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Batman & Robin
Encased in a sub-zero cryosuit and allied with the sultry and deadly Poison Ivy--a botanical supermenace from the steamy jungles of South America--Mr. Freeze grips the city in a terrifying reign of villainy. Based on the blockbuster movie starring George Clooney as the legendary Dark Knight, with Chris O'Donnell as his daredevil partner, Robin. Superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger weighs in as the icy villain Mr. Freeze, along with a cast of famous faces including Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy, and Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl.
219 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1997
5 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
About the author
Michael Jan Friedman
373 books205 followersMichael Jan Friedman is an author of more than seventy books of fiction and nonfiction, half of which are in the Star Trek universe. Eleven of his titles have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. Friedman has also written for network and cable television and radio, and scripted nearly 200 comic books, including his original DC superhero series, the Darkstars.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 30, 2013
Confession: Unlike most everyone else in the known universe, I have never hated the film Batman & Robin. I was ten-years-old when it was released in theaters, and it was a movie that had a special appeal for the ten-year-old-boy demographic. I still remember watching it on the big screen with my dad, and I thought it was amazing. So while my adult eyes now recognize that it was a bad film, nostalgia prevents me from ever holding it in zealous contempt. Being free from the blinding hatred that plagues many a Bat-fan, I can see Batman & Robin for what it is: a film overly burdened by apathetic direction and commercial expectations, but built upon an interesting premise that is subtly present but never fully realized.
That premise is a much greater presence and much more realized in Michael Jan Friedman’s short novelization of the film, based upon Akiva Goldsman’s original screenplay. The idea underlying the film and the book is this: Both Victor Fries and Bruce Wayne are psychologically off-balance, unable to cope with death, and in a desperate fight against reality. Bruce loses his parents at a young age and spends the rest of his life obsessively trying to prevent such violence from happening again – “an attempt to control death itself,” as Alfred puts it, disapprovingly. Fries likewise cannot cope with reality’s natural chaos, cryogenically freezing his disease-stricken wife and turning to a life of crime to fund his attempts to cure her incurable ailment.
Friedman underscores this theme from the very beginning of his book, with an early meeting between Fries and a twenty-year-old Bruce. Bruce is presented here as a young crime-fighter-in-training, obsessively traveling the world to be taught by the best of the best. Fries is presented as a successful decathlete, obsessively training for his next Olympic outing. When Bruce asks Fries to share the secret of his success in the long jump, Fries reveals that he simply defies gravity. He closes his eyes and wills himself to stay in the air, fighting with gravity to the bitter end. Bruce takes the lesson to heart, reasoning that with enough will power, even the basic rules of physics can be subdued. And, as an extension, even if his mission to control death seems an inevitable failure, he will not accept it. He will do battle with reality until it is tamed.
The inclusion of this prelude – along with other psychologically rich scenes that were ultimately cut from the theatrical version – makes the book a big improvement over the film.
But none of this is to say that the novel is all that good. It still has most of the flaws of the movie. Poison Ivy, Bane, and Batgirl are all still characters, for no good reason. It is still full of ice puns. Even more than the movie, believe it or not. And perhaps most damningly, the ending still contradicts the central thesis. Bruce, in the plot’s seminal moment, agrees with Alfred that he cannot control death – and then he proceeds to do so anyway. Batman and Robin save Alfred. Fries saves his wife. Nobody dies, and everyone lives happily ever after. The message seems to be if you work hard enough, you can bend reality to meet your will. You can control death itself.
The book is better than the movie, but both could have been great had they the courage to follow through on the implications they set up. They could have appealed to adult as well as child-like sensibilities. But as it stands, they will continue to find their strongest audience among ten-year-old boys and nostalgic twenty-somethings.
That premise is a much greater presence and much more realized in Michael Jan Friedman’s short novelization of the film, based upon Akiva Goldsman’s original screenplay. The idea underlying the film and the book is this: Both Victor Fries and Bruce Wayne are psychologically off-balance, unable to cope with death, and in a desperate fight against reality. Bruce loses his parents at a young age and spends the rest of his life obsessively trying to prevent such violence from happening again – “an attempt to control death itself,” as Alfred puts it, disapprovingly. Fries likewise cannot cope with reality’s natural chaos, cryogenically freezing his disease-stricken wife and turning to a life of crime to fund his attempts to cure her incurable ailment.
Friedman underscores this theme from the very beginning of his book, with an early meeting between Fries and a twenty-year-old Bruce. Bruce is presented here as a young crime-fighter-in-training, obsessively traveling the world to be taught by the best of the best. Fries is presented as a successful decathlete, obsessively training for his next Olympic outing. When Bruce asks Fries to share the secret of his success in the long jump, Fries reveals that he simply defies gravity. He closes his eyes and wills himself to stay in the air, fighting with gravity to the bitter end. Bruce takes the lesson to heart, reasoning that with enough will power, even the basic rules of physics can be subdued. And, as an extension, even if his mission to control death seems an inevitable failure, he will not accept it. He will do battle with reality until it is tamed.
The inclusion of this prelude – along with other psychologically rich scenes that were ultimately cut from the theatrical version – makes the book a big improvement over the film.
But none of this is to say that the novel is all that good. It still has most of the flaws of the movie. Poison Ivy, Bane, and Batgirl are all still characters, for no good reason. It is still full of ice puns. Even more than the movie, believe it or not. And perhaps most damningly, the ending still contradicts the central thesis. Bruce, in the plot’s seminal moment, agrees with Alfred that he cannot control death – and then he proceeds to do so anyway. Batman and Robin save Alfred. Fries saves his wife. Nobody dies, and everyone lives happily ever after. The message seems to be if you work hard enough, you can bend reality to meet your will. You can control death itself.
The book is better than the movie, but both could have been great had they the courage to follow through on the implications they set up. They could have appealed to adult as well as child-like sensibilities. But as it stands, they will continue to find their strongest audience among ten-year-old boys and nostalgic twenty-somethings.
March 25, 2019
i absolutely loved this book. this is a must have for any lovers of batman who have watched all the movies in existance. i enjoyed reading this book very much. i loved the struggling relationship between batman and robin and their competiveness when it came down to poison ivy. i loved the introduction to batgirl definitely a must read for any DC batman fans out there
December 14, 2020
All I can say is that Michael Jan Friedman novelized a much better movie than the one we saw. A lot is the same, but it also serves to smooth out some awkwardness and make the overall story much more comprehensible.
You can relive this movie with us over on the Three Nice Things podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLg-o...
You can relive this movie with us over on the Three Nice Things podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLg-o...
May 31, 2011
Much, MUCH better than the movie.
January 22, 2015
86 - 2015
July 25, 2021
This is a tough one to review. Am I reviewing the book, the script, or the film? As an adaptation, how much is Friedman and how much is Goldsman, and how much is studio?
I have no good answer.
I thought Clooney was a great Batman. The physical similarities he has with Chris O'Donnell added to the visual poetry and tension in the film. I would have loved to see one or two more of these two together.
The main flaws with the tale were the campiness, self-referential humor, and the obvious (but misplaced) eroticism. We can debate that last one, but let's have truth in advertising, okay? A disclaimer would have helped.
Another problem was Schwarzenegger versus Mr. Freeze. Freeze was given these puns and one-liners that are coin of the realm for any Arnold film. But they just didn't fit with Mr. Freeze. A quiet, brooding, emotionally cold Mr. Freeze, as in the WB cartoons would have fit well.
Uma was a treat, but Bane was a stick figure—albeit on steroids. Thank goodness we got the third Noland film for a better (though not perfect, not Hispanic) Bat-breaker.
So, the script was a jumble of characters, spaghetti subplots, groaning humor, and a big let down.
Friedman did his best with the material, tied it in to the previous films, and added in other DC references: Superman, Mad Hatter, and Scarecrow (who would have been in the villain in the next film: Batman Unchained/Triumphant).
I have no good answer.
I thought Clooney was a great Batman. The physical similarities he has with Chris O'Donnell added to the visual poetry and tension in the film. I would have loved to see one or two more of these two together.
The main flaws with the tale were the campiness, self-referential humor, and the obvious (but misplaced) eroticism. We can debate that last one, but let's have truth in advertising, okay? A disclaimer would have helped.
Another problem was Schwarzenegger versus Mr. Freeze. Freeze was given these puns and one-liners that are coin of the realm for any Arnold film. But they just didn't fit with Mr. Freeze. A quiet, brooding, emotionally cold Mr. Freeze, as in the WB cartoons would have fit well.
Uma was a treat, but Bane was a stick figure—albeit on steroids. Thank goodness we got the third Noland film for a better (though not perfect, not Hispanic) Bat-breaker.
So, the script was a jumble of characters, spaghetti subplots, groaning humor, and a big let down.
Friedman did his best with the material, tied it in to the previous films, and added in other DC references: Superman, Mad Hatter, and Scarecrow (who would have been in the villain in the next film: Batman Unchained/Triumphant).
August 22, 2021
I enjoyed it. I remember being bored by the movie—I might have even fallen asleep in the theater. But I had fun reading this.
I thought the contrast between Freeze’s commitment to his wife and Batman’s lack of commitment to his girlfriend was cool (pun intended). I wish the story did more with this. I thought Poison Ivy was the most interesting character.
I thought the contrast between Freeze’s commitment to his wife and Batman’s lack of commitment to his girlfriend was cool (pun intended). I wish the story did more with this. I thought Poison Ivy was the most interesting character.
September 3, 2021
Like the earlier Batman novelization, this particular novelization stands out as an excellent adaptation of the source material. I don't really love this movie, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It adds just enough color and back story to some of the characters to make the read very interesting.
November 27, 2020
So hard to read. I always liked this movie (more than most people) but this book made me hate it. Going out of the way to not use the word "said" and the 100 word descriptions of things as simple as a pointed cowl. This book was 90% filler and painful to read.
May 24, 2022
Just like the movie, I can’t tell if this is terrible or a masterpiece. While the action sequences and narration is rather bland, the quippy and overly ice-punny dialogue made me laugh on several occasions. It’s campy
May 27, 2020
This book is a good batman story.
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January 12, 2022Discussed on the pod with guest Paxton Holley!
https://anchor.fm/authorizedpod/episo...
https://anchor.fm/authorizedpod/episo...
December 20, 2024
There is a saying that reading the book of the film is usually better than the movie. Given that the movie is Batman and Robin, sadly that doesn't make it any better.
To anyone who had to endure how bad the movie was please avoid this at all costs, this is bad. Maybe the only silver lining to this is the fact that you can imagine better actors and the fact that the Bruce Wayne and Alfred parts of the story are nice, not to mention how Arkham is filled with more prisoners from the comics. But other than that. Awful. D-
To anyone who had to endure how bad the movie was please avoid this at all costs, this is bad. Maybe the only silver lining to this is the fact that you can imagine better actors and the fact that the Bruce Wayne and Alfred parts of the story are nice, not to mention how Arkham is filled with more prisoners from the comics. But other than that. Awful. D-
July 8, 2014
I read this book as a little kid and loved it again. Now I reread it again and I know that it doesn't deserve four stars, mostly because of the movie, on which it is bazed on, but hey - child's memories are forever.
March 27, 2009
this 1997 summer motion picture hit, Batman & Robin finnaly reunited and created Batgirl, is up to the Bat team to save Gotham from Mr. Frezze and Posion Ivy.
March 20, 2013
Better than the movie that nearly killed the franchise forever
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews