Batman & Robin remains the worst rated big studio adaptation of the DC superhero also known as The Dark Knight. Today, it sits at 11% on the critics’ score at Rotten Tomatoes, with the audience score ranking slightly higher at 16%. However, as despised as it is, it has a strong cult following. Chris O’Donnell and Alicia Silverstone, who play Robin and Batgirl in the film, respectively, have talked about the eventual appreciation of the sequel, with O’Donnell saying, “We were lucky to be in the movie, and it was fun to be a part of it.”
The Batman & Robin stars talked to Entertainment Weekly about the film directed by Joel Schumacher, in which they co-starred alongside George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Uma Thurman. “It is what it is. Some work out and some don’t,” O’Donnell says about the 1997 movie widely considered one of the worst ever made. He continues:
“All of a sudden, you were starting to get the feedback, and you realize it was just going sideways. There was so much hatred of the film when it came out. It was like, ‘Oh my God.’ And you want to do your job and promote the movie…. I remember at one point [director] Joel Schumacher just threw up the flag. He’s like, ‘I’m out. I can’t do it anymore.’ He was so heartbroken and kind of bummed out about it.”
Silverstone adds, “When it came out, I don’t think people liked it very much. But later on, people told me it’s their favorite movie. [At least] all my gay friends. It’s very camp.” Although O’Donnell had made his fair share of movies by 1997, including Batman Forever, Silverstone was only known for Clueless. However, playing the Beverly Hills girl was a far cry from the Batgirl role that earned a Razzie award for Worst Supporting Actress. The actor adds:
“I remember a lot of things not making sense. We would be in a big warehouse and there was so many extras and so much going on…. [George] really was like a big brother in those circumstances. So cool. He stood up for me and was reasonable when things were not.
“And to get the outfit on took so much time and energy. And once you had it on, you couldn’t go to the bathroom for ages. These were not easy costumes. You had to put baby powder all over your body to get it on. The whole thing was a big production.”
‘Batman & Robin’ Was So Badly Received, It Temporarily Halted an Entire Franchise
Once upon a time, early projections for Batman & Robin were good enough for Warner Bros. to greenlight another Batman movie before production even wrapped. Joel Schumacher was hired again for the sequel, which was expected to feature much of the original cast, and had the working title of Batman Unchained. And then, Batman & Robin officially premiered in theaters.
The movie was a box office disappointment, grossing $238 million from a $160 million budget. Critics butchered it quickly, and plans for a fifth Batman movie were immediately canceled. Schumacher was never able to revive the project, and the superhero took a break until 2005, when Christopher Nolan took over. The Nolan trilogy had absolutely no relation to the previous Batman timeline.
- Runtime
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125minutes
- Writers
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Peter Tomasi