BATMAN & ROBIN

Director Joel Schumacher's visual style actually proves to enhance, rather than hinder the newest entry in the Warner Bros. Batman film series. His last outing, Batman Forever, suffered greatly from heavy-handed editing & visual jolts every two seconds. The latest, Batman & Robin, is for the most part accessible to the discriminating viewer. The plot, involving Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze and Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy, has the two villains doing their utmost to freeze the city and stop the hearts of the dynamic duo. A subplot involving Alicia Silverstone as the troubled niece of Alfred the Butler is the only thing that almost stops the film dead in its tracks. George Clooney is fine as the Caped Crusader, but then again, almost anyone with a defined jawline has proven adequate for the job as the previous films attest.

The DVD looks stunning. The production design to this film is filled with elaborate colors and one can recognize great detail in even the most subtle changes of grey and black. There are a number of darker scenes which have absolutely perfect clarity to them, another triumph related to the advancements of DVD technology. Although the picture looks similar in both the letterboxed and P&S versions, the 1.85:1 scope more accurately displays the special effects featured throughout the film. The English and French soundtrack offers Dolby Digital 5.1 for a variety of detailed sound effects. They're used in achieving great atmospheric effects throughout the film. The standard Dolby Surround Stereo is also available in both languages, and the sound effects are still extremely impressive, although without as great a detail.