Batman & Robin (1997)
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Batman and Robin must confront the icy threat of Mr. Freeze and the seductive danger of Poison Ivy.
The story
Batman and his partner, Robin, encounter a new villain, Mr. Freeze, who has left a string of diamond thefts in his wake. During a confrontation at the natural history museum, Freeze steals a diamond and flees, freezing Robin to distract Batman. Later, Batman and Robin learn that Freeze was originally Doctor Victor Fries, a scientist working to develop a cure for a disease known as MacGregor's syndrome, hoping to heal his wife, Nora. At a Wayne Enterprises lab in Brazil, botanist Pamela Isley is working under Jason Woodrue, who has turned her research on plants into a super soldier serum dubbed Venom. After witnessing Woodrue use it to mutate serial killer Antonio Diego into Bane, she threatens to expose Woodrue's experiments.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Batman and Robin face off against Mr. Freeze, a man trapped in a cryogenic suit, and Poison Ivy, a mutated botanist who has allied with the brute Bane. After a series of thefts and a public confrontation, the villains are initially defeated but later escape. Ivy manipulates Freeze into helping her repopulate Earth with mutant plants, while she seduces Robin. Meanwhile, Alfred's niece, Barbara, joins the team as Batgirl. The conflict culminates at the Gotham Observatory, where Freeze uses a giant freeze ray to freeze the city. Batman, Robin, and Batgirl team up to stop him. Batman defeats Freeze, while Batgirl and Robin neutralize Bane's serum. It is revealed that Ivy betrayed Freeze by claiming Batman killed his wife, Nora. Batman reveals Nora is alive, and Freeze returns to Arkham. Alfred is cured of his illness, and Barbara officially joins the team.
- First release year
- 1997
- Runtime (minutes)
- 125
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Joel Schumacher
- Writers
- Akiva Goldsman · writer
- Cast and characters
- Arnold Schwarzenegger · Doctor Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze; George Clooney · Bruce Wayne / Batman; Chris O'Donnell · Dick Grayson / Robin; Uma Thurman · Doctor Pamela Isley / Poison Ivy; Alicia Silverstone · Barbara Wilson / Batgirl; Michael Gough · Alfred Pennyworth; Pat Hingle · Commissioner James Gordon; Elle Macpherson · Julie Madison
- Genres
- superhero; science fiction; action
- Themes
- partnership; eco-terrorism
- Tone and mood
- campy; action
- Premise and plot tags
- superhero; comic book adaptation; sequel
- Source material / true-story basis
- DC Comics
- Franchise connections
- Batman
- Reception
- The film received generally negative reviews from critics and is considered to be one of the worst films ever made. It was a box office disappointment compared to its predecessor.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 29 · scale: 100 · review count: 21
- Awards and nominations
- Grammy Award · Best Hard Rock Performance · 40th Annual Grammy Awards · win
- Production trivia
- The film's costume design was influenced by a mandate to make it more 'toyetic'.; The costume for Mr. Freeze cost approximately $1.5 million to develop and make.; The film's poor reception led Warner Bros. to cancel several planned sequels.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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