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A freeze is coming.

Gotham is under siege, this time by not one but THREE supervillains: Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Bane.

The dynamic duo is called to the rescue despite the tension growing between them. Complicating things, Barbara Pennyworth, Alfred's niece, has come to Wayne manor to liberate her ailing uncle from a life of servitude. She also has a secret: a wild side that needs to be tamed.

When an all-out assault is declared on Gotham by Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy, the caped crusaders rise to the occasion, and this time they have a little help.

If you took the cheesy, camp-filled '60's Batman series and shot it with a huge budget, tons of effects and modern day equipment, Batman & Robin is what you'd get (and is what we got).

Clearly this was the film that killed the Batman franchise. It took eight years for Warner Brothers to recover from the disaster that was this movie.

The story--the "what it's about"--though farfetched, is bearable. It's the dialogue and stupid jokes that catapult this Bat flick a zillion miles into the campy canyon.

On the plus side, if you watch this movie solely for the bright colors, glitter and action, you'll have a good time.

If you're looking for substance, go back to the beginning, namely Burton's '89 triumph.

THERE'S TWO REASONS MOST PEOPLE HATE THIS MOVIE

Reason #1. It really is a bad movie. Reason #2. Everyone thought that this was going to be the last word on BATMAN. But now that we have not only the best Batman movie, released in 2005. It was one of the best movies ever made, period. And you know which one I'm talking about. I promised myself I would avoid using the title in these four film franchise reviews. But lousy as this entry is, once in a while I can watch it for a little stupid fun. It is not the worst comic book movie ever made. (That distinction goes to HULK. Boy... that was just plain dreadful). But it's still bad enough to merit one star. Superman IV The Quest For Peace was not quite as bad as this, but yet the worst of the Christopher Reeve Four film franchise. I think Warner Bros and DC Comics has some secret rule that the fourth movie in a Superhero's series is supposed to be really bad. Maybe it's like that movie The Producers where they're hoping to make more money with a flop than with a hit. But what ever you do, please! Do not compare or associate this with the Adam West TV series. That was far and away one of the greatest tv shows of all time. I should know. I have the entire series on VHS and watch it very often. Don't believe Schumacher when he says he was making this movie to be like the TV series. He was as far from that as a twig is from an automobile. Even the less than spectacular 3rd season is a masterpiece compared to this. Personally I prefer the TV series over any of these four films. But this one by its own existence offers the best argument I can think of to have the Original Batman TV series put on DVD. I can't recommend the 2 disc set like I have with the previous three reviews. That's completely your choice. But I will suggest the 8 disc Anthology where this is included to help you save some money.

Holy Crapfest, Batman!

This film needed a cameo by Adam West and Burt Ward just to let us know that this was a remake of the 60's TV show! If viewed with this in mind it's a fairly desent movie. But it was very painful to watch one of the most powerful movie franchise's of the late 80's & 90's go straight to Hell. Everything that Frank Miller, Anton Furst, Tim Burton, Neil Adams, Denny O'neil and all the rest of the people who resurrected the Batman name was shot down with this abomination of celuloid.

Thank God Warner Bros. had the good sense to let Batman have an eight year rest until Batman Begins was made.