Dom Robinson reviews

Distributed by
Warner Home Video

Cat.no: D 016500

Cert: PG

Running time: 120 minutes

Year: 1997

Pressing: 1998

Region(s): 2 (UK PAL)

Chapters: 42 plus extras

Sound: Dolby Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1 (AC-3)

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Arabic, Polish, Greek, Czech, Turkish, Hungarian, Icelandic, Croatian, English for the hearing-impaired

Widescreen: 16:9 (1.78:1)

Price: £15.99

Extras : Scene index, Production Notes, Scene Access

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Director:

Joel Schumacher (A Time To Kill, Batman Forever, Flatliners, The Lost Boys)

Producer:

Peter MacGregor-Scott

Screenplay:

Akiva Goldsman

Music:

Elliot Goldenthal

Cast:

Batman/Bruce Wayne: George Clooney (The Peacemaker, One Fine Day, From Dusk Till Dawn, "E.R." (TV))
Mr. Freeze/Dr. Victor Fries: Arnold Schwarzenegger (True Lies, Eraser, Last Action Hero, Twins, Predator, Terminator 1 and 2, Total Recall)
Robin/Dick Grayson: Chris O'Donnell (Scent Of A Woman, Batman Forever, Circle Of Friends, In Love And War, The Chamber, Blue Sky)
Poison Ivy: Uma Thurman (Pulp Fiction, Gattaca, The Avengers, The Truth About Cats And Dogs, Dangerous Liasons, Final Analysis)
Batgirl/Barbara Wilson: Alicia Silverstone (Clueless, Excess Baggage, The Crush)
Alfred Pennyworth: Michael Gough (Batman 1-3, The Fourth Protocol, Out Of Africa, The Age Of Innocence)
Commissioner Gordon: Pat Hingle (Batman 1-3, Larger Than Life, Citizen Cohn, The Grifters)
Julie Madison: Elle MacPherson (Sirens, The Edge, Jane Eyre, The Mirror Has Two Faces)
Ms. B. Haven: Vivica A. Fox (Independence Day)
Nora Fries: Vendela K. Thommessen
Bane: Jeep Swenson
Banker: Coolio

Batman And Robin is the fourth post-Adam West film to make it to the big screen and a further extension of the long-running franchise which began in DC Comics, the characters having originally been created by Bob Kane.

As always Batman has to do battle with two evil foes at once and like Batman Forever he is joined by his sidekick Robin. This film sees another addition to the cast in the form of Batgirl, the neice of Batman's butler Alfred who has lost faith in what her school's careers office has to offer since all she wants to do is go crime-fighting along with our other two heroes.

Causing death and destruction this time round are doctor-turned-madman Mr. Freeze who dons a metallic suit which keeps his body at a low-enough temperature to live, while another science experiment gone wrong is Poison Ivy, a scientist who mixed the wrong potions together, was swallowed by her plants and spat out again, and now has the power to kill a man with a single kiss.

George Clooney is the third actor to put on the rubber Batsuit out of the four recent big-budget versions and who is fast becoming one of Hollywood's hottest properties from his role in the TV series E.R. to films such as One Fine Day, From Dusk Till Dawn and The Peacemaker. His acting range can hardly be considered one of the greatest, but he does an adequate job here and is already signed on for Batman 5.

Arnold Schwarzenegger rarely plays the bad-guy but he does a good job here, his voice booming out from his suit and his gun freezing anyone who gets in his way in his bid to take command of Gotham City. As Barry Norman calls him "the human special-effects", in this case there's several special effects given the intricacies of the Mr. Freeze suit. Uma Thurman takes the role of Poison Ivy and turns her into a mix of dotty scientist or alluring vixen. Her sidekick is Bane, a bizarre creation played by wrestler Jeep Swenson who died last year.

Chris O'Donnell reprises his role of Robin, while Alicia Silverstone makes her Batman-debut as the new addition to family as Batgirl. As ever, Michael Gough returns as butler Albert whose health is failing in his old age, and Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon.

That leaves the three love interests, each of which have a very small part indeed. Elle MacPherson plays Bruce Wayne's girlfriend, having very few lines, Vivica A. Fox, last seen as Will Smith's wife in Independence Day, gets dressed up for a single line in Arnie's laboratory. Finally, model Vendela K. Thommessen gets no lines as Arnie's wife Nora Fries since she's a bit unwell and spends her time inside a tankful of water as they find a cure for her.

The picture quality is damn-near perfect. There are some artifacts noticeable on occasion - an example comes during the opening credits at the top of the screen just before the two red Batman symbols sweep across the screen from one location to another to reveal the Batman and Robin logo - and on some slow-moving scenes where the background image rarely changes (the DVD compression saving space by not repeating parts of video which don't change), but mostly only if you're really looking for them, which makes this one of the best region 2 UK DVDs I've seen so far.

This film comes in widescreen format only (as Warner have have with all of their initial releases) and looks all the better for it. The ratio is 16:9 (1.78, which is close enough to the 1.85:1 theatrical ratio) and the disc is 16:9 enhanced for widescreen TVs. If you do view this film in fullscreen on video though it's not too much of a problem as director Joel Schumacher (also the director of another two new Warner DVD release, A Time To Kill and The Client) shot both Batmans 3 and 4 such that they'd be matted to 1.85:1 for the cinema. Hence, while the fullscreen version simply removes the black bars, you get to see more picture information than you're meant to, so the widescreen version is the only true way of seeing the film as the director intended. Both of the first two Batman films (I'm talking Michael Keaton here, not Adam West :) were shot hard-matte 1.85:1 so the fullscreen versions of those will be pan-and-scan.

The Dolby Surround soundmix is one of the disc's many highlights. What the film lacks in plot it more than makes up for in special effects and a barrage of explosions and gunfire. Even in an action-packed film like this there are also some scenes primarily for the ambience and music score which also come across clearly. The disc also features a Dolby Digital AC-3 soundtrack which I cannot comment on as I don't have a suitably-equipped amplifier, but I saw the film in the cinema in Dolby Digital and if the quality is duplicated here, it should be fantastic - one of my favourite moments being the opening credits which see the principal cast names roll past your ears from behind before disappearing into the distance.

Extras :

Chapters :

The scene index allows access to any of the 42 chapters in the film, first in seven groups of chapters (the last counting up to 41 as there is a separate button for 'End Credits') and then more specific selections.

Special Features :

Reel Recommendations :

Languages :

This disc opens with the Warner logo which can be bypassed by selecting 'Menu' from the remote control. The main menu is a bit of a problem though as clicking on the respective parts is a hit-and-miss affair but perseverance does pay off in the end, usually by clicking just above or below the required selection. Some parts require a few mouse clicks to access some parts and others quickly pass onto the next part before you've had chance to read it so you have to go back to see it again.

Overall, I thought this was one of the better post-Adam West Batman films. Yes the plot is thin, but for pure entertainment value in terms of audio and visual effects it's hard to beat. The first film was too heavy and went on too long, the second was better but still too dark. The third was too silly and while Tommy Lee Jones was good, Val Kilmer and Jim Carrey didn't do themselves any favours. In fact, Val Kilmer could have made the fourth film, but he chose instead to make The Saint. As Arnie says in Last Action Hero, "Big mistake!".

Given Warner's low-pricing of its DVDs and the amount of extras on this disc, it comes very well-recommended. It would have been nice to include a trailer and director's commentary, if such has been recorded, but the rest is definitely worth the asking price.

FILM	 			: ***½
PICTURE QUALITY			: ****½
SOUND QUALITY 			: *****
EXTRAS				: **
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PACKAGE				: ****

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1998.