good back-story, and good acting

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

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 really wish I had seen this as a kid because I'm pretty well convinced I wouldn't have fallen for any of the goofy gimmicks on display here. Don't get me wrong, these Columbia serials have a special place in the minds and hearts of Batman fans like myself, but they do take a special effort to get through. One is always on the fence on how liberal one's use of the fast forward button ought to be, in my case I have to breeze through each of the opening chapters to get to just the right spot to see what kind of red herring the last one offered before a car went over a cliff or some building blew up.Robert Lowery and Johnny Duncan seemed like pretty good choices to portray the costumed heroes; Lowery managed to distract me a bit with his uncanny resemblance to Johnny Weissmuller, and it eventually dawned on me that he portrayed Big Tim Champion in the 'Circus Boy' TV series of the mid-Fifties. How he dealt with the Bat-Mask I'll never know, the protruding nose and ears might have been menacing to crooks but they seemed rather silly looking to me. Perhaps to further a connection to Batman's namesake, I thought it interesting that the script often called for him to swoop down from an elevated position with outstretched cape to simulate a flying bat.One of the funniest things throughout the entire serial occurred when Batman needed a blow torch to cut through some wall or other, and he just so happened to have one under his cape. Throughout the story there are a myriad of credibility defying devices introduced that boggle the mind like a remote control machine that stops automotive vehicles in their tracks, invisibility rays, and a tele-viewer the Wizard is able to use to see virtually anything the script calls for.More than anything, what blows my mind is that at one time, grown men saw fit to write, produce and act in these stories with virtually no self-conscious embarrassment over how dumb they looked. Take for example any scene in which more than one thug or henchman was involved in which they consistently crossed paths wondering what to do next. And was it my imagination or did every uniformed policeman in the picture look like he was already past retirement age? Well look, I don't want to rain on anyone's parade here. Early serials like this were an interesting attempt to get super-heroes from the comic pages onto the big screen and were wildly and successfully accepted by young matinée fans of the day. And if you missed an episode during any fifteen chapter run it's not like it would have been the end of the world. You just picked up the story in mid stream the following week and you'd be back on track in no time.

Granting the budget and time constraints of serial production, BATMAN AND ROBIN nonetheless earns a place near the bottom of any "cliffhanger" list, utterly lacking the style, imagination, and atmosphere of its 1943 predecessor, BATMAN.The producer, Sam Katzman, was known as "King of the Quickies" and, like his director, Spencer Bennett, seemed more concerned with speed and efficiency than with generating excitement. (Unfortunately, this team also produced the two Superman serials, starring Kirk Alyn, with their tacky flying animation, canned music, and dull supporting players.) The opening of each chapter offers a taste of things to come: thoroughly inane titles ("Robin Rescues Batman," "Batman vs Wizard"), mechanical music droning on, and our two heroes stumbling toward the camera looking all around, either confused or having trouble seeing through their cheap Halloween masks. Batman's cowl, with its devil's horns and eagle's beak, fits so poorly that the stuntman has to adjust it during the fight scenes. His "utility belt" is a crumpled strip of cloth with no compartments, from which he still manages to pull a blowtorch and an oxygen tube at critical moments!In any case, the lead players are miscast. Robert Lowery displays little charm or individual flair as Bruce Wayne, and does not cut a particularly dynamic figure as Batman. He creates the impression that he'd rather be somewhere, anywhere else! John Duncan, as Robin, has considerable difficulty handling his limited dialogue. He is too old for the part, with an even older stuntman filling in for him. Out of costume, Lowery and Duncan are as exciting as tired businessmen ambling out for a drink, without one ounce of the chemistry evident between Lewis Wilson and Douglas Croft in the 1943 serial.Although serials were not known for character development, the earlier BATMAN managed to present a more energetic cast. This one offers a group going through the motions, not that the filmmakers provide much support. Not one of the hoodlums stands out, and they are led by one of the most boring villains ever, "The Wizard." (Great name!) Actually, they are led by someone sporting a curtain, a shawl, and a sack over his head, with a dubbed voice that desperately tries to sound menacing. The "prime suspects" -- an eccentric professor, a radio broadcaster -- are simply annoying.Even the established comic book "regulars" are superfluous. It is hard to discern much romance between Vicki Vale and Bruce Wayne. Despite the perils she faces, Vicki displays virtually no emotion. Commissioner Gordon is none-too-bright. Unlike in the previous serial, Alfred the butler is a mere walk-on whose most important line is "Mr Wayne's residence." They are props for a drawn-out, gimmick-laden, incoherent plot, further saddled with uninspired, repetitive music and amateurish production design. The Wayne Manor exterior resembles a suburban middle-class home in any sitcom, the interiors those of a cheap roadside motel. The Batcave is an office desperately in need of refurbishing. (The costumes are kept rolled up in a filing cabinet!)Pity that the filmmakers couldn't invest more effort into creating a thrilling adventure. While the availability of the two serials on DVD is a plus for any serious "Batfan," one should not be fooled by the excellent illustrations on the box. They capture more of the authentic mood of the comic book than all 15 chapters of BATMAN AND ROBIN combined.Now for the good news -- this is not the 1997 version!

I remember this being shown in serial version as a black & white fill-in for a 70s youth culture show in Australia. It was actually a music and pop culture show, and this was done as a novelty bit; but I thoroughly loved it; and avidly followed the adventure every week. I wish some younger kids shows of today had the guts to try something like that, and reinvent the classic stories.I especially remember the submarine going to the hidden lair of the villain.And also Batman and Robin riding around in the standard convertible. For a while, I started to doubt this version existed, since it never got mentioned in any discussion of Batman.It's this version that caused me to be rather dismissive of the more campy over-the-top TV series (starring Adam West and Burt Ward) that everyone is so fond of now.