Desperation has set in in Gotham City, Warner Brothers. Schumacher's concern with camera movement and rapid cutting excludes the possibility that the elaborate set design might serve to enhance the characters or compliment the performances of the actors. The result is that while there are some spectacular vistas in the new Gotham, trying to take them in while the plot barrels merrily away towards some uninteresting resolution is like trying to take photographs from a speeding train. Each action highlight seems intent on being more busy than the previous, with little regard for rhyme, reason or logic. Mr. Freeze's army of skating soldiers comes directly from the TV show, where hordes of extras in appropriate costumes would be biffed and blatted every week, only to reappear again on the following show with little evident harm to their person.
Nothing motivates the action in the film except the demands of action itself.
Without firm control on the part of the director, or a script to provide substance, it merely seems like the film wants to get to the end credits as quickly as possible so that the next show can run in time for the next group punters to get in and pay out. There is nothing to enjoy here, and certainly nothing to appreciate. The viewer is herded through a series of sound-bite moments designed to show off costumes, cars and merchandise, all in the name of making Batman seem more fun so that kids will buy licensed items. But at the end of the day, you are left only with a bad aftertaste and an urge to stomp repeatedly on the lobby display cards on your way out of the theatre. On the acting side, Thurman struggles badly somewhere between high camp and amateur theatrics and Schwarzenegger has never seemed so immobile.