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Allow me to break the ice. My name is The Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day. Learn it well for it is the chilling sound of your doom!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with today’s Behind the Scenes Pic!
You know how they have those “guess how many jelly beans are in this jar” contests? I want to have one of those to accurately guess just how much cocaine was snorted by Joel Schumacher and his screenwriters during the making of Batman and Robin.
Fairly recently I tried to rewatch this movie, hoping to get a “so bad it’s good” level of entertainment from it and the movie just ended up pissing me off all over again. How you take George Clooney and make him the least charismatic Batman ever is beyond me, but damn it if Schumacher did just that.
So, in closing, fuck this movie and the horse it rode in on. But thanks to Pat Barnett for sending in this picture.
If you have a behind the scenes shot you’d like to submit to this column, you can email me at quint@aintitcool.com.
Tomorrow’s pic is alive!?!
-Eric Vespe
”Quint”
quint@aintitcool.com
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Click here to visit the complete compilation of previous Behind the Scenes images, Page Two
Readers Talkback
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That movie wasn't bad. It was one of the worst things EVER. It's as if they set out to see just how many different ways they could possibly skullfuck the audience before they lit themselves on fire and leapt out the window. The back of the dvd case should read "As much fun as diving into a bin of used syringes behind the hospital!" But hey, to his credit, Arnold was the only "so bad it's enjoyable" rather than "Oh god what am I still doing in this chair WATCHING this" parts of the movie. Incidentally...speaking of so bad it's good - Arnold in Hercules in New York fighting the guy in the bear suit in the park. Hilarious beyond belief. I lose it every time.
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you're luggage
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But then, I always kind of like Uma Thurman.
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I kinda like it. It's as close to a modern take on the 60s show as you can get. Over the top fun. Clooney fitted the suit better then any other character. Least you don't need to take Xanax to get through it like you do with depressing old Nolan.
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We've already had the backlash against Batman Returns. Will this Talkback be true to form, and contain love for this godawful clusterfuck of a film?
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I guess I couldn't believe what I saw the first time. Retracing the accident I suppose. 'If I must suffer, humanity will suffer with me.' - Mr. Freeze ...and we did.
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July 15, 2012, 8:19 a.m. CST
Schumacher'Hey Arnold, we're getting paid millions to shit out shit and destroy this franchise, now THAT'S anarchy the Joker would be proud of!'
by cameron
Arnold' I herad dat!'
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-Predator 3 written by Robert Rodriguez(1994 - instead of True Lies) -Paul Verhoevens Crusade (1995 - instead of Junior) -J Camerons R rated Terminator 3 starring Michael Biehn & Arnold - with Furlong, Hamilton & Patrick cameoing - the future war blue night plasma battles, time chamber finale etc (1996 instead of T2 3-D: Battle Across Time, Eraser, Jingle all the Way) -Olivers Stones version of Planet of the Apes (1997 - instead of Batman&Robin) -Ridley Scotts I Am Legend (1999 - instead of End of Days) -Total Recall 2 directed by Cmdr Riker (2000 - instead of Sixth Day) -King Conan: Crown of Iron directed by John Milius (2003 - instead of CDamage/Mostows T3) -Alien 5 -written/produced by Cameron, directed by Ridley Scott - Arnie as head Colonial Marine uncovering the origin of the aliens - like Prometheus but set post Alien 4 and including xenos and Ripley as well as SJs (2004 - instead of AvP, and being govenator)
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July 15, 2012, 8:29 a.m. CST
Most of what I remember about "Batman and Robin" is yawning a lot in the theater and checking my watch a lot.
by jawsfan
I was bored out of my fucking skull.
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July 15, 2012, 8:33 a.m. CST
Well now, how does Dr. Manhatten go to the bathroom with all that shit on?
by Michael Miller
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July 15, 2012, 8:36 a.m. CST
One of the very few times I have walked out of the theater pissed off.
by fanboy71
This movie was worse than a train wreck. And Batman Forever was pretty good IMO. Shumacher just really went off the deep end with this POS, and I think his career is still suffering for it.
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one day, it will be respected and revered by future generations who will look at it with fresh eyes. is it the best batman movie ever? nay. is it the worst? probably, but that's just because both series have been so exceptional. personally, i enjoy this movie a lot more than i do batman forever, seeing as they were both made my schumacher, though, i guess it doesn't help. i put some of the blame for the campy tone on burton who went so dark with returns that the suits knew they had to lighten the mood to draw in the kids. plus when millions of dollars are getting thrown around, anything resembling artistic license is thrown out the window when you have a seemingly gun-for-hire director attached...
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this is exactly how a John Waters Robocop would look!
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July 15, 2012, 8:46 a.m. CST
one day, it will be respected and revered by future generations who will look at it with fresh eyes...
by Michael Miller
Future generations could look on it with blind eyes, and it would still suck.
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July 15, 2012, 8:54 a.m. CST
Didn't this kill Alicia Silverstone's career? Now she's just throwing up into her baby's mouth
by _Venkman
like some kind of fucking bird
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July 15, 2012, 9:01 a.m. CST
It still amazes me that people were actually surprised by this movie
by darthflagg
Batman Forever was just as shit, if not worse. At least you can laugh at how bad B&R is. Forever was just depressingly cynical.
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July 15, 2012, 9:06 a.m. CST
Agreed. For "so bad it's good", watch Superman IV! That's genuinely one of the funniest films of all time.
by Mark Jones
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July 15, 2012, 9:08 a.m. CST
Both Schumacher's are crap, but at least I enjoyed Forever when I was a kid. Couldn't even bring myself to enjoy B&R as a 12 yr old.
by Mark Jones
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July 15, 2012, 9:09 a.m. CST
This has been in the so bad it's good category for me for a while....
by SobchakSecurity
It was also the first time I realized "Oh wow, something I'm looking forward too CAN be a disapointment." I think people shit on Schumacher, hah! sounds like some sort of drinking game, too much for this. They tend to forget he didn't have the same creative control Burton did for his two, which I still love btw, don't care what anyone says, and yeah. It makes for a fun drinking game every time Freezenegger says one of his ice puns. Whoever doesn't passout wins! Also, and this has to be said, if this hadn't been made, we wouldn't have gotten the recent crop of Nolanverse Batman, I'm not defending it, but you can't deny the positiv domino effect if you would. I mean, like I said, this is in the so bad it's good category for me, and has been for some time. It's like a prime example of no one giving a fuck. Just yeah, Fuck this and that about Batman. We're gonna do all campy neon dayglo!!! Yeah!!!! Speaking of which, the visual style of this is interesting. I know an interesting visual style doesn't compensate for a lack of other important elements, but hey, it's neat to look at at least. Schumacher has made some good flicks as well. Lost Boys, Falling Down, The Client, A Time To Kill, which is worthy of mentiong alone for the mere fact of "Yes they deserved to die!!!!!!!, And I hope they burn in hell!!!!" Also @cartmanez's list. Wow! I'd heard of most of those projects at one time, but didn't know of Camerons plan/ involvement in Terminatorn 3 and the 5th Alien movie. Learn something new every day.
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Back when it came out I was like "Holy Shit, That was Awful." But now, uh, I don't really care for it that much.
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And I don't really give much of a shit about Bane, but I was pretty indignant how Hollywood can just take a character and change everything about him. So instead of a brilliant and brutal baddie, he was a freakin' monosyllabic henchman. That's like putting the Joker in a Batman movie and writing off his appearance as makeup or some kinda...warpaint.
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July 15, 2012, 9:23 a.m. CST
@Donkey_Lasher. No. There will be no love expressed for this film.
by AlienFanatic
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July 15, 2012, 9:24 a.m. CST
@dingosatemybuffy And in those days, Cocaine will be legal and available in vending machines.
by AlienFanatic
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I mean, Forever was a pretty bland, shallow movie that played it safe. It didn'take any real chances, and the neon silliness certainly foreshadowed the day-glow self parody vomit that would follow, but as a film, Forever is not quite as detestable as B&R. But the writing was on the wall in that movie, and after it was a hit, Schumacher had carte blanche to "gay it up" as much as he liked in the next film.
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Along with bad acting, script, characters etc... I could not stand the spinning disco/rave lights when batman got into a confrontation with the villians. Overtly cartoon and dumb. Watch one of the Freeze fights, hockey players come out and icicle rave lights start spinning on the floor. Just stupid.
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July 15, 2012, 10:02 a.m. CST
Why is Schumacher's face all swollen and puffy in that pic?
by mark scott
AHNULD: IT'S A TOOMAAAH!!!
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Joel Schumacher is a horrible director. But his DVD commentaries are always pretty interesting. For Batman and Robin he spends 2 hours essentially apologizing for the movie, and talks about WB putting pressure on him to make the whole thing a big toy commercial. He insists that if he had his way, he would have adapted Frank Miller's Year One story..
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Okay then, back to bed. Thank You and Good Night!
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arnold had an acting coach. good job.
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Watched it on cable recently, hoping to get a few laughs. It wasn't even hilarious to save itself, I changed the channel after an hour. Bane omg..did Joel Schumacher even read the comics?
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TERRIBLE! Just make the TV series a film again...it would have been better than this. "What killed the Dinosaurs? The ICE AGE!!!!" Oh Arnold... you silly goose.
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if B&R had not been as terrible as it was and had made Batman Forever money then there wouldve been Batman Triumphant in around 99 starring Jeff Goldblum as the scarecrow (with a cameo from Jack Nicolson as the joker) and then Batman 6 in around 2002 etc (maybe theyd have gone abit darker but probably no reboot) so no Batman Begins...Casino Royale would have probably been a sequel to DAD and starred Brosnan.....Star Trek wouldve had that Federation Beginning movie prequel trilogy produced by Rick Berman (as theyd have been following the SW prequels not rebooting)...2003s Hulk and Superman Returns wouldve had a sequels as no one wouldve thought about 'rebooting'...etc
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would be better off spending approximately 2 hours watching "Heart of Ice" 5 times in a row.
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July 15, 2012, 11:11 a.m. CST
He insists that if he had his way, he would have adapted Frank Miller's Year One story..
by Bass Ackwards
Absolute horseshit. That's a guy desperately trying to find a way to save face. No way Miller's Batman was anywhere near this guys mind. What? You guys hated it? Oh oh, me too! Shoot! Studios man, amiright or amiright? But seriously, NO ONE liked the nipples? Cause I thought for sure after Batman Forever...no no I mean, argh studios!!
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July 15, 2012, 11:12 a.m. CST
There are not many movies that are so bad that I hate....but this is one of them
by DementedCaver
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i remember reading somewhere he said he felt like King Kong on the set thinking about how much money he was getting and how he was treated like a movie god or something like that LOL
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July 15, 2012, 11:17 a.m. CST
Sadly I love the look of the models + CG effects in this one... something about them is awesome (apart from all the obviously plastic practical stuff)
by Autodidact
Even with mostly terrible design work, the look of the effects themselves is just awesome. ... apart from all the obviously plastic icicles and such.
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I can image Arnold in that picture thinking he's actually gonna get his big break into comic book movies with this piece of crap. The sad thing is, even Arnold deserved a better role than this.
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didnt some outraged fan scream that at an early screening? might have been 'Death to Joel Shumaker!!' im not sure
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It was the exact recipe of B&R being so hated as to kill the franchise for years, then almost impossible to believe Hollywood actually did something right for a change happinestance of them hiring an young up and coming Christopher Nolan 6 years later and actually giving him license to do what he wanted instead of making a big toy commercial that lead to the improbable but great Batman Begins, which along with Casino Royale got all these reboots going.
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July 15, 2012, 11:22 a.m. CST
hephaestus - no arnold is thinking about all the $s hes earning making this POS movie
by CARTMANEZ
apparently he felt like King Kong
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Can that same alt universe also have a version of star wars where the special editions are not awful or don't exist, and the prequels are amazing or don't exist?
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July 15, 2012, 11:22 a.m. CST
Schumacher's name was basically ruined with this movie, but he's really quite a competent filmmaker and storyteller
by Autodidact
He's made a lot of good movies, and a lot of other movies that you'd never guess were from the guy who directed B&R.
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July 15, 2012, 11:24 a.m. CST
Trivia: Someone I once knew was a security guard on the set of B&R and also was caught selling my identity!
by Autodidact
True story.
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This and 'The Avengers'. It was as if Schumacher was just off-camera yelling, "No, bitch, MORE HAM! I said, MORE HAM! HAM LIKE A FUCKING PIG!"
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July 15, 2012, 11:25 a.m. CST
I must admit Arnie as Freeze does look pretty cool in the opening sequence when he still has the red goggles on and is just the blue glow of the costume in the dark
by Rebel Scumb
Pretty much the only thing I like about B&R, although the Bruce Wayne & Alfred stuff is handled fairly well. I do have fond memories though of being 18 and working in a movie theatre when this came out, it was a fun summer job with cool friends to hang out with, some cute girls working the candy counter, and managers who let us do whatever the hell we wanted Okay I'm going to stop now before this turns into one of Harry's movie reviews
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July 15, 2012, 11:27 a.m. CST
The schumacher batmans are a bit easier to swallow if you view them as adaptations specifically of the Adam West/Burt Ward batman
by Rebel Scumb
But even still are pretty awful
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yes in the same Alternate Arnie movie universe, Lucas did sequels and had his buddies write and direct them
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July 15, 2012, 11:29 a.m. CST
The only good thing about Batman & Robin is that it ultimately led to Christopher Nolan reanimating the Batman franchise with his Dark Knight trilogy.
by Mr. Pricklepants
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July 15, 2012, 11:29 a.m. CST
*Snooooorrff!* "Wait, I know... NIPPLE ON THE BAT SUIT!!"
by Sumatran_Rat_Monkey
Massive amounts of cocaine and screen writing... You may be on to something there! And it is refreshing to see some venom thrown out by Quint. Fuck Schumacher!
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I guess having one of your first films be your worst can be a good thing for a career.
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July 15, 2012, 11:43 a.m. CST
The worst part is that somewhere in the world this is someone's favorite movie ever
by nephilim138
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And the Movie!!!! DEAL WITH IT!!!
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...I always wondered when you would hear that so and so had a $6000 a day cocaine habit...what the hell they did with all that coke? They have to give some away because there is no way a human can sniff that much coke in one day and live.
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My little girls wanted to watch a superhero movie and this was all I had to hand within their age range. I thought it would be perfect-bright colours, easy to follow ahem 'plot', characters that need no introduction and fairly non threatening action set pieces. Oh boy, they bailed after 15 minutes citing it was boring. Now that takes some effort to bore a small child even when its aimed at them! So I stuck it out to the end and I still can't find any hope within the film. The worst line in is " That's not very P.C. What about Batwoman or Batperson?" Ugh. The delivery is just awful. Add the purple gorilla suit and you have a film worse than Shark night.
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July 15, 2012, 12:08 p.m. CST
God's way of telling you you are making a shitty Batman movie
by CARTMANEZ
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Hands down. Campy, bright, colorful, over the top. It's the 60's Batman remade with 90's budget and production value.
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I mean, Arnie was not as bad as Jim Carrey in any way - this was when Jim Carrey was just being an annoying bastard, and everyone thought it was cute, until he did Cable Guy. After that, he changed things up a notch, and the world was a better place. Oh, and Val Kilmer as Batman, U2 shoving their crap under people's noses even more, and Tommy Lee Jones looking like he's going to cry any minute. By the time Batman and Robin had come along, I just kinda gave-up really.
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July 15, 2012, 12:53 p.m. CST
Somewhere out there, there's an alternate universe where Nicolas Cage played Batman and Superman in the 90's
by wcolbert
And mass suicides ensued.
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July 15, 2012, 1:02 p.m. CST
Uma's ass was amazing and Batgirl's breastplate was nice
by Queefer Sutherland
Not nearly enough to save this utter turd of a film.
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"falling down" also made this shit, is beyond me.... also from the wiki: "On the DVD commentary, Schumacher has admitted that his movie disappointed fans of darker Batman adaptations, saying that the film was made intentionally marketable (or "toyetic") and kid-friendly. He claims to have been under heavy pressure from the studio to do so; however, he admits full responsibility and, at one point, apologizes to any fans who were disappointed. Schumacher, however, is a devoted Batman fan himself and actually would have personally preferred an adaptation of the comic Batman: Year One.[4]"
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After the day I've had, your comments made me laugh so hard, I had to sign up here. Thanks, Quint - I owe you a beer!
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That alone pisses me off.
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This is long before I plugged in, so I only caught previews in the theatre. I saw this preview and went out of my damn mind because I saw Bane..."Holyshit they're gonna break Batman!!, Need to watch!!!!" this was my reaction. I went to opening night, twenty minutes into film I quietly started weeping.
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July 15, 2012, 1:44 p.m. CST
Let's remember that Joel Schumacher did direct Lost Boys. A fine vampire film way before all this Twilight bullshit.
by Cureguy
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Make sure to put the emphasis on the "BOT". I like to repeat this line in my home until my wife tells me to stop.
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headasplode.....
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Why? WHY? Because TDKR is about to come out? Just give us some Batman Begins and TDK pics, please.
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July 15, 2012, 2:06 p.m. CST
I walked out of the movie theater more pissed at Batman Forever
by MRJONZ72
I hated that movie, I think my expectations for Batman & Robin were so low going in, that I wasn't as mad walking out, but I do know and realize its a bad movie and the worse and the low point for modern batman movies.
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July 15, 2012, 2:09 p.m. CST
Romor has it that the one scene where they show arnold & uma on
by jupiterjim
the cctv; their audio is off but if you read their lips arnold is saying: " can you believe we are getting paid to make this piece of crap?"
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And this was the worst Batman movie of all time.
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July 15, 2012, 2:29 p.m. CST
All I can say about this is I put it on last week for my kids, and it played like fucking gangbusters...
by ThulsaBoom
...it's sad that after Batman Returns, the studios got the feeling we wanted Batman to start getting lighter again. Than Nolan showed them the direction we really wanted.
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ICE TO SEE YOU.
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July 15, 2012, 2:33 p.m. CST
Nolan cracked Batman, but this one plays better than Batman Forever, IMHO...
by ThulsaBoom
...since excess was what Schumacher was bringing. But handle is ThulsaBoom, so you might find a little bias in my forgiveness of B&R.
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...okay that's really all I can say about this.
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cartmanez, where is the portal to this alternate universe? I HAVE to get there :)
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July 15, 2012, 2:59 p.m. CST
When Arnold has to "act", you know a movie's in trouble. Hearing him say, "Duh Batmin" says it all. Makes Hudson Hawk watchable.
by theDORK
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My sentiments exactly. I've tried the same in an attempt to find out if perhaps my feelings about it would change. No such luck. It sucked ass then, it sucks ass royally now. Hell, I can't get past the scene with Robin jumping off a balcony and flying straight and parallel to the ground to "land" on the side of the rocket (or whatever it is) in the museum. Physics took a vacation I suppose. Oh, and I almost forgot...the completely STUPID beyond ALL reasoning concept of Batman & Robin crashing through glass and leaving their symbols in the remains of the window. That's all fine and good....if you're making a Looney Tunes cartoon. Gahhh!!!!! WHY did you remind me of that atrocious pile of steaming monkey dung?!?! If I want cheesy camp in my Batman movies, I'll watch the 1966 one starring Adam West, Burt Ward, Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith, Lee Meriwether and Frank Gorshin. In fact, I may have to watch that to cleanse my visual palate of this foul remembrance.
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Though I kid, I'm amazed anyone would actually buy the film. It's the only Batman movie, well other than the campy Adam West one, that I don't own. And I never will.
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maybe we pass through alternate realities all the time and just dont realise it. maybe B&R didnt exist until this morning when someone in the future went back and changed something in the past (killed a hitler like dictator when he was a kid playing on his bike in the 1950s or something) and as a result 1997's R rated "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" starring Clint Eastwood cease to exist and was replaced with Schumys B&R and out collective memories were altered to accommodate the timeline changes BTTF style
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And, like my first job, I hope it will be the worst.
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on what not to do......but then Green Lantern was made, so I guess fuck it!
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July 15, 2012, 3:23 p.m. CST
Wikipedia: Schumacher blamed AICN's bad journalism for the negative word of mouth
by Koborover
Thanks so much Harry for hurting its domestic box office.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF9HJ8YBrAs
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It takes a really bad movie for me to not like it while watching it on the silver screen and this is the one movie I despised right from my seat in the theater. Awful Arny, however was not the problem or I should say he was the least of the problems. So therefore the pic is fairly cool. That's probably the best thing I've ever said about anything related to this crap of a movie.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A65R9EfCco4&feature=relmfu
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July 15, 2012, 3:56 p.m. CST
Batman and Robin Is Atrocious, Batman Forever Is Underrated
by HateThaNet
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That's one good thing I can say about it.
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We rented it on DVD...and I couldn't believe how bad this film was. It was the film that -- for a while -- killed the Batman.
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LOL that great hahahahahhaha. if thats the case we have Harry to thank for Batman Begins well done Harry! i went into B&R not expecting anything mindblowingly awesome - but something on a par with Batman Forever - kind of enjoyable (at the time in the 1990s when there was no Nolan stuff obviously) especially with Arnie in it (i remember when i heard Arnie had been cast thinking that it was especiallly awesome that Arnie was in a batman movie - one of those crazy things you never imagined would happen - at the time) anyway i came out the theatre thinking it was the worst film id ever seen. then a week or so later i saw The Lost World....and dont forget the following summer (Godzilla, Avengers, Lost in Space) jeeze they really forced out some shit in the 90s - and i went to see it all! whos laughin? not me
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July 15, 2012, 4:34 p.m. CST
Can we just have every single 35mm print, VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray, Betamax of this monstrosity burnt?
by Joe
It's not even a so-bad-it's-good like Superman IV. It's just plain appalling. I wonder what Joel Schumacher makes of Nolan's films. "Too smart! Too much goddamn plot! I know what audiences want! They want fun puns, nipples on suits, neon colors, and a theme song by a singer who's very hip and now."
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July 15, 2012, 5:11 p.m. CST
The sad thing about this movie is they took influences from The Animated Series.
by iamnicksaicnsn
How they could look at The Animated Series and produce this abortion is beyond me...
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July 15, 2012, 5:13 p.m. CST
I always remember Clooney just looking really uneasy and awkward through the whole thing ...
by GINGE_MUPPET
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July 15, 2012, 5:22 p.m. CST
Schumacher and Goldsman's idea of characterization: Two-Face a cackling moron, Riddler a cackling moron, Mr Freeze a cackling moron, Bane a cackling moron
by Joe
A pity we never got to see his take on Scarecrow in Batman Triumphant. I'm gonna out on a limb and say he'd have been a cackling moron.
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At least the Riddler and Two Face had the potential to be great scary villains.
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July 15, 2012, 5:42 p.m. CST
Forever is very underrated. A lot of it's hate was completely amplified after the the fact...
by Jay
due to the awfulness of Batman & Robin and the hate towards Shumacher. People unfairly lump both films together. I'm not saying Forever was some sort of instant classic upon release, but it was not hated like the forum dwellers have retconned it to be. Even looking at RT.com, all the reviews are from the DVD releases and they all mention B&R. No ones able to separate them. Despite being a huge fan of Burtons two films (And still am) I remember seeing Forever and loving that they went back to the more campy origins from the Adam West series. They actually used color in their set designs! Robin literally says "holy rusted metal Batman!" The movie is clearly tongue in cheek. It was fun. And it had some amazing set design and model work. If you can enjoy the Adam West movie/series, I can't possibly fathom how you can't enjoy Forever. It's the same style of Batman. And Shumacher wasn't snorting anything during B&R, he was just trying to sell toys.
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July 15, 2012, 5:51 p.m. CST
@alienfanatic, yeah I'm that Arnold fan, but it only cost me 1.99 at Rasputin...
by ThulsaBoom
...I payed more for Raw Deal.
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July 15, 2012, 6:04 p.m. CST
I was the guy screaming blasphemy at the premiere of Batman Forever, by the time Batman & Robin debuted, I knew what was coming...
by ThulsaBoom
...hence, less disappointment. I love Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine, Man in the Moon, Truman show, and in a few of his "broader" comedies, where he is cast well (Dumb & Dumber, The Mask), but he was absolutely not welcome in Batman, IMHO. Tommy Lee Jones was OK, but totally shortchanged, Val Kilmer was the worst Batman and Bruce Wayne by a country mile (he made Clooney seem charismatic, and Adam West seem haunted, by comparison), and for the first time in the series the love interest was completely uninteresting. Forever took the first step backwards towards the campy Batman TV series and Batman & Robin just followed suit. Slamming Batman & Robin out one side of their mouth, while defending Batman Forever out the other side, is comical in it's naivete.
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Given the scale of acting talent lined up across the board, it feels like it should have been impossible to end up with a bad move. They were clearly trying to capture the vibe of the 60s tv series, but it just didn't work. The 90s cartoon batman was exploring all these characters in a far more interesting way.
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July 15, 2012, 6:11 p.m. CST
Not me "bantuwind" Batman Forever was the first movie I actually was pissed at seeing afterwards
by MRJONZ72
At least I had the animated series. I tried to get others to watch it but most shruged it off as some corny kids show. Except for my dad. He watched a couple of episodes and was highly impressed and couldnt understand how the animated series was better than the movies.
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I recall summer of 1997, the Batman & Robin commercials or trailers could not hide the fact the something shitty this way comes. Whether intentional or over looked it had that cheap Vegas-y faux cheesy Ice Capades crappy designs in every frame of film. The Batmobile and bat suit even looked ghetto fabulously pimped up. Forget nipples on the bat suit. How do you make the iconic Batmobile something only Liberachi would drive on stage. Arnold canned hammed it to a near Nazi like frenzy. "Get da heroooos!!!" Georgia Clooney acts in this like somebody punched him in the head. I guess he read the script after he signed up then said "oh damn, I have to show my face in this turd!" Mr Clooney can always get a laugh when he calls any role he takes now as an apology for Batman & Robin. What actor admits that shit ? I never wasted $8 to see it in theaters. Hell, I think it was several years before I saw it free on TV. Through the course of time what did this eye sore give us? Hopefully three great back to back Batman films from Christopher Nolan's Batman series.
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I really like Clooney as Wayne/Bats. <p> And call me any name you wish, but I thought Arnie was actually doing some pretty fine acting (for Arnie) as Mr. Freeze.<p> I haven't watched it since it first came out, so I can't remember all the bad things. I wonder if it's worth a revisit , or if my brain will melt.
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July 15, 2012, 6:45 p.m. CST
Harry may be infamous for trashing Batman and Robin, but he also loved Godzilla and Armageddon...
by Turd_Is_Floating_Underneath_The_Gravy
The writing was on the wall, even in the late 90's. Anyway, Batman and Robin was horrible but Arnold could have been a great supervillain under the right guidance. He would have been awesome as Doc Ock in Cameron's Spider-Man. And maybe even as a more serious version of Bane, had they opted to use him for a lead villain in those days. Certainly would have been a more convincing steroid-jacked monster than 5' 7", 130 lbs soaking wet Tom Hardy.
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On the commentary track for this one, Shumacher said that Hasbro had their reps on set giving him designs as it was being filmed. He said the studio wanted it to be a big advertisement for selling toys. It's funny how after this one flopped, DC's properties all went to Mattel instead.
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Schumacher is an eternal asshole.
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Which is at least honest. This was the only one of the pre-Nolan Batman films without a blatant love interest. If he had been in a faithful adaptation, Clooney could have done a great job, which is a shame.
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Didn't even ask for a refund
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July 15, 2012, 7:32 p.m. CST
Why hasn't Akiva Goldsman gotten his fair share of the blame on this board?
by successor
Almost nobody so far has mentioned his horrendous script. It's Schumacher this and Schumacher that. And yes, Schumacher deserves much of the blame for this abomination. But what about Akiva Goldman? He's the moron who wrote that utterly awful script. Goldsman cannot write for shit. Period. He's the one who put those stupid puns in Clooney, Schwarzenegger and Thurman's mouths. And he's the one who wrote the retarded plot full of enough holes to resink the Titanic. Yet he gets a free pass for this turd and for Lost in Space and goes on to write more shitty movies. And I read part of his aborted Batman vs. Superman script. Guess what? It's the same campy shit from Batman & Robin. Thank goodness it got canned before we had another comic book abortion on our hands. How does Goldsman still have a career? Seriously? Somebody tell me. Does he have blackmail photographs of some producer in flagrante delicto with a horse? Or is he somebody's cousin? How the fuck does he still work when better writers can't even get a job? Batman & Robin should've killed his career stone dead, yet he keeps on going like some warped version of the Energizer Bunny. If you want to blame Schumacher for Batman & Robin, then fine. But at least blame Goldsman too. He sure as hell deserve it.
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July 15, 2012, 7:34 p.m. CST
Turd is Floating - id like to see you say that to Hardy's face
by Smarty_Feldman
You ignorant fucktard
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July 15, 2012, 7:54 p.m. CST
This movie should have ended the careers of everyone involved, but Clooney and Akiva Goldsman won Oscars after this. There is no justice.
by hank henshaw
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July 15, 2012, 7:58 p.m. CST
Tommy Lee Jones was easily the worst thing about the Schumacher era
by HarveyManfrenjenson
At least the other actors intermittently seem to be having fun, in a prancing-around-in-silly-costumes kind of way. Tommy Lee turns in a dour and charisma-free performance-- an excruciating example of an actor who clearly thinks he's too good for the room and that he's doing everyone a great favor by showing up and collecting a paycheck. It's absolutely consistent with his off-screen persona, at least at the time that this movie came out. He was constantly snapping at interviewers and implying that their questions were too stupid to be worthy of his attention. (Yes, Tommy Lee, we know you attended Harvard back in the day-- what of it?) Plus, I've read that he can be snide and condescending towards fans. Ironically, some of his best roles have been comic-book roles-- albeit ones in which he doesn't have to "stretch" much from what appears to be his naturally gruff persona. OK, there was No Country for Old Men, have to admit he was good in that.
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his original take on Two-Face was less manic and goofy. Then the studio came down and told Schumacher they wanted Jones to essentially come off as the Joker. To further stress his point, Rick Baker's original Two-Face makeup, which was gruesome and closer to what we saw in TDK, was under studio order fagged up into the purple half-a-Madball lameness that ended up on the screen.
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and everyone who saw it shouldve been tracked down and refunded warners shouldve written it off and burned all the prints
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...all I see is a pic of a giant piece of shit. It looks like they were eating copious amounts of cheese. Zing!!!
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July 15, 2012, 9:18 p.m. CST
What's the statute of limitations on soul murder? Can we still sue for damages?
by wcolbert
I've never been the same since... a cool million ought to help ease the pain. but you also have to kill every person involved in it for true justice to be done. Except Arnold. Arnold just...does what he does. This movie would have sucked even if they'd cast some oscar award winner as freeze and he'd given the performance of a lifetime - because everything around him would have been a flaming sea of feces.
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July 15, 2012, 10:37 p.m. CST
I was in 7th grade when this came out, enjoyed "Forever." I was actually EMBARRASSED sitting in the theater for this.
by Chris
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Oh Jesus, what a clusterfuck of a movie. It says a LOT that it took eight years to get another Batman movie released after this.
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I am a shift worker and they often play reruns of the 60s tv series late at night. The entire plot for this movie seems to have been lifted from one of the Freeze episodes. The whole freezing Gotham using the telescope thing. This movie is WAY better the Forever. All Tomy does is mimic The Joker and Riddlers riddles are almost non existent and very lame. Jim Cary was terrible in it. As a proud fag I have to say B&R certainly plays to its audience. The nipples, George, the other cute guy who hasn't been in much since. They can rescue me in neon lighting any day! Alicia was fucking terrible but Arnie and Uma were fun. Lighten up guys its a great kids / gay movie : Z
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Apparently there was a lot of public support for the idea, so much that Schumacher heard and gave it serious consideration. In the end, the studio wanted Arnie and the rest is history.
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July 15, 2012, 11:21 p.m. CST
mrjonz72 : i'm with you and I screamed "FUCK YOU' at the "Holy Rusted Metal" line
by MGTHEDJ
I refused to see B&R in the theatre, and I've never seen it all the way through to this day. I can't last 15 minutes. The fight over toys goes beck to Batman Returns, when the toy makers and junior executives walked onto the set during the Penguin's umbrella-helicopter scene to talk about toys.. Burton ran them off the set. Time-Warner fired him for it. Those particular fucking losers were the ones who micro-managed Wild Wild West while the Bros. W were left alone in Australia to do The Matrix. They then got their hands on Martix 2 and 3, forcing Jada Pickett Smith to be cast in the female lead over Gina Torres. In 2011 they were the ones who did Green Lantern, and tried to do Justice League a few years ago. Oh, the same losers also ruined I Am Legend with that lame 3rd act and the CGI rendered infected humans.-----later-----m
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July 15, 2012, 11:24 p.m. CST
I do enjoy the bonding experience this movie has actually given us
by GLENN_THE_TOOL
We get to look back at how this film pissed us off, how much we hated Schumacher for it, and how much we're kinda thankful it happened since it lead to Nolan's films. And those who didn't hate B&R or thought Forever was the worse of the two provide some rather rational reasons. I think we've all had the benefit of the distance allow by passing time to be able to analyze this film and the impact it had and given us the perspective needed to have such a comparatively humane discussion when this could have devolved into a typically furious flame war. It's actually refreshing to see. Oh we can all call it a giant neon-lit piece of shit, but it's something most of us can agree on and relate to each other with. Group hug!
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...but actually the worst thing ever. Yes, I am including things like the Holocaust and Slavery on that list.
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Over half of his film credits post BAR and LIS have been on Howard projects.
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I still remember reading it and thinking "damn right" back in the early days of the internet.
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July 16, 2012, 12:54 a.m. CST
Weird that Schumacher still gets blamed for this when it was clearly a studio fuckup
by GilbertRSmith
If it had been someone like Sam Raimi behind the camera, we'd be arguing that there was too much studio interference. Maybe the prudent thing to do would have been to walk away, but he's gotta eat.
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July 16, 2012, 1:02 a.m. CST
If Nolan were hired by the same studio at the same time he would have made the same movie
by GilbertRSmith
Hired-gun directors with no power whatsoever were the norm for superhero movies in that era. Raimi, Nolan, Favreau, these guys can make great superhero movies because they're ALLOWED TO. Schumacher's Falling Down is proof enough that he had a good Batman movie in him, but it was never going to happen in the toys and Happy Meals era of superhero flicks.
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You are all a bunch of bandwagon haters. Simple as that. This was a vivid, stylistic version of the cartoon from the '60s/'70s which was in turn a version of the live-action Batman series starring Adam West. I'm baffled at the hate for this movie. This movie is a lot of fun and it fucks the shit out of your eyes (in the best possible way). It's beautiful eye candy and really well done. It's not bad at all. People just can't wrap their heads around "grindhouse" type films. What were you expecting from this film? Seriously.
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July 16, 2012, 1:14 a.m. CST
I think people that hate this movie or almost any movie are closeted rapists
by Xen11
They have to feel superior so they batter, beat, and rape the art to try to subvert the pathetic nature of their lives. It's a vicious cycle.
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got out int he car park, and one of them said "man that was wicked!" from that moment i started wondering why the fuck was i hanging around with that dickhead. That friendship had to die!
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July 16, 2012, 1:38 a.m. CST
A retarded 5 year old with a Barney fixation could've written a better script
by Joe
To think Courier 12 font and lots of paper was wasted on this gigantic steaming pile of shit.
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Come here you sexy bitch! Present to me your fleshy bare cheeks! This "grindhouse" type film is a piece of shit. The fact that you "don't get" the hate for it only proves you to be insanely stupid. Wow. INSANELY stupid. There's just no other explanation for it. So come on you drooling fool! It's time for your raping!
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July 16, 2012, 2:17 a.m. CST
What a bucket of frozen shit of a movie. In that photo it looks like Arnie has metal boobs!
by btc909
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I'd rather be seen as a rapist than a self-proclaimed fan of this fucking disastrous abortion of a film! However - you like it and may God have mercy on your soul because there is nothing to like about Batman and Robin. It has a similar plot from something that you would have got in the Adam West television show - but it doesn't have the wit and style of that. It is over designed to a point of being headache inducing. The narrative is all over the place and let's face it - Poison Ivy (a villain who loves plants and plant life) teaming up with Mr Freeze (a villain who wants to freeze everything thus making it impossible for all but the hardiest of plant life to survive) - well that makes sense. It would be like Hitler teaming up with David Ben-Gurion to fight Churchill. The list of things that make this thing unwatchable is pretty comprehensive. To try and find some balance - I think the scene where Poison Ivy appears at the Charity Ball thing is pretty well designed and shot and Arnie's scenes when talking about his dead wife are pretty well done (and I do chuckle at the bit where he is in his lair in his smoking jacket and slippers) - however when you weigh that up against the bad - Alfred Headroom, the badly filmed action scenes, the terrible script etc - this film sucks. You think you're baffled? Knowing that some people like this fucking rubbish has turned my world upside down. Batman and Robin fans will be rewarded with greater punishments in Hell than rapists...
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July 16, 2012, 3:02 a.m. CST
Hey cushing1967, you want to gang rape xen11 with me?
by Queefer Sutherland
He'd probably enjoy it, though.
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..they would have never have hashed out the modern super hero flick.raimi's spider man 1 finally ended the fucking horror regardless of what you dildo loving fat retards want to believe.
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July 16, 2012, 3:56 a.m. CST
Don`t ever remember hating it that much. It was just ho-hum.
by higgledyhiggles
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July 16, 2012, 4:03 a.m. CST
Ha ha ha ha ha! @rebel-scumb! He wrote Schumacher and swallow - in the same sentence. That's how Schumacher got the job.
by Jeff Myers
A total DOGSHIT of a film.
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although there may have been some talk i dont know if Cameron was ever seriously going to do a proper T3 (expanding the original T2 future war opening into a 2hr movie) - i just imagined what if he had instead of the T2 Universe ride in 96 but a potential Cameron/Scott/Arnie Alien 5 was talked about: http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/427/427459p1.html
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yes i remember that. he dodged a bullet there. as theres no way Singer or Fox wouldve considered him for Prof X after that and Sir Ben Kingsley wouldve made some serious $s in the 00s
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July 16, 2012, 6:20 a.m. CST
just realised - its the 20th and 15th anniversarys of BR and B&R
by CARTMANEZ
out near enough the same time as TDKR. lets party!
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That shot MIGHT be him but according to an interview with Chris O'donnell, he never met Arnie till the press junkets to promote the film. Whenever you see a full body shot of Freeze it's a double and Arnie was rarely on set, to the point he never met some of the actors. That could well be a well made up double, but Arnie apparently did do a couple of mid shots in the Freeze suit.
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both Empire and Total Film give it the big 5/5. so that pretty much makes it the perfect trilogy - like the Clint $'s trilogy
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for what he did with (and to) Batman. And I would estimate a metric ton of coke, at least, made this movie what is. And that would be a vile piece of film.
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July 16, 2012, 7:11 a.m. CST
The worst part was Schumacher took one of the most badass villains of all time, Bane, and
by Grammaton Cleric Binks
turned him into a mute, tag along chunk of nothing.
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July 16, 2012, 7:13 a.m. CST
Agreed on Jones, he was shit because the studio wanted him to be shit. They paid him money to
by Grammaton Cleric Binks
be shit, and he did the job they paid him to. He's a professional, and I soooooooo wish they let him do Two-Face his way. Then we would have had a badass Two-Face way early on.
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Both Blade and X-Men came before Spider-Man.
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Burton actually had a pretty elegant arc for Billy Dee Williams over the second film, but the studio wanted a bigger name so Williams got written out and Walkens was inserted instead. Studio interference pretty much chased Burton off at that point, would have been interesting too see how he would have played out the trilogy he was envisioning though.
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July 16, 2012, 8 a.m. CST
And I never worked again after this. I work for a catering service. I
by UltraTron
couldn't get any work with this movie on our resume. I had to remove it. People would just see the name and instantly not hire anyone who worked on this movie. I was like- guys I brought food to the set. How the hell can you blame me?!
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July 16, 2012, 8:01 a.m. CST
I found out years later that they blamed me for keeping the crew alive with food.
by UltraTron
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What a bunch of cunts.
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July 16, 2012, 8:35 a.m. CST
Alternate 1995 Batman Forever directed by Burton, written by Sam Hamm
by CARTMANEZ
starring Keaton as batman with Robin Williaims as The Riddler, BDW as Harvey, Leonardo DiCaprio as Robin, Sharon Stone as Chase with cameos from Jack Nicolson (the joker in a dream sequence) and Christopher Reeve (as Clark Kent)
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I've been watching a Batman retrospective this week. So far, I've watched Burton's two Batman films, several episodes of the animated series, and I'll even work in some of the better episodes from the 1966 series. But I refuse to watch either Schumacher film. Both are the epitome of what is wrong with Hollywood: all style, no substance and devoid of good ideas. Burton's films are sloppy in the plotting, but they are full of fantastic tidbits that give us insight on who Batman/Bruce Wayne is, and the world he inhabits. Schumacher's movies are pure glitz and trash. The only redeeming thing about them is that Val Kilmer does well with a script devoid of any pathos or honesty, and Nicole Kidman has never been sexier. Otherwise, these films need to be chucked into the trash compactor that was on the first Death Star.
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July 16, 2012, 9:04 a.m. CST
actually the studio probably wouldve insisted on a bigger name for Dent
by CARTMANEZ
ok Kilmer as Dent and the tone of the film wouldve obviously been way more dark, serious - like Bat89 with no quirky german expressionist stuff then that wouldve been it - no 4th film. until a Warners did an R rated The Dark Knight Returns with Clint Eastwood in 1999
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It's genuinely bad because the budget was decided on(25 million), and then was slashed in half after the cast and crew were paid. So there was no money to finish the picture properly, so the technicians(some of them the best in the business when they have some money to work with) literally had to cut and paste the f/x and flying scenes. But, unlike Schumacher's films, there was sincerity in the performances, and a few good ideas about Superman. Double the budget and let Harrison Ellenshaw unleash his artistry instead of taking every dime from his f/x budget, and this would have been a much better film(maybe even good).
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July 16, 2012, 9:30 a.m. CST
KEWL OFF....BURD BOYYY!!!! HAHAHAHA!!! Classic film. Classic lines.
by Dogmatic
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July 16, 2012, 9:32 a.m. CST
Ya know...what pisses me off more than the film itself is the fact that...
by Dogmatic
the reason why it is the way it is is b/c Joel had a complete lack of respect and saw a great character like Batman as his excuse to create the campiest movie ever....shame!
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July 16, 2012, 10:31 a.m. CST
And the producers needed a good kicking for demanding it be a big toy ad.
by Mr Nicholas
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July 16, 2012, 10:36 a.m. CST
when kids go see Nolans films are they thinking 'i hope they make all this cool stuff into some fucking toys!'
by CARTMANEZ
hey pops take me to the toy store after this is finished and buy me all the fucking toys you fucked up loser
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July 16, 2012, 10:40 a.m. CST
in summer 97 were kids screaming 'WHHHAAAH I WANNA MR FREEZE PLAYSET WHHHHAAAAAH'?
by CARTMANEZ
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July 16, 2012, 10:41 a.m. CST
WHHHHHAAAH I WANT A BATBOY IN LEATHER FLAPDOWNS FIGURE! WHHHHAAH
by CARTMANEZ
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is that it ushered in the idea that you could reboot franchises around completely different talent and entirely new takes on the material. That was fairly inconceivable circa '97, but B&R pretty much forced it into existence out of necessity. Without Batman & Robin being as bad as it was, we never would have gotten the Nolan films.
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July 16, 2012, 11:25 a.m. CST
but wasnt Burtons Superman Lives in 1998 intended to be a reboot of the reeve films?
by CARTMANEZ
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is that whenever they tried to do that, they couldn't get traction on the production because the money guys and everybody else were so obsessed with the past and replicating what worked and actually completely retooling the idea when people still had fondness for the originals seemed like it wouldn't work. In fact, we still have the same issues with Superman to this day with people swearing on Bibles it can't be done without using a 35 year old score. But the one/two punch of the success of a completely foreign Batman in 2005 and the utter failure of a relatively-the-same Superman in 2006 has pretty much but the nail in the coffin of nostalgia. You bring new ideas and new concepts to the character and properties, and build your own production, or you go home. What worked in 1977 will not work xeroxed out in 2012.
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I bet half of you assholes haven't even seen the movie. I mean yeah, it does suck, but I'm not even seeing any original opinions on this, just repeating the chorus line. Why say anything if all you have to say has already been said?
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July 16, 2012, 3:25 p.m. CST
My take: Schumacher knew he couldn't make a real Batman movie, so he tried to do an Adam West/Silver Age tribute
by GilbertRSmith
...Sadly, the mix of a huge budget and goofy ideas didn't work out so well. This kind of stuff is charming with the cheaper sets of Adam West's show and the goofy artwork of the Silver Age comics. When it was the Avatar of its time, it just comes across as wasteful.
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July 16, 2012, 3:26 p.m. CST
Big budgets always tend to kill humor and camp, if we want to feel superior to the material, it can't look expensive
by GilbertRSmith
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Jesus Joel, vent your pent-up pretty boy frustration elsewhere, please. And what you did to the Opera, you should have picked the Phantom best with his voice, not with his mouth. Grrrrrrrr end of line
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Rape a Batman and Robin Fan No, I have my limits - I'm not sick!
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Yep - shallow..I know.
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he never really recovered from it before B&R there was still a vague hope hed do T3 with Cameron, Ridley Scotts I am Legend, Verhovans Crusade, Conan III etc (see Alternate Arnie movies post near top) after B&R its almost like he went the way of Segal, JCVD and Get Carter/DTox Sly (EOD, 6th Day, Colleteral Damage were all felt like there were getting progesstivly closer to STDVD) even the T3 that ended up being made felt abit like a syfy movie of the week.... its like the element of trust was gone. no one trusted Arnie anymore after B&R - they forgave him for the (underrated) Last Action Hero but B&R was like unforgivable.
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July 16, 2012, 5:25 p.m. CST
Hello! Alicia Silverstone in school uniform and you slag this off? Leave it out Guvnor!
by SmokieGeezer
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July 16, 2012, 8:56 p.m. CST
I have to confess I did like the bombast of these movies... hard to think of movies that felt "bigger" at the time than Batman Forever and parts of this one
by Autodidact
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and it was slashed to $18m (the same as Aliens budget the previous year!)
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Superman 3 is just a cynical fucking turd... not much different than Spider-Man 3... or those fucking Pirates...
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Sure its campy and dumb, but the spirit of fun is there and you have a good time... films like this are boring- dumb stuff over and over for 120 minutes... no thanks.
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