Batman & Robin: A Different Lens

A serviceable edit of "Batman & Robin" that removes the worst of the worst from a storytelling standpoint, but retains, by no fault of the editor (you work with what you got) the eye-searing neon and the "Clueless" Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl.

If you want to watch a watchable version of "Batman & Robin" without drastic changes to the presentation or music (à la MusicEd921's black & white B&R: Deep Freeze), then this is the edit for you. Certainly not a film for fans of the grimdark Batman, but fans of the '66 Adam West Batman or the "The Brave & The Bold" might appreciate Zarius's efforts here.

I would only recommend this movie to those who only grew up with the Joel Schumacher Batman movies or is a fan of Alfred as this movie fanedited or not won't ever compare to the other batman but I would say that Zarius has succeeded in fixing it from being a disasterpiece to an actual decent movie that is very much actually captures the spirit of the Adam West TV series very closely which is a fun batman story with heart that I never thought I would see in the original version. If there is any payoff to this movie is that it does make a great ode to alfred who was played by the same actor ever since the first Tim Burton's Batman so anybody who is a fan of him will also liked this movie too. What made this edit work is because it is the most light-hearted movie, Zarius did the viewers the favor of trimming out any backstory for the villains which isn't really needed to tell a simple story about villains teaming up to defeat Batman and he needs help to stop them with his newly extended family which is really is what this movie is all about. Basically it's a rehash of Batman Forever but with three villains plus a Batgirl but that is only the movie's fault and not Zarius. I especially loved the open-ended post-credits scene that actually made me want a sequel even though I know that it will never happen but nevertheless a very clever edit. Overall for a batman movie it is still not great in terms of story, tone, and acting but as a pilot to a tv show especially as homage to the Adam West batman series it is okay in its own right which what I was hoping for in this movie but nothing more than that.

This fanfix does about much fixing as is possible for a pretty weak movie. Removing the poor efforts at being camp, which mostly came across as ham acting rather than anything clever, the slapstick, the puns, the bickering, whiny Robin and the endless crotch shots, the film becomes watchable. You end up with an okay film suited for a juvenile audience, once the worst dross stripped away. No longer an agony to watch; nothing spectacular, but by no means awful.

I can't rate my enjoyment higher than I have, but that is not the editor's fault, given what s/he had to work on.

I only have a few quibbles: it would have been nice to lose Robin shouting "Cowabunga!," and the nonsense about Alfred looking for his brother who works for an Indian maharajah who apparently travels on an elephant, although I am sure there were good reasons for keeping both in.

Technically the edit is great, and (bar CGI to remove Batman's silver codpiece in his costume in the third act), I really can't see what could be improved.

Thank you for doing this job.

Batman & Robin, as is, is one of those movies that's so bad it's transcendent. A Different Lens, on the other hand, is very entertaining, but on a genuine level and not on an unintentional level, keeping the story a little more closer in tone to previous Batman films. A lot of the more infamously terrible moments have been wisely cut out, resulting in a decidedly different but very enjoyable experience.

This is the second B&R fanedit I've watched since greencapt's "De-Assified" edition, and I must say — ever since I saw the post-credits scene on Zarius' ideas thread, I've been anxious to see this edit materialise.

Now that the time has finally come and I've watched this on Google Drive last week, I can safely say this is a significant improvement over the theatrical cut.

Bruce and Dick's petty squabble over Poison Ivy has been cut from the film, leaving Schumacher's intended narrative to truly shine. The film is now centered over the dynamic duo's trust issues and Mr. Freeze's plans to freeze Gotham City.

Notable changes include the removal of the infamous bat credit-card, Ivy and Bane's origins have been excised, some of Freeze's one-liners have been cut, and most of all, Bruce's dinner date with Julie Madison have been repurposed as a post-credits scene. Very creative!

Now the audio/visual editing isn't perfect (hence barring me from giving this a perfect 10/10 rating), but the story flows much better and my enjoyment is thorough for a revamped version of a film I actually already like on its own.

Highly recommended! Greatly anticipating a BF re-edit from you soon, Zarius!