--- title: "Batman & Robin: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/batman-and-robin/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/batman-and-robin" critics_score: 35 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Batman & Robin (1997): what the critics said Critics' score 35 from 11 reviews: 1 positive, 2 mixed, 8 negative. Most critics find Batman & Robin exhausting, with elaborate sets and flamboyant villains offering limited compensation for weak storytelling. Praise clusters around Uma Thurman’s Poison Ivy, whose mocking attitude and theatricality give several reviews something to enjoy even when the leads disappoint. Some critics also admire the production design, though the prevailing complaint is that hardware, effects and repetitive action leave little space for characters worth caring about. The sharpest divide concerns the camp tone: most reviews find the relentless puns and knowing excess tiresome, while The New York Times embraces the film’s costume-party energy and singles out Thurman. Film Stories offers a more qualified defence, finding entertainment in the garish style while still judging the film bad. The spread is wide, but approval remains scarce; thin plotting, overcrowding and slack narrative momentum recur across the less enthusiastic reviews. ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 20 June 1997. Maslin embraces the film as a wild, campy costume party that suggests a Studio 54 in Gotham, praising its flashy showmanship and frenetic energy. She singles out Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy as the most showstopping character for her mocking attitude and flamboyant disguises. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/20/movies/holy-iceberg-dynamic-duo-vs-mr-freeze.html) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 16 June 1997. McCarthy notes the film loses some altitude in the franchise, with the villains (especially Thurman) as highlights but the overall production lacking dash and excitement. He singles out the bland newcomers and sag in narrative drive and humor in the middle section. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1997/film/reviews/batman-robin-1200450193/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 20 June 1997. Ebert finds the film visually impressive with strong production design but criticizes its lack of authentic core, as it prioritizes elaborate special effects over meaningful characters or story. He singles out the villains' memorable images and performances while noting the meandering screenplay and over-the-top puns. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/batman-and-robin-1997) ## Empire — Neil Jeffries Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2013. The first half-hour offers some fun set-pieces and design, but the overstuffed plot, incessant puns and wisecracks, and lack of depth soon make it exhausting; Uma Thurman stands out as Poison Ivy while the leads disappoint. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/batman-robin-review/) ## Los Angeles Times Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 20 June 1997. The critic finds the film overloaded with hardware, stunts and excess that leaves no room for connection or inspiration, describing it as a relief when it ends. They single out the slick surface and repetitive action sequences that blur together without substance. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-06-20-ca-5024-story.html) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 28 June 1997. The critic lambasts the film as an overly camp, pun-filled exercise in kinky innuendo and double entendres that strays far from the source material, with a knowingness that undermines any superhero narrative. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/dark-knight-of-the-souldestroying-1258591.html) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 27 June 1997. The film is dismissed as predictably dismal pop-operatic guff with too many characters, too little plot, terrible dialogue, poor effects and uninspiring action; some fine design and game cast efforts are noted but cannot save it. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/batman-and-robin-review/) ## Time Out — TCh Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. The fourth Bat-flick finds this juvenile franchise running on empty. Clooney plays Batman as an irrelevant bystander while the script recycles random elements with scant rhyme or reason. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/batman-robin) ## The AV Club — Nathan Rabin Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 9 October 2007. Rabin classifies the film as a commercial and critical failure despite its box office gross, arguing it was audience-proof due to toxic word-of-mouth. He singles out the endless, clunky ice-themed puns from Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze and the garish, toyetic production design as particularly egregious. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/my-year-of-flops-case-file-74-batman-robin-1798212739) ## Film Stories — James Harvey Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 13 September 2024. The critic finds the film still bad but its garish, toyetic style refreshing and entertaining in 2024 compared to modern CGI-heavy blockbusters, singling out its unapologetic campiness and role in rebooting the superhero genre. [Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/finding-the-good-in-batman-robin/) ## Den of Geek — Simon Brew Rating 1/5. 18 February 2009. The critic calls the film a horrible mess that continues the rot from Batman Forever, with corporate control ruining the franchise. The only praise goes to some brilliant set design, while everything else is seen as a garish, edge-free disaster that served as a needed wake-up call for Hollywood blockbusters. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/batman-and-robin-blu-ray-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/batman-and-robin.md