Batman and Robin (1997 movie)

The film Batman and Robin, directed by Joel Schumacher, is considered by some to be less serious than the 1989 Batman movie and sequels Batman Returns (1992) and Batman Forever (1995). It starred George Clooney in his only appearance as Batman and Chris O'Donnell returning as Robin, and introduced Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone),explaining her sudden existence by making her a niece of Alfred's. The villains in this movie are Poison Ivy, played by Uma Thurman; and Mr. Freeze, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger (who received top billing for this film).

The film was neither a critical nor a box-office success. In his review of the film, critic Leonard Maltin found that "the 'story' often makes no sense" and that the "action and effects are loud, gargantuan, and ultimately numbing." Published financial figures indicate that the movie was made on a budget of US$110 million, and had collected a gross US$130 million worldwide as of January 1998. Studios usually expect summer movies – particularly those in a highly successful series – to earn more profit than that, and Warner Bros suspended the series after four films. The film was derisively dubbed Batman on Ice by some critics.

The impact of this film was multifold. All the principal performers involved, especially George Clooney, lost credibility for some time as serious actors. Schumacher found his already debatable artistic reputation ruined, and Warner Bros. was the focus of much derision for producing such a poorly received blockbuster film. A major credited source of this criticism was the website Ain't It Cool News, giving new credibility to the Internet as a rising force in movie marketing.

However, it has since been argued that the film's dismal failure was, in the long run, good for the future of comic book films, as the comedic angle taken to the source material by the makers of the film was so widely vilified that other filmmakers would be encouraged to treat the source material with more seriousness in their own films. This revised attitude has lead to successful and acclaimed film adaptations like Blade (movie), X-Men, Spider-Man, Ghost World and Road to Perdition.

Batman and Robin (1997) is followed by 'Batman Begins (2005).