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2009-06-07 06:24:27 UTC
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/Batman
In his 1989 interpretation of Batman, heavily influenced by Frank
Miller's graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, Tim Burton sought to
restore the original vision of creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger.
Sequels included Batman Returns, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin.
The film based on the campy Adam West TV Show
Batman The Movie (1966) The Dynamic Duo's greatest foes team up to
kidnap the ambassadors at the United World Building.
The first two films were directed by Tim Burton:
Batman (1989) - Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) has been fighting crime
in Gotham as Batman for some time when this film starts, but is an
enigma to a city unsure of what he is. The plot here chronicles his
battles with Jack Napier/The Joker (Jack Nicholson). In terms of
popularity, this film is the best regarded of this film series.
Batman Returns (1992) - Three villains: Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin
(Danny DeVito), Selena Kyle/Catwoman (Michelle Pfieffer), and Max
Shreck (Christopher Walken). Between the first two and Batman, there's
plenty of psychological dysfunction and nightmare fuel to go around.
While Returns was a substantial hit, many parents, critics, and
whatnot objected to the grim, fetishistic, downbeat film (the
marketing caused part of this problem, attracting too many families
with children). Tim Burton was no longer interested in directing, so
Warner Bros. decided not only to bring in a new director — Joel
Schumacher — but to make the subsequent films with less gruesome
violence and an overall more upbeat, colorful approach. Burton was a
producer in name only for Batman Forever and had no involvement
whatsoever in Batman and Robin.
Batman Forever (1995) - Batman (now Val Kilmer) is battling Harvey
Dent/Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones), a struggle that gets tougher when
Edward Nygma/The Riddler (Jim Carrey) enters the picture, as both have
personal vendettas against the Bat. Batman finds an ally in orphaned
acrobat Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell), who discovers Bruce Wayne's
secret and becomes Robin with the initial intent of taking revenge
against Two-Face, who killed his family.
Batman And Robin (1997) - The titular duo get help from Barbara Wilson/
Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone) as they face off against Victor Fries/Mr.
Freeze (Arnold Schwartzenegger), Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy (Uma
Thurman), and her sidekick Bane (Jeep Swenson). Batman is now played
by George Clooney...who's since admitted he "wasn't very good." The
film was so widely reviled that it has a page of its own.
While this set of films was much more colorful then the first two, in
Forever Batman was still a very serious individual. Chris O'Donnell
remarked that in making Forever, he felt that he was making a film,
but filming Batman And Robin was like making a toy commercial. Indeed,
this last film was instantly regarded as a disaster, having turned the
Batman universe into a Day-Glo, pun-heavy party near-devoid of
meaningful characterization and/or serious performances,
substituting... well, merchandise. It did well at the box-office
(though the massive overhead didn't make it very profitable), but
audience and critical hatred, plus a steep drop in ticket sales after
the first week, forced Warner Bros. to step back and reconsider the
franchise.
The result? Seven years later and several false starts, Batman Begins
arrived as a Continuity Reboot. Specifically, it starts with Bruce
Wayne's journey to make sense of the tragedy he suffered, and how he
thus became Batman. From there it treats him, other characters, and
the world they inhabit with more realism than the extremely stylized
films that preceded it.
Batman also took a few steps to the silver screen before Burton. Two
film serials, titled Batman and Batman and Robin, appeared in 1943 and
1949.
See also Batman The Animated Series, which took some cues from the
Burton films and actually launched the same year as Returns, and went
on to produce a few movies of its own. The notorious Catwoman film in
2004 has no continuity connection with these, but it's worth noting
that the whole idea of doing a film about her alone was inspired by
Pfeiffer's performance in '92.
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This film series includes examples of:
Adaptation Decay: How much depends on the installment and who you ask,
but it's generally acknowledged that it increased as the series went
on.
The Apple Falls Far: Used to horrifying effect, with the Joker's point
of view shot of how far he has to fall to his bone-shattering death on
the pavement of Gotham in the first film. His blood-chilling scream
made it all the more nightmarish. Almost makes you feel sorry for the
bastard.
Beautiful All Along: Dowdy secretary Selina Kyle goes through a near-
death experience, thrashes her apartment, and stitches together a
vinyl suit to become the evil and sexy Catwoman.
Board To Death: The Joker does this to his crime bosses.
Bond One Liner: The Joker gets a few ("Antoine got a little hot under
the collar", "The pen is truly mightier than the sword" - what is it
about this character and writing instruments?).
Camp: The Schumacher films.
Climbing Climax: The first film's climax. The Joker is savvy enough to
call ahead for a helicopter to pick him (and Vicki) up, but his escape
fails big time.
Cool Car: The Batmobile, although the coolness was diminished in the
Schumacher films due to its increasing impracticality. Batman & Robin
also had a Freezemobile.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: Max Shreck in Returns, Edward Nygma in
Forever (showing up Bruce Wayne, who didn't believe in his work).
Deadline News: Some news anchors are discussing the Joker's act of
chemical terrorism on Gotham, when suddenly a female anchor starts
laughing uncontrollably, and then falls over dead with the victims'
characteristic grin on her face.
Disney Villain Death: The Joker and Two-Face both suffered these,
thanks in part to Batman's quick thinking (in the Joker's case, he's
trying to keep him from escaping; in Two-Face's, he's distracting him
from killing the good guys straightaway).
Distressed Damsel: Vicki Vale and Chase Meridian are both this. Selena
Kyle starts as this, but when she becomes Catwoman, she expresses
contempt for the very concept.
Do Not Adjust Your Set: The Joker does this twice in the first film.
Double Entendre: The Schumacher films were infamous for this, though
the Burton movies were not immune.
The Dragon: Bane is this to Big Bad Poison Ivy, possibly due to
Wouldn't Hit A Girl (see below).
Enemy Mime: The Joker's goons masquerade as mimes at the courthouse.
Engineered Public Confession: In Batman Returns:
The Penguin: You've got to admit, I've played this stinking city like
a harp from hell!
And in Batman & Robin, when Batman aired Poison Ivy's confession to
Mr. Freeze:
Poison Ivy: As I told Lady Freeze when I pulled her plug, this is a
one woman show!
Evil Is Sexy: The female villains, especially as they're shy, mousy
types before they "turn". That said, while Catwoman is quite alluring,
Poison Ivy is arguably too campy to be sexy. Sorry, ladies — the male
villains in this franchise tend not to be lookers, though some do have
lovely eye candy hanging off their arms.
Evil Is Stylish: As the trope entry says, these villains have always
been this, so their signature quirks get a lot of screen time. Mr.
Freeze, in particular, really suffers for this.
Evilly Affable / Laughably Evil: The Joker (a given with this
character in any incarnation).
Exactly What I Aimed At: in Batman Returns, regarding the target of a
BatGrapplingHook.
Executive Meddling: This was a big reason the Schumacher films turned
out the way they did, but again, Burton's films weren't immune. In
particular, Burton didn't care for the Prince song score in the first
film.
Fate Worse Than Death: Mr. Freeze repents of his crimes and is allowed
to continue his research while imprisoned at Arkham Asylum, but he
apparently arranges to have Poison Ivy (who tried to kill his wife out
of jealousy) as his cellmate so he can beat the living daylights out
of her for the next 20 years. (But since the villainess is a woman, he
does it offscreen. Sigh.)
Fetish Fuel: Plenty, and quite obviously. The most infamous and
hilarious example would be nipples on the Batsuit in the Schumacher
films.
Foe Yay: As Entertainment Weekly wrote in 1995, Edward Nygma/Riddler's
obsession with Bruce Wayne/Batman makes one wonder...
For Halloween I Am Going As Myself: An inversion, Bruce and Selena
meet at a party as "regular people" and end up discovering each
other's Secret Identity.
Form Fitting Wardrobe: Not so bad in the first two, but then we got
the bat-nipples.
Gatling Good: The 1950 Buicks with pairs of miniguns on their hoods in
Forever.
Girl Of The Film: Bruce Wayne's lovers — Vicki Vale in the first film,
Selena Kyle in Returns (leading to the inevitable dilemma), Dr. Chase
Meridian in Forever, and Julie Madison in Batman & Robin.
A God Am I: The Riddler says this in regards to the power his mind-
reading "Box" devices have granted him. (He then does some
lampshading: "Was that over the top? I can never tell!")
Go Out With A Smile: The Joker's Smilex poison is all about this, and
as the trope entry reminds us, he goes out this way himself.
Going For The Big Scoop: This was Vicki Vale's role in the first
film.
The Grotesque: The Penguin's plan for revenge on Gotham involves
appearing to be merely this.
Hand Wave: Literally - In "Returns," Shreck introduces the Penguin to
his campaign staff for a mayoral run. The Penguin asks him "Elections
are normally in early November; is this not late December?" Shreck
waves his hand and says, "Don't worry about it."
Hulk Speak: Bane.
The Hyena: Joker, of course
If You Kill Him You Will Be Just Like Him: Robin's decision at the
climax of Forever regarding Two-Face is based on this trope — he winds
up captive due to sparing the villain.
Incredibly Lame Puns and Worldwide Punomenon: Batman & Robin is
notorious for the sheer number of puns quipped throughout, many of
which are double entendres to boot.
Ink Stain Adaptation: Batman & Robin is one of the definitive
examples.
Joker Immunity: Averted brutally in the first film with the trope
namer's death — just as he was about to escape.
Large Hams: All the villains to varying degrees, including minor ones
like Grissom in the first film and Dr. Woodrue in the fourth.
Little No: Batman said it after Vicki Vale asked that all products are
poisoned.
Loads And Loads Of Characters: A common complaint regarding the
Schumacher films was trying to work in as many villains and good guys
as possible (apparently trying to top the 3 villains in Returns),
often with little rhyme or reason.
Love Makes You Evil: This, combined with a cryogenics accident, forms
the basis for Mr. Freeze's villainy. Also in Batman & Robin, Poison
Ivy's plot to undo the heroes hinges on using her Camp Vamp wiles to
manipulate them. She also frames the Dynamic Duo for Mrs. Freeze's
death, to push Mr. F to freeze the world (and thus allow her to start
over with plants... and with him).
Mad Artist: The Joker describes himself as a "homicidal artist", he
disfigured his girlfriend Alicia Hunt and failed in his attempt to
disfigure Vicki Vale.
Mad Scientist: The Joker (to an extent as he created the Smilex
poison), The Riddler, Dr. Jason Woodrue (minor villain in Batman &
Robin), Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze.
Merchandise Driven: A big reason the films decided to lighten up was
to make it easier to sell them and related products to families. Some
also think the growing character count was due to this. The fourth
film all but embraced it.
Mythology Gag: In the first film, Vicki Vale had covered a conflict in
Corto Maltese, the name of the disputed territory in The Dark Knight
Returns. The Joker card in Jack Napier's "lucky deck" is patterned
after the card the villain left to mark his crimes in his first comic
book appearance. There are a few of these gags in Forever with regards
to Robin - the "holey rusted metal" bit is a reference to the '60s
show, and when pondering what his superhero alias should be, Dick
Grayson considers "Nightwing".
Never Found The Body: The final shot of Returns reveals Catwoman
survived this way, though she was never brought back to the
franchise.
Nightmare Fuel: The Burton films both have this, especially Returns,
with surprisingly gross behavior from the Penguin (i.e. biting a man's
nose and his death scene). There's also Selena's breakdown and Max
Shreck's demise.
The Other Darrin: The three Batmans. In addition, Billy Dee Williams
played pre-villainous Harvey Dent in the first film, but once the
series got around to Two-Face, it recast the role with Tommy Lee
Jones.
The Problem With Licensed Games: Depends on the movies:
Batman: The Sunsoft games for the NES, Genesis, and Game Boy were well-
received.
Batman Returns: The Konami games for the Nintendo systems were well-
received, while the Sega games for the Sega systems received mixed
reviews.
Batman Forever: The 16-bit games, published by Acclaim, is a
platformer/fighter using Mortal Kombat-style controls. It was met with
mediocre reviews.
Batman & Robin: A driving game for the PlayStation, published by
Acclaim.
The Paid For Harem: Two Face's molls in Batman Forever.
Parody Commercial: After the Deadline News incident listed above, the
Joker hijacks the airwaves with this to reveal himself as responsible
for the Smilex deaths, and to cheerily inform Gotham that more people
are doomed because they're already unknowingly using the tainted
products. ("And hair color so natural only your undertaker knows for
sure!") He even spoofs the Brand X trope to prove his point.
Plucky Comic Relief: Alexander Knox, a newspaper reporter who
collaborates with Vicki Vale, in the first film. He serves as a Heroic
Bystander at one point, though he gets sidelined quickly.
Rage Against The Reflection: As part of the buildup to the reveal of
the Joker's face, he asks for a (hand) mirror to see the results of
the surgery he got from a Back Alley Doctor. The audience doesn't see
the reflection, but when he does, he evilly laughs for the first time
as he smashes the mirror. (This was later parodied in The Simpsons
episode that was the trope namer for Lisa Needs Braces, when she got
the ridiculously old-fashioned ones.)
Ret Canon: The Grapple Gun from the 1989 film has since been adopted
into the comic book canon and other Batman media, including Batman The
Animated Series.
Romantic Plot Tumor: The amount of time focused on Bruce's
relationship with Vicki - who is also desired by Knox and the Joker -
makes this subplot come across as this to some viewers.
The Sadistic Choice: The Riddler poses one to Batman at the climax of
Forever: save Chase or Robin (a choice that also represents his two
personas: Bruce and Batman).
Seinfeld Is Unfunny: The first film was unique at the time. Comic book
movies, and there weren't that many of them then, had never been so
darkly elaborate before. It was also by far the darkest take on Batman
beyond the actual comics. But after both the DCAU take on the
characters and the Christopher Nolan reboot proved to be exceptional
adaptations in their own right, and the lingering bad aftertaste of
Schumacher's sequels tainted the series' reputation, it's harder to
appreciate the Burton films for what they were/are.
Sequelitis: A sterling example of the dangers of this condition.
Batman & Robin is pretty much The Theme Park Version of these
characters.
Something to notice was that the first films of the two directors are
considered much better then their follow-ups. Some people say Batman
Returns is too much Burton and Batman And Robin is too much Schumacher
and meddling by the toy company executives.
Skimpy Holiday Dress: The outfit the Ice Princess wears in Returns.
Sliding Scale Of Idealism Versus Cynicism: The series' progression.
Starts out cynically, arguably gets more so in Returns, then becomes
far more idealistic in the Schumacher films, to the point that Mr.
Freeze is more or less redeemed at the end of Batman & Robin.
Stalker With A Crush: The Joker becomes this due to twisted
infatuation when he sees a picture of Vicki Vale.
That Man Is Dead: Used in the reveal of the Joker's face. "Jack is
dead, my friend. You can call me...Joker. And as you can see, I'm a
lot happier."
The Vamp: Poison Ivy, done way, way, way over the top. She gets a
little moralizing from Batgirl for it, which only makes it worse,
feminism-wise.
They Just Didnt Care: Tim Burton has admitted he doesn't read comic
books, so even if people like his movies, he didn't really care about
the source material.
However, Burton did say in his autobiography that he liked Alan
Moore's Batman graphic novel, The Killing Joke.
Villain With Good Publicity: Max Shreck is an excellent example of
this trope, so much so that he is forced by The Penguin to shape him
into this as well. It works quite well for a while. Edward Nygma also
becomes this when he uses the profits from his alter-ego's crime spree
with Two-Face to start his own company and his "Box" devices become
hugely popular.
Villainy Discretion Shot: As the trope entry notes, this is obvious in
the first film with the Joker, but in the Schumacher films you have to
wonder if and how many people are actually dying due to the criminal
rampage of Riddler and Two-Face, and how many people weren't defrosted
in time after Mr. Freeze froze them.
Well Intentioned Extremist: Poison Ivy.
What Happened To The Mouse: Julie's abrupt departure in Batman &
Robin. It's said that as filmed, Poison Ivy slew her shortly
afterward, but Warner Bros. demanded that bit be dropped as they
feared parents objecting. (Thus, as far as the viewer sees, none of
the principal characters in that film dies, making it unique in the
franchise.)
Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys: True of every incarnation
of Batman, but Jack Nicholson's Joker is the Trope Namer.
Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him: Addressed in Forever: when The Riddler
offers to help Two-Face kill Batman in exchange for money to
manufacture his Box devices, he convinces him that just offing the
hero quickly and simply wouldn't be as emotionally satisfying as
ensuring he was humiliated first by having his true identity revealed
and used against him. Also addressed in Returns when Catwoman points
out to Penguin that simply killing Batman would only increase public
support for him, and that to truly destroy him they need to turn the
people of Gotham against him.
Winter Royal Lady: The Ice Princess in Returns.
Woman In White: Vicki wears a white dress, jacket and shoes at the
climax of the 1989 film. By the end of the scene, she's lost the
jacket and the shoes,and the dress is noticeabley dirtied — What Do
You Mean Its Not Symbolic?
Wouldnt Hit A Girl: Subverted in Returns when Catwoman uses this trope
against Batman to get the drop on him. Batman quickly adapts and tells
her to "eat floor" by their second encounter. Played straight in
Batman & Robin in that only Batgirl actually gets to fight Poison Ivy
(it's been argued it's one of the few reasons, aside from
merchandising, Batgirl's in the film).
Xanatos Gambit: In Batman Returns, the Penguin and Max Shreck try to
manipulate each other for their own ends, Shreck hoping for a mayor he
can keep in his pocket so he can build his power plant, and Penguin
using Shreck to gain access to the lists of Gotham's first born sons.
Their schemes include using criminals to cause chaos in the streets to
make the current mayor seem helpless to deal with the situation,
exploiting the Penguin's origins as a Tear Jerker to get public
support for him to run for mayor, and framing Batman as a kidnapper
and murderer. The first film also involves crime boss Carl Grissom
manipulating his lieutenant Jack Napier into being killed as
punishment for sleeping with Grissom's girlfriend, a plot that
drastically backfires.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BatmanAndRobin
After the success of 1995's Batman Forever, a sequel was inevitable.
Audiences that backlashed against the Darker And Edgier Batman Returns
found the lighter, more comedic tone of Forever to be a welcome change
of pace. So come 1997, what does Warner Bros. do? Secure an all star
cast, turn the camp Up To Eleven, and throw $125 million into the
production of the film. What came out is a film that many people love
to hate, even to this day, and is a frequent appearance on lists
compiling the worst superhero films of all time.
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This film provides examples of:
Alternate DVD Commentary - A Riff Trax has been made, with all the
gags submitted by fans of the site.
Adaptation Decay - Largest was probably Bane's reduction to Giant
Mook.
Camp - Following in the footsteps of the previous film, Batman
Forever, and turned up to 11.
Cardboard Prison - Arkham Asylum, as usual, but this film was
particularly stupid about it. For starters, at least according to the
last scene, it's co-ed.
Card Carrying Villain - Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy.
Character Derailment - Batman, who was shown earlier in the film
series to shun the spotlight and actually destroy photos of himself,
is in this film appearing, in costume, at a date auction.
Clothing Damage - The chemical cocktail that Pamela Isley falls into
not only turns her into Poison Ivy, it tears up her formerly frumpy
clothes to make her sexier (such as her shirt turning into a midriff-
revealing tank) and apparently destroys her glasses.
Continuity Nod - A quick eye will spot the uniforms of The Riddler and
Two-Face in the closet at Arkham Asylum, a nod to their Batman Forever
incarnations. Meanwhile, even a thick-headed idiot will be able to
note the callback to the previous film's famous "Chicks dig the car"
line.
Costume Porn - Perhaps literally.
Joel Schumacher: I had no idea that putting nipples on the Batsuit and
Robin suit were going to spark international headlines. The bodies of
the suits come from ancient Greek statues, which display perfect
bodies. They are anatomically erotic.
Crowning Music Of Awesome - Being a large budget movie, it has quite a
good soundtrack. With an award winning score by Elliot Goldenthall and
songs by the Smashing Pumpkins, R. Kelly, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Jewel,
Goo Goo Dolls, Meshell Ndegeocello, and so on, there's a little
something for everybody.
Cosmopolitan Council - The super serum auction has one of these, each
displaying their own National Stereotype.
Creator Backlash - George Clooney has made it pretty clear that he
hates the film and makes many Take Thats against it. Joel Schumacher
has been apologetic about it, but hasn't really indicated whether or
not he truly hates it rather than just regretting it.
Cut Lex Luthor A Check - Mr. Freeze decides to build a giant freeze
ray out of several dozen very large and valuable diamonds in order to
hold the city hostage for money rather than, well, fencing the
diamonds over the black market.
Designated Girl Fight - It's brought up in the Agony Booth website's
recap that Batgirl's presence may be (besides merchandising) so
somebody could actually fight Poison Ivy, all because of this trope.
Note that the male good guys fight her henchman Bane in the ice cream
factory fight, and are incapacitated in her lair.
Double Entendre - Half of Poison Ivy's dialogue.
Dull Surprise - Alicia Silverstone's reaction to everything.
Efficient Displacement - Early in the film, Robin crashes through a
wall in his motorcycle, leaving a hole in the shape of the movie's
Robin logo.
Erection Rejection - Bat nipples. Good lord. Also, the dead, open eyed
face Poison Ivy always makes when she kisses her victims is a notable
turn-off when it should be the opposite (before the guy dies anyway.)
Also, Poison Ivy's first evil entrance has her dancing erotically in a
gorilla suit. Ummm... hot?
Evil Makeover - Poison Ivy. Apparently knocking a nerdy scientist into
an undisclosed combination of chemicals will cause her to turn into a
hot chick.
Executive Meddling - Most of the decisions in the creative process
were made by the marketing executives instead of the creative team.
Fan Service - Batgirl suiting up with a prominent shot of her boobs.
Though strangely, despite most people expecting it, her costume is the
only one to not have the "bat nipples". The suit-ups of the men
include their manly chests and their manly sculpted butts, so there's
enough suit-up service to go around.
Fashion Victim Villain - All of them.
Form Fitting Wardrobe - Including the nipples.
Poison Ivy: There's something about an anatomically correct rubber
suit that puts fire in a girl's lips.
Floating Head Syndrome - The primary poster as seen above.
For The Evulz - Mr. Freeze seems to fall into this at times. It's
about the only explanation for choosing to spare Batman after freezing
Robin early in the film.
Freak Lab Accident - The origin for both Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy,
although the latter wasn't really an "accident".
Fridge Logic - Pretty much goes with the territory when much of the
film just feels like random events.
Ham And Cheese - Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman.
Harmless Freezing - Played straight, though a confusing example early
in the film has Robin frozen solid and Mr. Freeze telling Batman he
has eleven minutes to save him... yet despite this, Robin is perfectly
fine when defrosted.
Hatedom - The film is actively derided by Batman fans for its
campiness, crass merchandising, lack of faithfulness to the
rejuvenated Darker And Edgier source material, and homoerotic
undertones (amongst quite a few other things). Even Batman The
Animated Series eventually took a few potshots at it. It's still a
popular target to this day.
Hollywood Homely - Pamela Isley is "ugly" before becoming Poison Ivy
because she has glasses, a ponytail and frumpy clothes. All of which
disappears when she is turned into Poison Ivy, who looks more like a
reject from a drag show than a "hot chick".
Hollywood Science - Loads of it.
Ho Yay - Undertones of it are pretty much undeniable between the title
characters. Supposedly, George Clooney retroactively claims he played
Batman as gay (although it seems more of a Take That against said
undertones than anything with truth in it).
Human Popsicle - Mr. Freeze's wife.
Hurricane Of Puns - Maybe they were paid by the pun?
An Ice Person - Mr. Freeze.
Inkstain Adaptation - One of the more famous examples.
Institutional Apparel - Old school stripes for everyone at Arkham.
Juggle Fu - A segment in the museum in which Batman rescues a vase.
Kiss Of Death - Poison Ivy's method of killing people. Note that this
would appear to be very easy to avoid in the movieverse and yet Robin
still puts on rubber lips rather than just not let her kiss him.
Kung Foley - Again, in fine Batman tradition - you cannot do anything
quietly in a fight scene.
Large Ham - The villains, in typical Batman fashion.
Lock And Load Montage - Performed several times to show our heroes
suiting up and even including a shot from behind of the Dynamic Duo
pulling up their pants.
Mad Scientist - Mr. Freeze and Dr. Woodrue. Depending on how one wants
to stretch the definition, maybe also Pamela Isley.
Man Eating Plant - Poison Ivy seems to have one... though the movie
can't make up its mind. She enters the scene sitting in it leisurely,
yet when she is later kicked into the plant, she screams as it eats
her. Though she later appears unharmed in prison...
Merchandise Driven - Like any superhero movie. This one also dropped
at the height of the original franchise's fame, so it was practically
inescapable that summer.
Poison Ivy: I'm a lover, not a fighter! That's why every Poison Ivy
action figure comes with [Bane]!
Mishmash Museum - The Ancient Greek sculpture/Dinosaur/Big-freakin'
diamond exhibit.
Murder The Hypotenuse - Poison Ivy, sent to retrieve Freeze's comatose
wife, pulls the plug on her instead.
Mythology Gag - A rather clumsy reference to Superman early in the
film when Batman complains "This is why Superman works alone." This
was possibly an attempt to mirror a better executed joke that
referenced Metropolis in Batman Forever.
Never Live It Down - Joel Schumacher has been forever associated with
this film and while he's still working (his biggest effort since is
the movie version of The Phantom Of The Opera musical), despite his
strong resume before the Batman franchise he's more a B-list than A-
list director now. He's also frequently Mis Blamed... um, even by
himself, apparently, taking full responsibility in interviews for all
of its problems. By contrast, the screenwriter Akiva Goldsman had no
setbacks at all and even went on to win an Oscar for his script for A
Beautiful Mind. Producer Peter MacGregor-Scott is almost completely
unknown despite arguably having more to do with the quality of the
film than anyone else.
Nostalgic Musicbox - In the form of a snowglobe.
Not Even Bothering With The Accent - Barbara was born and raised in
England yet never displays even a hint of an accent.
No OSHA Compliance - The lab Mr. Freeze worked in (before becoming
Freeze) seriously needs a safety inspection. He gets knocked into a
vat of liquid nitrogen, which horribly mutates him, but didn't really
pose enough of a risk to warrant a decent railing. And don't even get
started on the electronic equipment that randomly crapped out and sent
him flying into the vat.
Old Shame - Joel Schumacher apologized for this film in the DVD
Commentary. George Clooney quickly distanced himself soon after it
tanked. However, in more recent interviews, he's been kinder to the
film, now calling it "the biggest break I ever had" since the role got
him into Hollywood and paved the way for his more successful roles
later in his career. He still hates the movie though.
The Other Darrin - Clooney is the third Batman in the this continuity,
replacing Val Kilmer in Forever.
Paper Thin Disguise - Poison Ivy seems to think gluing things to her
eyebrows is a mask.
Pungeon Master - Mr. Freeze gets most of these. Poison Ivy does this
too, though half of hers are also thinly-veiled innuendos.
Quality By Popular Vote - Its presence is more or less guaranteed on a
"worst superhero film ever" list. It appears on other "Worst Films
Ever" lists as well, though with quite a bit less frequency. On the
flip side, though the much-maligned performance of Alicia Silverstone
earned her a Razzie, she also walked away with a Nickolodeon Kids
Choice Award. Fellow Razzie nominees Uma Thurman and Chris O'Donnel
went on to win Blockbuster Entertainment Awards.
Skunk Stripe - Dr. Woodrue has one of these.
Sky Surfing - Early in the film, Batman and Robin surf debris to the
ground when they escape Mr. Freeze's rocket. And Robin even shouts
"Cowabunga!"
Snark Bait - Ripping on this film is pretty popular. Many snark sites
have dedicated time to it. The film was also nominated for a whopping
eleven Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture, though it
only won for Worst Supporting Actress (Alicia Silverstone).
Soap Opera Disease - It gets a name, McGregor's, but nothing else
besides its fatality and multi-stage process is established.
So Bad Its Good - Seriously. Why do you think so many people love to
talk about hating it?
Super Serum - Bane's source of power.
Supervillain Lair - Mr. Freeze has his lair in a giant ice cream
factory in the middle of the city in plain sight. Poison Ivy just
takes over an Abandoned Warehouse. And when Mr. Freeze moves in, he
naturally decks out his own room in the same thematic trappings.
Take Over The World - Ultimate goal of Poison Ivy, and later the goal
of Mr. Freeze with a little prodding.
M. Bison: OF COURSE!!
Third Line Some Waiting - The Batgirl plot happens, for the most part,
independently from much of the film.
The Vamp - Poison Ivy. Yes, making her a camp vamp.
Villain Team Up - Repeating the previous film's formula, though with
less successful results.
Virtual Ghost - Alfred, despite not being dead.
Why Dont Ya Just Shoot Him - Mr. Freeze, despite being armed and fully
powered, actually goes so far as to say "I'll kill you next time!"
when Batman is stopped, panicked, and off-balance, and right after he
has just shot Robin anyway. The question of "Why not just shoot him
now?!" (that even The Nostalgia Critic had to point out) is never
addressed.
Bruce: I wish I knew.
WTH Casting Agency - Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze? Really?
It speaks volumes about this film that Arnie is pretty much the only
person to escape with his dignity intact.
In his 1989 interpretation of Batman, heavily influenced by Frank
Miller's graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, Tim Burton sought to
restore the original vision of creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger.
Sequels included Batman Returns, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin.
The film based on the campy Adam West TV Show
Batman The Movie (1966) The Dynamic Duo's greatest foes team up to
kidnap the ambassadors at the United World Building.
The first two films were directed by Tim Burton:
Batman (1989) - Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) has been fighting crime
in Gotham as Batman for some time when this film starts, but is an
enigma to a city unsure of what he is. The plot here chronicles his
battles with Jack Napier/The Joker (Jack Nicholson). In terms of
popularity, this film is the best regarded of this film series.
Batman Returns (1992) - Three villains: Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin
(Danny DeVito), Selena Kyle/Catwoman (Michelle Pfieffer), and Max
Shreck (Christopher Walken). Between the first two and Batman, there's
plenty of psychological dysfunction and nightmare fuel to go around.
While Returns was a substantial hit, many parents, critics, and
whatnot objected to the grim, fetishistic, downbeat film (the
marketing caused part of this problem, attracting too many families
with children). Tim Burton was no longer interested in directing, so
Warner Bros. decided not only to bring in a new director — Joel
Schumacher — but to make the subsequent films with less gruesome
violence and an overall more upbeat, colorful approach. Burton was a
producer in name only for Batman Forever and had no involvement
whatsoever in Batman and Robin.
Batman Forever (1995) - Batman (now Val Kilmer) is battling Harvey
Dent/Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones), a struggle that gets tougher when
Edward Nygma/The Riddler (Jim Carrey) enters the picture, as both have
personal vendettas against the Bat. Batman finds an ally in orphaned
acrobat Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell), who discovers Bruce Wayne's
secret and becomes Robin with the initial intent of taking revenge
against Two-Face, who killed his family.
Batman And Robin (1997) - The titular duo get help from Barbara Wilson/
Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone) as they face off against Victor Fries/Mr.
Freeze (Arnold Schwartzenegger), Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy (Uma
Thurman), and her sidekick Bane (Jeep Swenson). Batman is now played
by George Clooney...who's since admitted he "wasn't very good." The
film was so widely reviled that it has a page of its own.
While this set of films was much more colorful then the first two, in
Forever Batman was still a very serious individual. Chris O'Donnell
remarked that in making Forever, he felt that he was making a film,
but filming Batman And Robin was like making a toy commercial. Indeed,
this last film was instantly regarded as a disaster, having turned the
Batman universe into a Day-Glo, pun-heavy party near-devoid of
meaningful characterization and/or serious performances,
substituting... well, merchandise. It did well at the box-office
(though the massive overhead didn't make it very profitable), but
audience and critical hatred, plus a steep drop in ticket sales after
the first week, forced Warner Bros. to step back and reconsider the
franchise.
The result? Seven years later and several false starts, Batman Begins
arrived as a Continuity Reboot. Specifically, it starts with Bruce
Wayne's journey to make sense of the tragedy he suffered, and how he
thus became Batman. From there it treats him, other characters, and
the world they inhabit with more realism than the extremely stylized
films that preceded it.
Batman also took a few steps to the silver screen before Burton. Two
film serials, titled Batman and Batman and Robin, appeared in 1943 and
1949.
See also Batman The Animated Series, which took some cues from the
Burton films and actually launched the same year as Returns, and went
on to produce a few movies of its own. The notorious Catwoman film in
2004 has no continuity connection with these, but it's worth noting
that the whole idea of doing a film about her alone was inspired by
Pfeiffer's performance in '92.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This film series includes examples of:
Adaptation Decay: How much depends on the installment and who you ask,
but it's generally acknowledged that it increased as the series went
on.
The Apple Falls Far: Used to horrifying effect, with the Joker's point
of view shot of how far he has to fall to his bone-shattering death on
the pavement of Gotham in the first film. His blood-chilling scream
made it all the more nightmarish. Almost makes you feel sorry for the
bastard.
Beautiful All Along: Dowdy secretary Selina Kyle goes through a near-
death experience, thrashes her apartment, and stitches together a
vinyl suit to become the evil and sexy Catwoman.
Board To Death: The Joker does this to his crime bosses.
Bond One Liner: The Joker gets a few ("Antoine got a little hot under
the collar", "The pen is truly mightier than the sword" - what is it
about this character and writing instruments?).
Camp: The Schumacher films.
Climbing Climax: The first film's climax. The Joker is savvy enough to
call ahead for a helicopter to pick him (and Vicki) up, but his escape
fails big time.
Cool Car: The Batmobile, although the coolness was diminished in the
Schumacher films due to its increasing impracticality. Batman & Robin
also had a Freezemobile.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: Max Shreck in Returns, Edward Nygma in
Forever (showing up Bruce Wayne, who didn't believe in his work).
Deadline News: Some news anchors are discussing the Joker's act of
chemical terrorism on Gotham, when suddenly a female anchor starts
laughing uncontrollably, and then falls over dead with the victims'
characteristic grin on her face.
Disney Villain Death: The Joker and Two-Face both suffered these,
thanks in part to Batman's quick thinking (in the Joker's case, he's
trying to keep him from escaping; in Two-Face's, he's distracting him
from killing the good guys straightaway).
Distressed Damsel: Vicki Vale and Chase Meridian are both this. Selena
Kyle starts as this, but when she becomes Catwoman, she expresses
contempt for the very concept.
Do Not Adjust Your Set: The Joker does this twice in the first film.
Double Entendre: The Schumacher films were infamous for this, though
the Burton movies were not immune.
The Dragon: Bane is this to Big Bad Poison Ivy, possibly due to
Wouldn't Hit A Girl (see below).
Enemy Mime: The Joker's goons masquerade as mimes at the courthouse.
Engineered Public Confession: In Batman Returns:
The Penguin: You've got to admit, I've played this stinking city like
a harp from hell!
And in Batman & Robin, when Batman aired Poison Ivy's confession to
Mr. Freeze:
Poison Ivy: As I told Lady Freeze when I pulled her plug, this is a
one woman show!
Evil Is Sexy: The female villains, especially as they're shy, mousy
types before they "turn". That said, while Catwoman is quite alluring,
Poison Ivy is arguably too campy to be sexy. Sorry, ladies — the male
villains in this franchise tend not to be lookers, though some do have
lovely eye candy hanging off their arms.
Evil Is Stylish: As the trope entry says, these villains have always
been this, so their signature quirks get a lot of screen time. Mr.
Freeze, in particular, really suffers for this.
Evilly Affable / Laughably Evil: The Joker (a given with this
character in any incarnation).
Exactly What I Aimed At: in Batman Returns, regarding the target of a
BatGrapplingHook.
Executive Meddling: This was a big reason the Schumacher films turned
out the way they did, but again, Burton's films weren't immune. In
particular, Burton didn't care for the Prince song score in the first
film.
Fate Worse Than Death: Mr. Freeze repents of his crimes and is allowed
to continue his research while imprisoned at Arkham Asylum, but he
apparently arranges to have Poison Ivy (who tried to kill his wife out
of jealousy) as his cellmate so he can beat the living daylights out
of her for the next 20 years. (But since the villainess is a woman, he
does it offscreen. Sigh.)
Fetish Fuel: Plenty, and quite obviously. The most infamous and
hilarious example would be nipples on the Batsuit in the Schumacher
films.
Foe Yay: As Entertainment Weekly wrote in 1995, Edward Nygma/Riddler's
obsession with Bruce Wayne/Batman makes one wonder...
For Halloween I Am Going As Myself: An inversion, Bruce and Selena
meet at a party as "regular people" and end up discovering each
other's Secret Identity.
Form Fitting Wardrobe: Not so bad in the first two, but then we got
the bat-nipples.
Gatling Good: The 1950 Buicks with pairs of miniguns on their hoods in
Forever.
Girl Of The Film: Bruce Wayne's lovers — Vicki Vale in the first film,
Selena Kyle in Returns (leading to the inevitable dilemma), Dr. Chase
Meridian in Forever, and Julie Madison in Batman & Robin.
A God Am I: The Riddler says this in regards to the power his mind-
reading "Box" devices have granted him. (He then does some
lampshading: "Was that over the top? I can never tell!")
Go Out With A Smile: The Joker's Smilex poison is all about this, and
as the trope entry reminds us, he goes out this way himself.
Going For The Big Scoop: This was Vicki Vale's role in the first
film.
The Grotesque: The Penguin's plan for revenge on Gotham involves
appearing to be merely this.
Hand Wave: Literally - In "Returns," Shreck introduces the Penguin to
his campaign staff for a mayoral run. The Penguin asks him "Elections
are normally in early November; is this not late December?" Shreck
waves his hand and says, "Don't worry about it."
Hulk Speak: Bane.
The Hyena: Joker, of course
If You Kill Him You Will Be Just Like Him: Robin's decision at the
climax of Forever regarding Two-Face is based on this trope — he winds
up captive due to sparing the villain.
Incredibly Lame Puns and Worldwide Punomenon: Batman & Robin is
notorious for the sheer number of puns quipped throughout, many of
which are double entendres to boot.
Ink Stain Adaptation: Batman & Robin is one of the definitive
examples.
Joker Immunity: Averted brutally in the first film with the trope
namer's death — just as he was about to escape.
Large Hams: All the villains to varying degrees, including minor ones
like Grissom in the first film and Dr. Woodrue in the fourth.
Little No: Batman said it after Vicki Vale asked that all products are
poisoned.
Loads And Loads Of Characters: A common complaint regarding the
Schumacher films was trying to work in as many villains and good guys
as possible (apparently trying to top the 3 villains in Returns),
often with little rhyme or reason.
Love Makes You Evil: This, combined with a cryogenics accident, forms
the basis for Mr. Freeze's villainy. Also in Batman & Robin, Poison
Ivy's plot to undo the heroes hinges on using her Camp Vamp wiles to
manipulate them. She also frames the Dynamic Duo for Mrs. Freeze's
death, to push Mr. F to freeze the world (and thus allow her to start
over with plants... and with him).
Mad Artist: The Joker describes himself as a "homicidal artist", he
disfigured his girlfriend Alicia Hunt and failed in his attempt to
disfigure Vicki Vale.
Mad Scientist: The Joker (to an extent as he created the Smilex
poison), The Riddler, Dr. Jason Woodrue (minor villain in Batman &
Robin), Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze.
Merchandise Driven: A big reason the films decided to lighten up was
to make it easier to sell them and related products to families. Some
also think the growing character count was due to this. The fourth
film all but embraced it.
Mythology Gag: In the first film, Vicki Vale had covered a conflict in
Corto Maltese, the name of the disputed territory in The Dark Knight
Returns. The Joker card in Jack Napier's "lucky deck" is patterned
after the card the villain left to mark his crimes in his first comic
book appearance. There are a few of these gags in Forever with regards
to Robin - the "holey rusted metal" bit is a reference to the '60s
show, and when pondering what his superhero alias should be, Dick
Grayson considers "Nightwing".
Never Found The Body: The final shot of Returns reveals Catwoman
survived this way, though she was never brought back to the
franchise.
Nightmare Fuel: The Burton films both have this, especially Returns,
with surprisingly gross behavior from the Penguin (i.e. biting a man's
nose and his death scene). There's also Selena's breakdown and Max
Shreck's demise.
The Other Darrin: The three Batmans. In addition, Billy Dee Williams
played pre-villainous Harvey Dent in the first film, but once the
series got around to Two-Face, it recast the role with Tommy Lee
Jones.
The Problem With Licensed Games: Depends on the movies:
Batman: The Sunsoft games for the NES, Genesis, and Game Boy were well-
received.
Batman Returns: The Konami games for the Nintendo systems were well-
received, while the Sega games for the Sega systems received mixed
reviews.
Batman Forever: The 16-bit games, published by Acclaim, is a
platformer/fighter using Mortal Kombat-style controls. It was met with
mediocre reviews.
Batman & Robin: A driving game for the PlayStation, published by
Acclaim.
The Paid For Harem: Two Face's molls in Batman Forever.
Parody Commercial: After the Deadline News incident listed above, the
Joker hijacks the airwaves with this to reveal himself as responsible
for the Smilex deaths, and to cheerily inform Gotham that more people
are doomed because they're already unknowingly using the tainted
products. ("And hair color so natural only your undertaker knows for
sure!") He even spoofs the Brand X trope to prove his point.
Plucky Comic Relief: Alexander Knox, a newspaper reporter who
collaborates with Vicki Vale, in the first film. He serves as a Heroic
Bystander at one point, though he gets sidelined quickly.
Rage Against The Reflection: As part of the buildup to the reveal of
the Joker's face, he asks for a (hand) mirror to see the results of
the surgery he got from a Back Alley Doctor. The audience doesn't see
the reflection, but when he does, he evilly laughs for the first time
as he smashes the mirror. (This was later parodied in The Simpsons
episode that was the trope namer for Lisa Needs Braces, when she got
the ridiculously old-fashioned ones.)
Ret Canon: The Grapple Gun from the 1989 film has since been adopted
into the comic book canon and other Batman media, including Batman The
Animated Series.
Romantic Plot Tumor: The amount of time focused on Bruce's
relationship with Vicki - who is also desired by Knox and the Joker -
makes this subplot come across as this to some viewers.
The Sadistic Choice: The Riddler poses one to Batman at the climax of
Forever: save Chase or Robin (a choice that also represents his two
personas: Bruce and Batman).
Seinfeld Is Unfunny: The first film was unique at the time. Comic book
movies, and there weren't that many of them then, had never been so
darkly elaborate before. It was also by far the darkest take on Batman
beyond the actual comics. But after both the DCAU take on the
characters and the Christopher Nolan reboot proved to be exceptional
adaptations in their own right, and the lingering bad aftertaste of
Schumacher's sequels tainted the series' reputation, it's harder to
appreciate the Burton films for what they were/are.
Sequelitis: A sterling example of the dangers of this condition.
Batman & Robin is pretty much The Theme Park Version of these
characters.
Something to notice was that the first films of the two directors are
considered much better then their follow-ups. Some people say Batman
Returns is too much Burton and Batman And Robin is too much Schumacher
and meddling by the toy company executives.
Skimpy Holiday Dress: The outfit the Ice Princess wears in Returns.
Sliding Scale Of Idealism Versus Cynicism: The series' progression.
Starts out cynically, arguably gets more so in Returns, then becomes
far more idealistic in the Schumacher films, to the point that Mr.
Freeze is more or less redeemed at the end of Batman & Robin.
Stalker With A Crush: The Joker becomes this due to twisted
infatuation when he sees a picture of Vicki Vale.
That Man Is Dead: Used in the reveal of the Joker's face. "Jack is
dead, my friend. You can call me...Joker. And as you can see, I'm a
lot happier."
The Vamp: Poison Ivy, done way, way, way over the top. She gets a
little moralizing from Batgirl for it, which only makes it worse,
feminism-wise.
They Just Didnt Care: Tim Burton has admitted he doesn't read comic
books, so even if people like his movies, he didn't really care about
the source material.
However, Burton did say in his autobiography that he liked Alan
Moore's Batman graphic novel, The Killing Joke.
Villain With Good Publicity: Max Shreck is an excellent example of
this trope, so much so that he is forced by The Penguin to shape him
into this as well. It works quite well for a while. Edward Nygma also
becomes this when he uses the profits from his alter-ego's crime spree
with Two-Face to start his own company and his "Box" devices become
hugely popular.
Villainy Discretion Shot: As the trope entry notes, this is obvious in
the first film with the Joker, but in the Schumacher films you have to
wonder if and how many people are actually dying due to the criminal
rampage of Riddler and Two-Face, and how many people weren't defrosted
in time after Mr. Freeze froze them.
Well Intentioned Extremist: Poison Ivy.
What Happened To The Mouse: Julie's abrupt departure in Batman &
Robin. It's said that as filmed, Poison Ivy slew her shortly
afterward, but Warner Bros. demanded that bit be dropped as they
feared parents objecting. (Thus, as far as the viewer sees, none of
the principal characters in that film dies, making it unique in the
franchise.)
Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys: True of every incarnation
of Batman, but Jack Nicholson's Joker is the Trope Namer.
Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him: Addressed in Forever: when The Riddler
offers to help Two-Face kill Batman in exchange for money to
manufacture his Box devices, he convinces him that just offing the
hero quickly and simply wouldn't be as emotionally satisfying as
ensuring he was humiliated first by having his true identity revealed
and used against him. Also addressed in Returns when Catwoman points
out to Penguin that simply killing Batman would only increase public
support for him, and that to truly destroy him they need to turn the
people of Gotham against him.
Winter Royal Lady: The Ice Princess in Returns.
Woman In White: Vicki wears a white dress, jacket and shoes at the
climax of the 1989 film. By the end of the scene, she's lost the
jacket and the shoes,and the dress is noticeabley dirtied — What Do
You Mean Its Not Symbolic?
Wouldnt Hit A Girl: Subverted in Returns when Catwoman uses this trope
against Batman to get the drop on him. Batman quickly adapts and tells
her to "eat floor" by their second encounter. Played straight in
Batman & Robin in that only Batgirl actually gets to fight Poison Ivy
(it's been argued it's one of the few reasons, aside from
merchandising, Batgirl's in the film).
Xanatos Gambit: In Batman Returns, the Penguin and Max Shreck try to
manipulate each other for their own ends, Shreck hoping for a mayor he
can keep in his pocket so he can build his power plant, and Penguin
using Shreck to gain access to the lists of Gotham's first born sons.
Their schemes include using criminals to cause chaos in the streets to
make the current mayor seem helpless to deal with the situation,
exploiting the Penguin's origins as a Tear Jerker to get public
support for him to run for mayor, and framing Batman as a kidnapper
and murderer. The first film also involves crime boss Carl Grissom
manipulating his lieutenant Jack Napier into being killed as
punishment for sleeping with Grissom's girlfriend, a plot that
drastically backfires.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BatmanAndRobin
After the success of 1995's Batman Forever, a sequel was inevitable.
Audiences that backlashed against the Darker And Edgier Batman Returns
found the lighter, more comedic tone of Forever to be a welcome change
of pace. So come 1997, what does Warner Bros. do? Secure an all star
cast, turn the camp Up To Eleven, and throw $125 million into the
production of the film. What came out is a film that many people love
to hate, even to this day, and is a frequent appearance on lists
compiling the worst superhero films of all time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This film provides examples of:
Alternate DVD Commentary - A Riff Trax has been made, with all the
gags submitted by fans of the site.
Adaptation Decay - Largest was probably Bane's reduction to Giant
Mook.
Camp - Following in the footsteps of the previous film, Batman
Forever, and turned up to 11.
Cardboard Prison - Arkham Asylum, as usual, but this film was
particularly stupid about it. For starters, at least according to the
last scene, it's co-ed.
Card Carrying Villain - Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy.
Character Derailment - Batman, who was shown earlier in the film
series to shun the spotlight and actually destroy photos of himself,
is in this film appearing, in costume, at a date auction.
Clothing Damage - The chemical cocktail that Pamela Isley falls into
not only turns her into Poison Ivy, it tears up her formerly frumpy
clothes to make her sexier (such as her shirt turning into a midriff-
revealing tank) and apparently destroys her glasses.
Continuity Nod - A quick eye will spot the uniforms of The Riddler and
Two-Face in the closet at Arkham Asylum, a nod to their Batman Forever
incarnations. Meanwhile, even a thick-headed idiot will be able to
note the callback to the previous film's famous "Chicks dig the car"
line.
Costume Porn - Perhaps literally.
Joel Schumacher: I had no idea that putting nipples on the Batsuit and
Robin suit were going to spark international headlines. The bodies of
the suits come from ancient Greek statues, which display perfect
bodies. They are anatomically erotic.
Crowning Music Of Awesome - Being a large budget movie, it has quite a
good soundtrack. With an award winning score by Elliot Goldenthall and
songs by the Smashing Pumpkins, R. Kelly, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Jewel,
Goo Goo Dolls, Meshell Ndegeocello, and so on, there's a little
something for everybody.
Cosmopolitan Council - The super serum auction has one of these, each
displaying their own National Stereotype.
Creator Backlash - George Clooney has made it pretty clear that he
hates the film and makes many Take Thats against it. Joel Schumacher
has been apologetic about it, but hasn't really indicated whether or
not he truly hates it rather than just regretting it.
Cut Lex Luthor A Check - Mr. Freeze decides to build a giant freeze
ray out of several dozen very large and valuable diamonds in order to
hold the city hostage for money rather than, well, fencing the
diamonds over the black market.
Designated Girl Fight - It's brought up in the Agony Booth website's
recap that Batgirl's presence may be (besides merchandising) so
somebody could actually fight Poison Ivy, all because of this trope.
Note that the male good guys fight her henchman Bane in the ice cream
factory fight, and are incapacitated in her lair.
Double Entendre - Half of Poison Ivy's dialogue.
Dull Surprise - Alicia Silverstone's reaction to everything.
Efficient Displacement - Early in the film, Robin crashes through a
wall in his motorcycle, leaving a hole in the shape of the movie's
Robin logo.
Erection Rejection - Bat nipples. Good lord. Also, the dead, open eyed
face Poison Ivy always makes when she kisses her victims is a notable
turn-off when it should be the opposite (before the guy dies anyway.)
Also, Poison Ivy's first evil entrance has her dancing erotically in a
gorilla suit. Ummm... hot?
Evil Makeover - Poison Ivy. Apparently knocking a nerdy scientist into
an undisclosed combination of chemicals will cause her to turn into a
hot chick.
Executive Meddling - Most of the decisions in the creative process
were made by the marketing executives instead of the creative team.
Fan Service - Batgirl suiting up with a prominent shot of her boobs.
Though strangely, despite most people expecting it, her costume is the
only one to not have the "bat nipples". The suit-ups of the men
include their manly chests and their manly sculpted butts, so there's
enough suit-up service to go around.
Fashion Victim Villain - All of them.
Form Fitting Wardrobe - Including the nipples.
Poison Ivy: There's something about an anatomically correct rubber
suit that puts fire in a girl's lips.
Floating Head Syndrome - The primary poster as seen above.
For The Evulz - Mr. Freeze seems to fall into this at times. It's
about the only explanation for choosing to spare Batman after freezing
Robin early in the film.
Freak Lab Accident - The origin for both Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy,
although the latter wasn't really an "accident".
Fridge Logic - Pretty much goes with the territory when much of the
film just feels like random events.
Ham And Cheese - Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman.
Harmless Freezing - Played straight, though a confusing example early
in the film has Robin frozen solid and Mr. Freeze telling Batman he
has eleven minutes to save him... yet despite this, Robin is perfectly
fine when defrosted.
Hatedom - The film is actively derided by Batman fans for its
campiness, crass merchandising, lack of faithfulness to the
rejuvenated Darker And Edgier source material, and homoerotic
undertones (amongst quite a few other things). Even Batman The
Animated Series eventually took a few potshots at it. It's still a
popular target to this day.
Hollywood Homely - Pamela Isley is "ugly" before becoming Poison Ivy
because she has glasses, a ponytail and frumpy clothes. All of which
disappears when she is turned into Poison Ivy, who looks more like a
reject from a drag show than a "hot chick".
Hollywood Science - Loads of it.
Ho Yay - Undertones of it are pretty much undeniable between the title
characters. Supposedly, George Clooney retroactively claims he played
Batman as gay (although it seems more of a Take That against said
undertones than anything with truth in it).
Human Popsicle - Mr. Freeze's wife.
Hurricane Of Puns - Maybe they were paid by the pun?
An Ice Person - Mr. Freeze.
Inkstain Adaptation - One of the more famous examples.
Institutional Apparel - Old school stripes for everyone at Arkham.
Juggle Fu - A segment in the museum in which Batman rescues a vase.
Kiss Of Death - Poison Ivy's method of killing people. Note that this
would appear to be very easy to avoid in the movieverse and yet Robin
still puts on rubber lips rather than just not let her kiss him.
Kung Foley - Again, in fine Batman tradition - you cannot do anything
quietly in a fight scene.
Large Ham - The villains, in typical Batman fashion.
Lock And Load Montage - Performed several times to show our heroes
suiting up and even including a shot from behind of the Dynamic Duo
pulling up their pants.
Mad Scientist - Mr. Freeze and Dr. Woodrue. Depending on how one wants
to stretch the definition, maybe also Pamela Isley.
Man Eating Plant - Poison Ivy seems to have one... though the movie
can't make up its mind. She enters the scene sitting in it leisurely,
yet when she is later kicked into the plant, she screams as it eats
her. Though she later appears unharmed in prison...
Merchandise Driven - Like any superhero movie. This one also dropped
at the height of the original franchise's fame, so it was practically
inescapable that summer.
Poison Ivy: I'm a lover, not a fighter! That's why every Poison Ivy
action figure comes with [Bane]!
Mishmash Museum - The Ancient Greek sculpture/Dinosaur/Big-freakin'
diamond exhibit.
Murder The Hypotenuse - Poison Ivy, sent to retrieve Freeze's comatose
wife, pulls the plug on her instead.
Mythology Gag - A rather clumsy reference to Superman early in the
film when Batman complains "This is why Superman works alone." This
was possibly an attempt to mirror a better executed joke that
referenced Metropolis in Batman Forever.
Never Live It Down - Joel Schumacher has been forever associated with
this film and while he's still working (his biggest effort since is
the movie version of The Phantom Of The Opera musical), despite his
strong resume before the Batman franchise he's more a B-list than A-
list director now. He's also frequently Mis Blamed... um, even by
himself, apparently, taking full responsibility in interviews for all
of its problems. By contrast, the screenwriter Akiva Goldsman had no
setbacks at all and even went on to win an Oscar for his script for A
Beautiful Mind. Producer Peter MacGregor-Scott is almost completely
unknown despite arguably having more to do with the quality of the
film than anyone else.
Nostalgic Musicbox - In the form of a snowglobe.
Not Even Bothering With The Accent - Barbara was born and raised in
England yet never displays even a hint of an accent.
No OSHA Compliance - The lab Mr. Freeze worked in (before becoming
Freeze) seriously needs a safety inspection. He gets knocked into a
vat of liquid nitrogen, which horribly mutates him, but didn't really
pose enough of a risk to warrant a decent railing. And don't even get
started on the electronic equipment that randomly crapped out and sent
him flying into the vat.
Old Shame - Joel Schumacher apologized for this film in the DVD
Commentary. George Clooney quickly distanced himself soon after it
tanked. However, in more recent interviews, he's been kinder to the
film, now calling it "the biggest break I ever had" since the role got
him into Hollywood and paved the way for his more successful roles
later in his career. He still hates the movie though.
The Other Darrin - Clooney is the third Batman in the this continuity,
replacing Val Kilmer in Forever.
Paper Thin Disguise - Poison Ivy seems to think gluing things to her
eyebrows is a mask.
Pungeon Master - Mr. Freeze gets most of these. Poison Ivy does this
too, though half of hers are also thinly-veiled innuendos.
Quality By Popular Vote - Its presence is more or less guaranteed on a
"worst superhero film ever" list. It appears on other "Worst Films
Ever" lists as well, though with quite a bit less frequency. On the
flip side, though the much-maligned performance of Alicia Silverstone
earned her a Razzie, she also walked away with a Nickolodeon Kids
Choice Award. Fellow Razzie nominees Uma Thurman and Chris O'Donnel
went on to win Blockbuster Entertainment Awards.
Skunk Stripe - Dr. Woodrue has one of these.
Sky Surfing - Early in the film, Batman and Robin surf debris to the
ground when they escape Mr. Freeze's rocket. And Robin even shouts
"Cowabunga!"
Snark Bait - Ripping on this film is pretty popular. Many snark sites
have dedicated time to it. The film was also nominated for a whopping
eleven Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture, though it
only won for Worst Supporting Actress (Alicia Silverstone).
Soap Opera Disease - It gets a name, McGregor's, but nothing else
besides its fatality and multi-stage process is established.
So Bad Its Good - Seriously. Why do you think so many people love to
talk about hating it?
Super Serum - Bane's source of power.
Supervillain Lair - Mr. Freeze has his lair in a giant ice cream
factory in the middle of the city in plain sight. Poison Ivy just
takes over an Abandoned Warehouse. And when Mr. Freeze moves in, he
naturally decks out his own room in the same thematic trappings.
Take Over The World - Ultimate goal of Poison Ivy, and later the goal
of Mr. Freeze with a little prodding.
M. Bison: OF COURSE!!
Third Line Some Waiting - The Batgirl plot happens, for the most part,
independently from much of the film.
The Vamp - Poison Ivy. Yes, making her a camp vamp.
Villain Team Up - Repeating the previous film's formula, though with
less successful results.
Virtual Ghost - Alfred, despite not being dead.
Why Dont Ya Just Shoot Him - Mr. Freeze, despite being armed and fully
powered, actually goes so far as to say "I'll kill you next time!"
when Batman is stopped, panicked, and off-balance, and right after he
has just shot Robin anyway. The question of "Why not just shoot him
now?!" (that even The Nostalgia Critic had to point out) is never
addressed.
Bruce: I wish I knew.
WTH Casting Agency - Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze? Really?
It speaks volumes about this film that Arnie is pretty much the only
person to escape with his dignity intact.