One of the least relevant things to quibble about when criticizing a film is its title.  Enjoyment is subjective, but what a movie is called does not entirely affect how it is made.  An example you can point to is Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983).  During its shooting, to preserve a modicum of secrecy, it was referred to as Blue Harvest.  Did that alter any of its content?  I would argue that it did not.  At the same time, talking about a movie’s name can also be a lighter way for a Catholic reviewer to be critical without feeling bad about it.  This brings me to today’s selection, Batman & Robin(1997).  I never understood its appellation, particularly when Richard “Dick” Grayson (Chris O’Donnell) had been introduced in its predecessor, Batman Forever (1995).  That one gave us how the original Dynamic Duo came to be.  Batman & Robin does, indeed, have the eponymous pair, but they are joined later by Barbara Wilson (Alicia Silverstone), who becomes Batgirl.  Does she not deserve a place on the banner?  Read the rest of this article and decide for yourself.

Before we get Batgirl, Batman & Robin are called upon to deal with Gotham City’s newest threat, Dr. Victor Fries (Arnold Schwarzenegger), known more familiarly as Mr. Freeze.  You may think he is your run-of-the-mill villain, doing what bad guys do in stealing valuables.  However, because this movie has too many characters and not enough time, we get exposition while they fight.  It has something to do with needing diamonds in order to power his exoskeleton and keep him alive.  Later, we learn he had been a medical doctor working on a cure for a fictional disease called MacGregor’s Syndrome that was killing his wife.  During his work, he fallen into a vat of freezing liquid that turned him blue, emotionally and physically.  After a series of exchanged blows, our heroes are chasing Mr. Freeze.  Robin gets careless, getting frozen solid.  Batman (George Clooney) now must decide between bringing a criminal to justice or saving a friend.  Batman chooses his partner, but it is the beginning of the tension in the film over whether the two can trust each other.  We then cut to the jungles of South America where Dr. Pamela Isley (Uma Thurman) is working on . . . something.  It is somehow related to plants anyway, but like the audience, she is in the dark as to the purpose of her efforts.  Soon, though, she witnesses her colleague, Dr. Jason Woodrue (John Glover), create an evil super soldier using her work called Bane (Robert Swenson).  When Dr. Isley is discovered, Dr. Woodrue attempts to murder her, only to have her emerge from her dirt and venom grave as Poison Ivy.  As always seems to happen in these movies, her transformation has made her a bit crazy, and she decides that it is Bruce Wayne (George Clooney) Enterprises that is responsible for the nefarious work that created Bane and her.  Once she gets even with Dr. Woodrue, Poison Ivy collects Bane and heads for Gotham.  They will not be the only newcomers to the famous comic book urban sprawl.  Arriving at Wayne Manor is Barbara, fresh from boarding school in England.  Or is it college?  The institution is said to be “Oxbridge,” which is a convenient mash-up of Oxford and Cambridge, but it seems that Warner Brothers did not get the rights to use either. Anyway, she is the niece of Wayne Manor’s butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Gough), who wants her to find his brother, Wilfred (not pictured).  This plot thread goes nowhere, by the way, but I bring it up merely for context.  We learn later that she has dropped her studies and is now into underground motorcycle racing, having to be saved by Dick.  Anyway, Batman and Robin’s first introduction to Poison Ivy occurs when they set a trap for Mr. Freeze, putting up diamonds for sale.  The villainess crashes a gem auction, and is uses her pheromones on Batman and Robin, getting them to fight each other for her attentions.  Before she can deliver her deadly kiss to them, Mr. Freeze appears.  More fighting ensues, with the heroes once again giving chase.  Batman disables Robin’s motorcycle at a particularly long jump.  The action angers the younger crime fighter, but Batman ends up capturing Mr. Freeze.  However, Poison Ivy decides that Mr. Freeze makes a powerful ally, and with Bane’s help, arranges for a jailbreak.  Once more, this brings Batman and Robin into the fray, but they are unable to prevent Mr. Freeze from retrieving the precious stones he needs to stay alive and be deadly to others.  His one condition for helping Poison Ivy is that she retrieves the frozen body of his wife.  Instead, she knocks out the power to the cryogenic pod and blames it on Batman.  With this, Mr. Freeze vows revenge not only on the Caped Crusader, but on all of Gotham.  Worse yet, Poison Ivy convinces Robin that she is in love with him.  When Batman calls Robin away, the junior partner gets angry, accusing his mentor of jealousy.  They have to put aside their differences for two reasons.  First, Alfred is suffering from MacGregor’s Syndrome, and everyone loves Alfred.  Secondly, Mr. Freeze is threatening to subsume the entire city in a block of ice.  First, though, they take care of Poison Ivy, giving Robin the proper guards against her charms.  They are also joined by Barbara, who learns that Alfred had planned on her becoming Batgirl and had prepared a suit for her.  Once Poison Ivy is stopped, they turn their attention to Mr. Freeze.  Their teamwork not only stops the cold one, but reverses the icing.  Once Mr. Freeze is defeated, Batman reasons with the bad guy and obtains the cure for MacGregor’s Syndrome for Alfred.  Once it is applied to the domestic servant, they are free to take on crime as a team.

So, as you can see, the team in Batman & Robin is three, not just the title two.  As mentioned in the introduction, this is a relatively minor point, but indicative of the overall lack of quality.  I mean, at one point Batman pulls out a credit card.  That probably should not happen in a super hero film, particularly one about the Dark Knight.  As any knight would tell you, they must be serious about their craft.  Hence, there is one good aspect to the film that this Catholic reviewer can address.  Because it is a difficult bit of cinema to get through, I cannot remember exactly who says this, but the point is made that there is no defeat in death.  This is a line with a great deal of significance for a Catholic.  There are many Biblical examples that discuss this concept, but the one I will use today is 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, “And when [that] which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and [that] which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about: Death is swallowed up in victory. (55) Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”  (56) The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. (57) But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  This is the ultimate reason Jesus came into the world, to conquer death and share with us that victory.  Sin is akin to death, and Faith in Him assures that, though we will fall into error, it will not have the last word.  It takes Faith, though, because this will not happen without our conscious cooperation.  It is in this last aspect that the actions of superheroes fit.  Batman and Robin can behave as they do not just because they are fighting for justice, but because they have the belief and courage to do the right thing.  It is not always easy, for us and them, but if you have the confidence of God’s reward for choosing good, you will always be successful.

What I have successfully done is complete the standalone movies about the Caped Crusader with this review of Batman & Robin.  Titles aside, I have a vague recollection of seeing this in the theater and thinking for the first time in my young life, wow, that is not a good movie.  In other words, gone were the days of uncritical film viewing.  Gone, too, is this franchise until society circles back once more to the character.  There is no reason to look back on this one.