Pat-Hingle Movie Reviews

I can't believe they casted Arnold as the Iceman. The iceman is too complex, too intelligent, too cold, too creepy to be played by and action-hero actor. What a shame!!

I really do think this is arguably the best of the series. Why? Because in this movie, the character motivations, especially the villains, but excluding Batman/Bruce Wayne himself, are clear. Motivation is key to driving plot. Why do the characters do what they do? Mr. Freeze's tragic story provides him with an interesting impetus, and it's a shame the makers of this movie chose a paint-by-numbers approach and did so little with so much to potentially work with. I would still contend, though, that the highbrow critics of this feature have got it all wrong about Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy here, blasting them as cookie-cutter, when actually, the writing clearly shows us an interesting web of motive. Of all the series, it is this movie which does the two big villains thing best.

My criticisms are:
1. The clumsy innuendos slung about in a movie marketed towards kids. It's possible to write innuendo in such a way that only the clever adults in the audience will get it; many of the old movies did this well. These writers aren't crafty enough, though, and it's embarrassing.

2. Batman himself is not developed any further, and he should be. With both Freeze and Ivy, there's opportunity for some exploration of his pain, but the movie is also saddled with Robin and Batgirl, and so loses focus and gets crowded.

3. The final scene in Arkham Asylum, which countermanded all the work of the story leading up to it. I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but it's completely untenable (even for a comic-book movie) and ruins whatever good work they tried to do with Mr. Freeze. Stop the movie before you get to it -- it'll be a better experience.

A positive: I enjoy the color and lighting of the Joel Schumacher films ("Batman Forever" and "Batman and Robin") more than the Tim Burton- directed ones (the first two), and with a comic-book movie, what is visual is of primary importance. I know this is partly taste - but I just find the scheme more satsifying, because it seems to more creatively use the pallette. Batman stuff is supposed to be dark, but bright hues (even neon) mixed in make for a more comic book-like feel to me.

If your a fan of the old Adam West original Batman from the tv show then you can't find a better remake out of the whole bunch of Bman movies!I liked the ORIGINAL Batman (Adam West) series more so than the violent films of the past.In m opinion this is the best of the buch. It has almost every aspect of the tv version in this movie. First of all I can't stand George Clooney. He can't act an this makes him the perfect Batman version of Adam West and also the Best of all the Batman actors to play the role.Arnold is great as Freeze and this movie contains all the comedic and style of the tv show.The DVD has a great picture and an awesome Dolby 5.1 soundtrack that'll test your home theatre sound system.Contrary to most people's opinions on this movie, I think they were expecting the same old serious DARK Batman characters and violence that the other Batman movies had more of.This great version was more like the TV version which I enjoyed alot and was hoping for to begin with. Micheal Keaton as Batman? Val Kilmer as Batman? You could beat those little un-muscular guys up. Atleast Clooney can't act and is taller than those two. More-so like Adam West.

I can't believe they casted Arnold as the Iceman. The iceman is too complex, too intelligent, too cold, too creepy to be played by and action-hero actor. What a shame!!

I really do think this is arguably the best of the series. Why? Because in this movie, the character motivations, especially the villains, but excluding Batman/Bruce Wayne himself, are clear. Motivation is key to driving plot. Why do the characters do what they do? Mr. Freeze's tragic story provides him with an interesting impetus, and it's a shame the makers of this movie chose a paint-by-numbers approach and did so little with so much to potentially work with. I would still contend, though, that the highbrow critics of this feature have got it all wrong about Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy here, blasting them as cookie-cutter, when actually, the writing clearly shows us an interesting web of motive. Of all the series, it is this movie which does the two big villains thing best.

My criticisms are:
1. The clumsy innuendos slung about in a movie marketed towards kids. It's possible to write innuendo in such a way that only the clever adults in the audience will get it; many of the old movies did this well. These writers aren't crafty enough, though, and it's embarrassing.

2. Batman himself is not developed any further, and he should be. With both Freeze and Ivy, there's opportunity for some exploration of his pain, but the movie is also saddled with Robin and Batgirl, and so loses focus and gets crowded.

3. The final scene in Arkham Asylum, which countermanded all the work of the story leading up to it. I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but it's completely untenable (even for a comic-book movie) and ruins whatever good work they tried to do with Mr. Freeze. Stop the movie before you get to it -- it'll be a better experience.

A positive: I enjoy the color and lighting of the Joel Schumacher films ("Batman Forever" and "Batman and Robin") more than the Tim Burton- directed ones (the first two), and with a comic-book movie, what is visual is of primary importance. I know this is partly taste - but I just find the scheme more satsifying, because it seems to more creatively use the pallette. Batman stuff is supposed to be dark, but bright hues (even neon) mixed in make for a more comic book-like feel to me.

If your a fan of the old Adam West original Batman from the tv show then you can't find a better remake out of the whole bunch of Bman movies!I liked the ORIGINAL Batman (Adam West) series more so than the violent films of the past.In m opinion this is the best of the buch. It has almost every aspect of the tv version in this movie. First of all I can't stand George Clooney. He can't act an this makes him the perfect Batman version of Adam West and also the Best of all the Batman actors to play the role.Arnold is great as Freeze and this movie contains all the comedic and style of the tv show.The DVD has a great picture and an awesome Dolby 5.1 soundtrack that'll test your home theatre sound system.Contrary to most people's opinions on this movie, I think they were expecting the same old serious DARK Batman characters and violence that the other Batman movies had more of.This great version was more like the TV version which I enjoyed alot and was hoping for to begin with. Micheal Keaton as Batman? Val Kilmer as Batman? You could beat those little un-muscular guys up. Atleast Clooney can't act and is taller than those two. More-so like Adam West.