gives the great actor a chance to shine in his final appearance in the role.

But this demonstrates how the tone is all over the place, for the most part going well beyond Batman Forever's cartoonish feel into Looney Tunes realms in thing like its physics and logic (or lack thereof); it's goofy and headache-inducingly garish.

However, it's clearly meant to be a tribute to Adam West's incarnation and it is better if you can watch it this way, it's still not good, but it's better. The writing is not nearly as sharp as it was for the Batman we got 30 years prior, and it lacks the self-awareness that made that version beloved by older as well as younger audiences, but it can be entertaining, enough that it's not as bad as its reputation suggests.