Yet the genre was nearly destroyed by a film so universally reviled that it nearly led viewers everywhere to turn their backs on superheroes forever. Batman & Robin has been the laughingstock of the internet ever since it was discovered or remembered by superhero film fans. Its 1997 release inspired ridicule, shock and contempt from lifelong comic book fans, casual viewers, fans of George Clooney and basically anyone with good taste.
Although there have been several reboots of the Batman franchise since, the film remains a part of cinematic history that cannot be erased, and one that has serious ties to Texas.
The film is still listed on the state governor’s website as one of the most critical Dallas-Fort Worth productions; although the film’s official behind-the-scenes documentary offers little clues as to where exactly production took place, loyal Batfans have theorized that exterior shots of Dallas City Hall and the downtown area helped to double for Gotham City.
Dallasites may have forgotten that the city shares a connection with such a notorious bomb, but it’s not all that surprising that evidence has been erased considering Batman & Robin's tumultuous production. Although Tim Burton’s work on 1989’s Batman and its 1992 sequel, Batman Returns, were met with critical acclaim, Warner Brothers grew concerned that the franchise was too dark for the robust marketing and merchandising campaigns planned around it.
A disgruntled Burton left the series and took Michael Keaton along with him; as a result, The Lost Boys and St. Elmo’s Fire director Joel Schumacher was hired to step in and make a “lighter, campier” take on Gotham’s Dark Knight.
Schumacher found a new Batman in Val Kilmer, whose debut in Batman Forever was accompanied by the first appearance of Chris O’Donnell as the former acrobat Dick Grayson, who becomes the superhero sidekick Robin. He found an unconvincing villain in Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze.
Batman Forever received mixed reviews, but its financial success was an indication to Warner Brothers that Schumacher had cracked the code on what audiences wanted. Batman & Robin took the campy elements of its predecessor and amplified them to the extreme; instead of the moody neo-noir style of the Burton films, Batman & Robin was decked out with strobe lights, eccentric costumes and Smashing Pumpkins songs.
Among the few qualities of note in Batman Forever was the genuinely introspective, nuanced performance by Kilmer, but the Top Gun star was rather cagey about reprising his role. Schumacher opted for a bigger star who was coming off the success of a highly popular television show, which resulted in ER’s Dr. Doug Ross stepping into the Batsuit. Clooney is now one of Hollywood’s most celebrated artists, with two Academy Awards and several all-time hits to his name. However, Batman & Robin raised serious doubts about his future, and Clooney even officially apologized for his involvement in a 2005 interview with The New York Times, in which he referred to the film as a “waste of money.”
Clooney cannot ultimately be blamed for the film’s failings, as it wasn’t exactly Shakespearean dialogue that he was working with. Not even a young Daniel Day-Lewis or Robert De Niro could have made quips like, “This is why Superman works alone” sound compelling. The string of nonsensical Bat-puns that Clooney delivered did at least draw attention away from his ridiculous costume. For the first time ever, the Batman suit was decked out with rubber nipples, which made it far more challenging to take the supposed “World’s Greatest Detective” seriously.
As the title suggests, Clooney was only one of the film’s stars, as O’Donnell stepped up from a smaller role in Batman Forever to the co-lead of the series. The intention to cast a young heartthrob in the role of Batman’s partner made sense at the time, but O’Donnell may have been even more held back by the writing than Clooney was. Although the film does try to position Bruce Wayne as a charismatic businessman with a keen interest in environmentalism, Dick Grayson is nothing but a stuck-up brat who wants to take the Batmobile out on a joy ride.
Totally Buggin'
Also joining the sequel was Alicia Silverstone, who was cast as the superhero Batgirl fresh off her breakout role in the 1995 teen classic Clueless. Silverstone was introduced into the series as Barbara Wilson, the niece of Batman’s butler, Alfred Pennyworth (played by Michael Gough, the only actor to remain consistent in the franchise since 1989). Silverstone’s lines and costuming weren’t any better than O’Donnell or Clooneys’, but she did bear the brunt of the criticism. Silverstone has cited intense body shaming amid the making of the film, which resulted in her nearly choosing to quit the industry entirely.The word “camp” is often used in relation to the Batman franchise when referencing the classic 1960s television series, which starred Adam West as a far more comical version of the character. It was obvious that Batman & Robin was intended to embody this style, but the film’s grating sentimentality, ghastly lighting and tin-eared dialogue made it difficult to determine where the satire was. No one watching West’s version of Batman, who often danced and saved ducks from bombs, believed what they were watching was intended to be serious. However, Batman & Robin made several deliberate attempts to tug at the viewers’ heartstrings, particularly when Alfred’s cancer diagnosis is revealed.
It may be hard to imagine that many studio people approved Batman & Robin without raising any concerns, but the film was widely expected to be a smash hit, especially in Texas. In addition to a robust marketing campaign that targeted several major shopping centers, Six Flags Over Texas added the Mr. Freeze Roller Coaster to the park as part of a promotional event. Mr. Freeze didn’t open in Arlington until a year later in 1998. By then, both Batman and the superhero genre were presumed to be dead forever.
Although it has continued to inspire jokes and parodies to this day, Batman & Robin has also become the subject of cult fascination. Some have seen the film’s homoerotic subtext as the first confirmation of the undercurrent of LGBT themes within the Batman franchise, and others have categorized the film as a “so bad it’s good” classic in the same vein of The Room or Plan 9 From Outer Space. Clooney has even managed to show a sense of humor about it, as he reprised his role at Batman for a cameo in 2023’s The Flash (which may have been a bigger financial disaster than Batman & Robin).
Nonetheless, Batman & Robin serves as a reminder of how much the genre has evolved in nearly three decades. Anyone who has complained of “superhero fatigue” can only look back at the candy-colored Gotham City of Batman & Robin to remind themselves that things could be a lot worse.
