Batman and Robin (1997)

Batman & Robin is a 1997 film from the Batman film series starring George Clooney as Batman, Chris O'Donnell returning as Robin and introducing Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone), a niece of Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred (Michael Gough). Gough and Pat Hingle (Commissioner Gordon) are the only two actors to feature in all four of the original Batman films.

The villains in this movie are Poison Ivy, played by Uma Thurman; Mr. Freeze, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger (who received top billing for this film); and Bane, played by Jeep Swenson. This is the final film continuity-wise in the original Batman movie franchise (1989–1997), as the franchise's story was re-imagined with 2005's Batman Begins directed by Christopher Nolan.

Batman & Robin was made on a budget of $125 million and had a worldwide gross of $238 million. The film also opened at #1 at the box office. Despite its box office successes, the film was met with near universal criticism from fans of the comic books, critics and the general public.It was mocked for its poor script, and the film was dubbed Batman on Ice by critics for an opening scene where Batman and Robin glide on skates while battling Mr. Freeze's henchmen.

Despite its moderate box office success, the film was not critically well received. It was mocked for the poor script, and overextending the campy attitude, comprising the smirky one-liners and ludicrous stunts of its predecessor, Batman Forever

Author Mark S. Reinhart said, "The combination of Batman & Robin's terrible script, ridiculous costuming, garish sets, uninspired direction, etc. made the film into the appalling dump heap that it is". 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"

In the featurette entitled "Batman Unbound", Chris O'Donnell compared his experiences on making Batman Forever to his experiences on making Batman & Robin by saying "When I made Batman Forever, I felt like I was making a movie. When I made Batman & Robin, I felt like I was making a toy commercial.

"Yet another reason why the film was ridiculed by critics and fans alike was the pun-ridden dialogue, which mainly came from the two main villains of the film, Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy. Some of the most criticized portions of the dialogue were Mr. Freeze's ice puns, such as 'Mercy! I'm afraid, that my condition has made me cold to your pleas of mercy!' or 'You won't send me to the cooler! What killed the dinosaurs! The Ice Age ! ' and 'Alright everyone! Chill!' Lines such as these were seen as something of a nadir in the Batman universe.

George Clooney was severely embarrassed of himself by the film, saying "I think we might have killed the franchise."