Erik Lundegaard: Batman & Robin (1997): Why George Clooney is the Worst Batman

Note: This is the final review of the seven Batman serials and movies that prefigure the current Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale cycle . For many, it'll be too much information. For others, it won't be enough. Apologies all around. All Batman series tend to descend into camp . Batman starts out as a vigilante ( Batman (1943) and Batman (1989)), becomes a crime-fighting institution ( Batman and Robin (1949) and Batman Returns (1992)), then, weighed down with co-stars and gadgets, gives way to absurdity and camp. The Adam West Batman from the '60s was intentional camp, and tweaked the '40s serials and '40s sensibilities as much as the Batman universe. It was also funny. Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin , in contrast, pulls off a neat trick: it turns Batman into a joke without being funny at all. Schumacher fetishizes Batman's gear. He gives Batman and Robin glib and juvenile dialogue. He puts together two supervillains, Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze, whose goals are diametrically ... [link]