Batman & Robin (film)

In this universe, there is only one absolute ...
everything freezes!
*—Mr. Freeze*

Batman & Robin is a 1997 film and the fourth installment in the comic book-inspired film series initiated by Tim Burton. It starred George Clooney in his only appearance as Batman and Chris O'Donnell returning as Robin. It also introduced Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone), a niece of Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred (Michael Gough).

Written by Bob Kane and Akiva Goldsman. Directed by Joel Schumacher.

Strength. Courage. Honor. And loyalty. On June 20, it ALL comes together...

Batman / Bruce Wayne

Vengeance isn't true power. Anyone can take a life. Giving life is true power, the power you once had.
Hey Freeze, the heat is on!!
Why are all the beautiful ones homicidal maniacs? Is it me?

Alfred Pennyworth

There is no defeat in death, Master Bruce. Victory comes in defending what we know is right while we still live.
I'll cancel the pizzas!
We're going to need a bigger cave.

Poison Ivy / Dr. Pamela Isley

As I told Lady Freeze when I pulled her plug, "This is a one woman show".
There's something about an anatomically correct rubber suit that puts fire in a girl's lips.
It took God seven days to create paradise. Let's see if I can do better.
Men, the most absurd of God's creatures. We give you life... and we can take it away just as easily.
Sorry, my vines have a crush on you!
I'm a lover not a fighter, which is why every Poison Ivy action figure comes with him! [gestures to Bane]
I am Nature's arm. Her spirit. Her will. Hell, I am Mother Nature, and the time has come for plants to take back the world so rightfully ours! 'cause it's not nice to fool with Mother Nature.
Kiss me and I'll tell you.
One kiss...my love...for luck.

Mr. Freeze / Dr. Victor Fries

Freeze in hell, Batman!
Freeze well.
Let's kick some ice!
Grab the gem! Kill the heroes! Yes! Yes! Kill them!
The Ice Man cometh!
Allow me to break the ice. My name is Freeze. Learn it well, for it is the chilling sound of your doom!
What killed the dinosaurs? The Ice Age!
Can you feel it coming? The icy cold of space. At 30,000 feet, your heart will freeze and beat no more.
I hate when people talk during the movie.
Alright everyone! Chill.
In this universe, there is only one absolute: Everything freezes.
No matter what they tell you, Mr. Bane, it is the size of your gun that counts.
You're not sending me to the cooler!
I hate uninvited guests.
If revenge is a dish best served cold, then put on your Sunday finest: It's time to feast!
[freezes Robin] Stay cool, Birdboy.
Dare to be cold, Batman?
Tonight's forecast: A Freeze is coming!
After you're frozen, your icy tomb will plummet back to Gotham.
A laundry service that delivers. Wow!
I hope Mr. Bane can swim.

Dialogue

Death and chance stole your parents. But rather than become a victim, you have done everything in your power to control the fates. For what is Batman if not an effort to master the chaos that sweeps our world? An attempt to control death, itself?

Robin: I want a car. Chicks dig the car.

Batman: This is why Superman works alone.

Robin: I could have made that jump!

Batman: And you could have splattered your brains all over the side of the building.

Robin: You know, in the circus, the Flying Graysons were a team. We had to trust each person to do their jobs. That's what being partners is all about. Sometimes, counting on someone else is the only way you win.

Batman: Your head wasn't even on the job. All you could think about was Poison Ivy.

Robin: You just can't stand it! Maybe she wanted me instead of you. I mean, this is your idea of friendship, isn't it, Bruce? It's your house, it's your rules, it's your way or the highway! It's Batman and Robin, not Robin and Batman, and I'm sick of it!

Batman: Yes, it's my rules. My rules to keep us alive, and if you want to stay in this house, and on this team, you will abide by them!

Robin: This is no partnership. You're never gonna trust me!

Bruce Wayne: [about Robin] Well, he's over-eager. He's impulsive. I can't trust him not to get hurt.

Alfred Pennyworth: Perhaps the truth is you really don't trust anyone.

Bruce Wayne: Oh, don't tell me you're on his side, again.

Alfred Pennyworth: Despite all your talents, you are still a novice in the ways of family. Master Dick follows the same star as you but gets there by his own course. You must learn to trust him, for that is the nature of family.

Bruce Wayne: I trust you, Alfred.

Alfred Pennyworth: But I shan't be here forever.

Poison Ivy: There's just something about an anatomically correct rubber suit that puts fire in a girl's lips.

Batman: Why is it that all the beautiful ones are homicidal maniacs? Is it me?

[Alfred misses the doorbell]

Alfred Pennyworth: I must have dozed off. My sincerest apologies.

Bruce Wayne: Oh, there's no apology necessary, Alfred. It's the first time it's happened in 30 years.

Poison Ivy: Enough monkey business. We've got work to do.

Bane: Monkey work.

Bruce Wayne: Alfred, am I pig headed? Is it always my way or the highway?

Alfred Pennyworth: Yes, actually. Death and chance stole your parents. But rather than become a victim, you have done everything in your power to control the fates. For what is Batman if not an effort to master the chaos that sweeps our world? An attempt to control death, itself?

Bruce Wayne: But I can't, can I?

Alfred Pennyworth: None of us can.

Robin: I can't believe we were fighting over a bad guy!

Batman: Bad? Yes. Guy? No.

Robin: Well I'm totally over her, alright? Positively!

Batman: Me too! Definitely! [pause] Great stems, though...

Robin: Buds, too.

Batman: Yeah, those were nice...

Poison Ivy: Let me kiss you.

Batman: [Runs towards Robin] Stop, don't kiss her. The victim at the airport. Toxins introduced through the mouth.

Robin: What are you talking about?

Batman: Why do you think she's so desperate to kiss us, I'm betting her lips are poison.

Robin: Poison kiss? You got some real issues with women, you know that? You just couldn't stand that she was gonna kiss me and not you. You couldn't stand it that something was gonna be mine and not yours, could you?

[Robin pushes Batman and begins an attack, but Batman avoids Robin's attacks and pushes Robin into the vat of slime as Poison Ivy and Bane have the chance to escape]

Poison Ivy: Exit Bane.

Bane: Exit.

[Robin gets out of the vat of slime and realizes that this is the last straw as he storms out]

Robin: Ivy's right. I don't need your help. I'm going solo.

[Commissioner Gordon shows up and questions Batman of Poison Ivy and Bane's escape]

Commissioner Gordon: What happened? How'd they get away?

[Batman becomes upset of what Robin has said]

[Robin has entered Ivy's lair after she calls him there and meets her in the center]

Poison Ivy: Hi there.

Robin: [Walking towards her] Is your thumb the only part of you that's green?

Poison Ivy: You will just have to find out.

Robin: I want us to be together, but I want to make sure you're serious about turning over a new leaf. [lays next to her on her throne] I need a sign.

Poison Ivy: How about "slippery when wet"?

Robin: Of trust. Tell me your plan.

Poison Ivy: Kiss me and I'll tell you.

Robin: Tell me and I'll kiss you.

Poison Ivy: Freeze has taken the new telescope and turned it into a giant freezing gun. He's about to turn Gotham into an ice cube.

Robin: [Turns to leave] I've got to stop him.

Poison Ivy: [Grabs Robin's shoulders and turns him to face her] One kiss...my love...[whispers] for luck.

[Ivy places a hand on Robin's face and they both lean in, Ivy having an evil smirk, and the two share a passionate kiss]

Poison Ivy: [In mock sadness] Bad luck I'm afraid. Time to die little robin.

Robin: I hate to disappoint you, but...[peels rubber off his lips and Ivy stares in shock] rubber lips are immune to your charms.

[Ivy glares at Robin before leaping forward and shoving him off her throne, into the pond]

Robin: Wahh! [Becomes tangled up in vines that try to drown him]

Poison Ivy: [Leaps from her throne and waves at Robin as she walks off] See ya!

[Ivy walks away. Suddenly, Batman halts Poison Ivy]

Batman: You're not the only one who can set a trap, Venus.

Poison Ivy: Sorry. My vines have a "crush" on you.

[Ivy's vines tangle Batman and pull him up to the ceiling]

Poison Ivy: [Evil Laughing] Gotta go. So many people to kill, so little time!

[Ivy walks away again. Suddenly, Batgirl crashes the sunlight and is ready to fight.]

Batgirl: You're about to become compost.

[Batgirl starts fighting Poison Ivy]

Batgirl: Using feminine wiles to get what you want? Trading on your looks? Read a book, sister. That passive-aggressive number went out long ago. You give women a bad name.

[Batgirl continues fighting Poison Ivy, while fighting, Robin tries to get the vines out, then still vines stuck him. Batman release the vines. Poison Ivy has vines on Batgirl's foot]

Poison Ivy: As I told Lady Freeze when I pulled her plug, this is a one woman show.

Batgirl: I don't think so.

[Batgirl continues fighting Poison Ivy, Poison Ivy got the knife, Batgirl aims her. Poison Ivy tries to stab her, Batgirl kicks the knife off her. Kicks again. And finally she pushed her to the ground.]

Poison Ivy: CURSES!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

[After Poison Ivy defeated by Batgirl, Batman and Robin meet up with Batgirl]

Robin: Freeze is gonna ice the city!

Batman: I know. And you are...

Batgirl: Batgirl.

Batman: That's not very PC. What about Batperson, or Batwoman?

Batgirl: Bruce, it's me, Barbara. I found a Batcave.

Robin: We gotta get those locks changed.

Batman: She knows who we are.

Robin: I guess we'll just have to kill her.

Batman: Yep. We'll kill her later, we'll have work to do. Come on.

[Batman, Robin and Batgirl exit Ivy's lair and went after Mr. Freeze and Bane.]

[Batman, Robin and Batgirl climb up into the chamber, and Mr. Freeze and Bane are not there]

Robin: No sign of the snowman.

Batgirl: Maybe he melted.

Batman: No, he's just hibernating.

[Batman, Robin, and Batgirl shoot the Bat-Grapple into the ceiling and swing into the controller]

Batman: These heaters will thaw them.

[Batman heat up the scientists. He went past the telescope.]

Batgirl: I hope you've got about ten million more of those little toys.

Robin: Eight more minutes and a city full of Gothamites are ice cubes forever.

Batman: Sunlight could reverse the freezing process.

Batgirl: Sunrise isn't for five hours.

Batman: Here.

Robin: But it's morning in the Congo.

Batman: If we could relay the sunlight-

Robin: From the other side of the Equator-

Batgirl: It'll take the satellites about a minute to re-align, but...damn!

Robin: Damn? Damn's not good.

Batgirl: Those targeting mirrors are frozen. The sun beam won't work.

Batman: Alright, I'll set the telescope. You thaw the mirrors.

[Robin and Batgirl race out of telescope. They begins to thaw the mirrors. Batman get on the main console and types on the keyboard on the world "Targeting". Satellites are tracking through, Back at Observatory. Robin and Batgirl continues to thaw the mirrors. The digital clock reads "11:53" to "11:54", Batman aims the telescope. Suddenly, Mr. Freeze surprises Batman.]

Mr. Freeze: Tonight's forecast...a freeze is coming!

[Freeze grabs Batman and hurls the caped crusader up over his head onto the telescope barrel, using his free hand to yank the telescope control joystick. The telescope tilts sharply downward.]

[Batgirl disables Mr. Freeze's freeze-ray]

Robin: You're pretty good at this, little girl.

Batgirl: Well, watch and learn, little boy.

[Batman approaches a defeated Mr. Freeze laying on the wreckage of the telescope]

Batman: I'm taking you back to Arkham Asylum.

Mr. Freeze: [weakly] Go on. Kill me too. Just as you killed my wife.

Batman: I didn't killed you wife.

[Batman shows him a record of Poison Ivy fighting Batgirl]

Poison Ivy: As I told Lady Freeze when I pulled her plug, this is a one-woman show!

[Mr Freeze shouts in anger at his ex-partner's betrayal]

Batman: But, she's not dead. We found her, restore her. She's still frozen alive. Waiting for you to find a cure.

Mr Freeze: She lives?

Batman: [nods] Yes. But vengeance isn't power. Anyone can take a life. But to give life... that's true power. A power you once had.

Mr. Freeze: [relieved] She's alive.

Batman: So I'm asking you. Victor Fries... help me save another life. Show me how to cure Macgregor's Syndrome Stage 1. And maybe you can also save the life of the man your wife once loved. He's still inside you, Victor. Buried... deep beneath the snow. Will you help me... Doctor?

[Mr. Freeze astonished at what he said takes out two vials for the cure for Macgregor's Syndrome stage one from his armor]

Mr Freeze: Take two of these... and called me in the morning

Batman: [receives the vials] I'll have your wife moved to the lab at Arkham. You'll be able to continue you research there.

[Poison Ivy has been defeated and imprisoned in Arkham Asylum; dazed, she plucks at a flower]

Poison Ivy: He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me...

[Mr. Freeze appears in the cell]

Mr. Freeze: NOT! Surprise, I am your new cell mate. And I'm here to make your life a living hell. Prepare for a bitter harvest. Winter has come at last.

About Batman & Robin (film)

Joel [Schumacher] would sit on a crane with a megaphone and yell before each take, 'Remember, everyone, this is a cartoon'. It was hard to act because that kind of set the tone for the film. ~ John Glover

There was a lot of pressure from Warner Bros. to make *Batman & Robin* more family-friendly. We decided to do a less depressing Batman movie and less torture and more heroic. I know I have been criticized a lot for this, but I didn't see the harm in that approach at all. ~ Joel Schumacher

I just thought the last one had been successful, so I thought I was just going to be in a big, successful franchise movie. [And] in a weird way I was. Batman is still the biggest break I ever had and it completely changed my career, even if it was weak and I was weak in it. It was a difficult film to be good in. I don’t know what I could have done differently. But if I am going to be Batman in the film Batman & Robin, I can’t say it didn’t work and then not take some of the blame for that.
- George Clooney "George Clooney Calls ‘Batman & Robin’ a ‘Difficult Film to Be Good In" by Ben Moore, Screen Rant, (09.30.2011).

I was in a rubber suit. I had rubber nipples. I could have played him straight but I didn’t. I made him gay.
- George Clooney "Cloony claims his Batman was gay Barbara Walters interviews other people", Jen Yamato, Rotten Tomatoes, (March 1, 2006).

Because of my love for the world of Batman, I went to Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin with real anticipation. I got thrilled all over again by the Gothic towers of Gotham City. I was reminded of how cool the Batmobile is (Batman has a new one), and I smiled at the fetishistic delight with which Batman and Robin put on their costumes, sheathing themselves in shiny black second skins and clamping on lots of belts, buckles, shields, hooks, pulleys, etc. (How much does that stuff weigh? How do they run while they're wearing it?) But my delight began to fade at about the 30-minute mark, when it became clear that this new movie, like its predecessors, was not *really* going to explore the bizarre world of its heroes, but would settle down safely into a special effects extravaganza. Batman & Robin, like the first three films in the series, is wonderful to look at, and has nothing authentic at its core.
Listening to Schwarzenegger's one-liners ("The iceman cometh!"), I realized that a funny thing is happening to the series: It's creeping irresistibly toward the tone of the 1960s TV show. The earlier Batman movies, especially the dark "Batman Returns" (1992), made a break with the camp TV classic and went for moodier tones. But now the puns and punchlines come so fast the action has to stop and wait for them. Although we don't get the POW! and WHAM! cartoon graphics, this fourth movie seems inspired more by the TV series than the Bob Kane comic character.
What I'll remember from the film are some of the images, such as the Gotham Observatory, which is inside a giant globe held aloft far above the city streets by a towering statue in the Grecian style. And I will remember Mr. Freeze sadly looking at a little music-box figure of his wife. And Alfred poignantly searching his family tree on his computer. And Ivy's leafy eyebrows.
My prescription for the series remains unchanged: scale down. We don't need to see $2 million on the screen every single minute. Give the foreground to the characters, not the special effects. And ask the hard questions about Bruce Wayne. There is a moment in the film where we learn that the new telescope in the Gotham Observatory can look at any place on Earth. "Just don't point it at my bedroom," Bruce Wayne chuckles. What is he chuckling about?
- Roger Ebert (June 20, 1997). "Batman & Robin". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2008.

Joel [Schumacher] would sit on a crane with a megaphone and scream before each take, 'Remember, everyone, this is a cartoon'. It was hard to act because that kind of set the tone for the film.
- John Glover, Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Part 6-Batman Unbound, 2005, Warner Home Video

It's as if Clooney didn't spend any time figuring out what makes Batman tick. This is a rich man who is so weird and troubled that he dresses like a bat and chases criminals every night for years and years. Would a normal person do that? The rubber suit alone should have been the tip-off. This guy has problems.
- Mick LaSalle (June 20, 1997). "Batman Chills Out". San Francisco Chronicle.

At a gala in Gotham City, the fabulous Poison Ivy makes her entrance in a fluffy magenta gorilla suit made from 450 Santa Claus wigs. Then she peels this off slowly as the band plays her theme song. And out comes the most show-stopping character in Batman and Robin, the fourth and most frenetically gaudy feature in the series. As played by Uma Thurman, Poison Ivy is perfect, flaunting great looks, a mocking attitude and madly flamboyant disguises. Like Mae West, she mixes true femininity with the winking womanliness of a drag queen.
Poison Ivy captures the essence of Batman and Robin, a wild, campy costume party of a movie and the first Batman to suggest that somewhere in Gotham City there might be a Studio 54. Joel Schumacher, director and ringmaster, piles on the flashy showmanship and keeps the film as big, bold, noisy and mindlessly overwhelming as possible. In this context, it's not surprising that even the opening credit sequence is at fever pitch. The movie begins with Batman and Robin caught up in a crazed hockey match, taking off on a rocket and then surfing through space.
- Janet Maslin (June 20, 1997). "Batman and Robin". The New York Times.

[The costume] was made by Jose Fernandez, who was our brilliant lead sculpture. If you look at Batman and Batman Returns, it was the genius, Bob Ringwood who created those suits, so by the time we got to Batman Forever, the rubber and techniques had gotten so sophisticated. If you look at when Michael Keaton appears in the first suit, you’ll notice how large it is. It was brilliant but the best they could do at the time. By the time Batman Forever came around, rubber molding had become so much more advanced. So I said, let’s make it anatomical and gave photos of those Greek statues and those incredible anatomical drawings you see in medical books. He did the nipples and when I looked at them, I thought, that’s cool.
- Joel Schumacher, "Joel Schumacher Explains How Batman & Robin's Bat-Nipples Came To Be", Germain Lussier, IO9, (6/13/17).

There was a lot of pressure from Warner Bros. to make Batman & Robin more family-friendly. We decided to do a less depressing Batman movie and less torture and more hero. I know I have been criticized a lot for this, but I didn't see the harm in that approach at all.
If there's anybody watching this, that... let's say, loved Batman Forever, and went into Batman & Robin with great anticipation, if I've disappointed them in any way, then I really want to apologize. Because it wasn't my intention. My intention was just to entertain them.
- Joel Schumacher, Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Part 6-Batman Unbound, (2005), Warner Home Video.

A film that boasts 10 Bat weapons specific enough to be mentioned in the press notes (plus four different "Batarangs") yet considers lines like "Freeze, you're mad" to be acceptable dialogue, "Batman & Robin" lives and dies by the aesthetic of excess, the familiar idea that anything worth doing is worth overdoing. You may admire its surface, but it is far too slick for even a toehold's worth of connection.
While it would take more time than it's worth to list all the wrinkles of the film's Akiva Goldsman plot, "Batman & Robin" has the eerie feeling of having no beginning, no middle and no end. Watching it is like stumbling into the world's longest-coming attractions trailer, or a product reel for a visual effects house.
- Kenneth Turan (June 20, 1997). "Batman & Robin". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 2, 2008. Retrieved (November 12, 2008).

External links

Encyclopedic article on Batman & Robin (film) on Wikipedia
Batman and Robin quotes at the Internet Movie Database

*Batman*
Creators	Bob Kane · Bill Finger
Characters	Anarky · Batgirl · Barbara Gordon · Dick Grayson · The Joker
Live‑action television	Batman · Legends of the Superheroes · Birds of Prey · Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt · Gotham · The Penguin
Live-action serials and films	Batman (1943) · Batman and Robin · Batman (1966)
	1989 film series	Batman (1989) · Batman Returns · Batman Forever · Batman & Robin
	*The Dark Knight* Trilogy**	Batman Begins · The Dark Knight · The Dark Knight Rises
	DC Extended Universe	Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
	Batman Epic Crime Saga	The Batman (2022)
Animated television	The Adventures of Batman · The Batman/Superman Hour · The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour · The New Adventures of Batman · Batman: The Animated Series · The New Batman Adventures · Batman Beyond · The Batman · Batman: The Brave and the Bold · Beware the Batman
Animated films	Featuring Batman	Mask of the Phantasm · SubZero · Return of the Joker · Mystery of the Batwoman · The Batman vs. Dracula · Under the Red Hood · Year One · The Dark Knight Returns · DC Super Heroes Unite · Son of Batman · Assault on Arkham · Batman vs. Robin · Batman: Bad Blood · The Killing Joke · The Lego Batman Movie · Gotham by Gaslight · Death in the Family
	With other heroes	Justice League: The New Frontier · Superman/Batman: Public Enemies · Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths · Superman/Batman: Apocalypse · Justice League: Doom · Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox · JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time · Justice League: War · The Lego Movie · Justice League: Throne of Atlantis · Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts · Justice League: Gods and Monsters · Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem
Animated shorts	Chase Me · Gotham Knight