Batman and Robin (1949)

Powerful

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

The caped crusaders versus The Wizard, black-hooded mastermind. Batman and Robin (1949) makes Batman & Robin (1997) look like the Batman Begins (2005) in front of this mess of a film, show or whatever i just watched. Whoever designed the costumes for both of the 2 famous heroes should just be fired, Batman looks like a Circus freak and Robin more like Zorro meets Green Lantern. The action was super cheesy and just way too silly to even to enjoy it properly. I'd rather watch Schwarzenegger and his ice puns rather than this ever again in my life. (0/10)

I think 'Batman and Robin' (1949) gets a really bad rap. In my opinion, it's really fun, fast-paced, nostalgic entertainment. There are obviously really silly bits in it, but there are very few truly cringeworthy moments in it. Most of the poor special effects and moments of deus ex machina (Batman's blowtorch magically appearing on his utility belt) just add to the fun, in my opinion. I think Robert Lowery looked, sounded and was GREAT as Batman. Obviously at first, his costume looks a bit hokey, but you really get used to it. The cape looks amazing and it's perfectly dark and black throughout (compared to the 1943 cape which looked depressingly white on occasion). Even the 'devil-horns' (which a lot of people complain about) grew on me and reminded me of Batman's original 1939 suit. Lowery also had a physical presence as Batman that neither Lewis Wilson or even Adam West had. He LOOKED tough and athletic (although he could have been wearing a girdle, :P). John Duncan is decent and inoffensive as Robin. He's not given a LOT to do, but what he does, he does it pretty well. People complain that he's too old and I suppose he is, but he easily passes for a 19-22 year old and is just as plausible as an older Boy Wonder as Chris O'Donnell (who I loved) was, 46 years later. Also, even though it lacks the yellow cape of the comics, I LOVE Robin's costume. It's much darker and looks great next to Batman. I like to think that the cape is a very dark green, as opposed to black. Probably the best thing about this serial, when comparing it to the original is the plot and the villain. The 'Remote Control Machine' and 'The Wizard' are far more interesting (albeit slightly clichéd) villains than the irritatingly racist-propaganda-villain from the original. The actor playing the Wizard is again, a tough, imposing villain with an amazingly fascinating voice. He really seems like a genuine threat to Batman. My biggest problem with this serial is that Batman and Robin lose nearly every single fight in it, so that there can be a cliffhanger. In spite of Lowery's toughness, Batman really isn't and every criminal he gets his hands on, he "hands over to the police for questioning", instead of pounding the answers out of them, himself. Not to mention, in several chapters, Batman and Robin follow the villains to the entrance of their secret hideout, only to lose track of them. It's really irritating that Batman never considers staking out the entrance. The final installment of this serial is really entertaining and my favourite chapter, probably because it highlights all of the flaws I have just mentioned. Batman finally decides to wait outside the entrance to the secret lair, follows one of the henchmen in and DEMANDS that he bring him to the Wizard. Lowery is REALLY cool in this scene. I think that Lowery and Duncan would have been great for a 1950s Batman TV show, along the same lines as the first season of 'Adventures of Superman', which was incredibly dark and full of gangsters and murderers. Single episodes would suit the characters better than drawn-out serials, purely because they could display their power in full, rather than having it frustratingly neutered and saved for the finale, as happened in this serial. Nevertheless, I would definitely recommend this serial to all fans of Batman. Personally, in spite of its flaws, I find it to be far more enjoyable than the 1966 show, which while excellent, was just a big joke. I prefer the unintentional, kitschy humour of this serial, not to mention the performance of Lowery who is probably my favourite live-action Batman before the blockbuster movies began (and frankly, I'd rank him above George Clooney, easily).

there is no suspense in this serial! When one episode ends the acting is so shoddy, the effects are so poor and the script is so awful that the last thing on your mind is how Batman and Robin will save the day. No, in fact, the last thing on your mind is watching the next episode! This show is so boring that I can't see how it ever got made, let alone released on DVD! Obviously the effects are not up to par with contemporary Batman films, but even the script is awful. An incoherent babbling mess about some evil professor and a ray gun or something like that, I am not quite sure, because it is too awful to follow. Watch the 60s version, or the 90's versions, or even Batman Begins, just anything over this version!

There is not a better example of a typical 40's/50's cliffhanger matinée serial than this underbudgeted Batman entry. And, you're either going to embrace all it's flawed charms or not. There's no in between.First,let me tell you where I'm coming from. I loved the Batman 60's TV program for all it's campiness, and I am still amazed at Burton's first Warner Bros. Batman blockbuster with Keaton/Nicholson which incredibly and masterfully convinced us to suspend disbelief and take the masked crusader seriously. The '49 Batman serial, while closer to the TV version, than the high budgeted movie spectacular, for me, is somewhere in between. The reason is, that I saw this serial for the first time as an 8 year old matinée movie goer in Florida during it's first release.It was much different then, and I'm not convinced that in spite of the advancements in production values and special effects that it was any more fun or magical to be a movie kid today as it was in the 50's. We all see movies through our own set of filters and if your's are the Matrix and video games, you will probably not be a fan of Batman '49.We were not blind or stupid, we saw the flaws and didn't care. We also saw the adventure and embraced it. For all it's lack of high production, this Batman and Robin was a whole lot of fun. And in running the VHS or DVD versions, I'm transported back to a simpler time, and, more importantly, am convinced that this example of matinée fare is typical of what my generation of baby boomers learned from the movies about right from wrong and good from evil.