When Tim Burton kicked off the Batman movies in 1989 he launched not simply a franchise but an entire film genre. However, after he left, the Batman movies went downhill pretty quickly. But what if Tim Burton had continued to direct the future Batman movies? A new video attempts to answer that question by recutting a trailer for Batman & Robin in the way that Tim Burton himself might have done it. All of the sudden, this movie doesn't look so bad.
In case you were curious, it is, in fact, possible to edit anything in such a way as to make it look much better than it is. This re-edit of Batman & Robin by YouTuber Sam Ibrahim, which adds some dialogue not found in the film as voice over, but is otherwise made up entirely of actual film footage, all of the sudden looks like something worth watching.
The major shift is, of course, the tone. Joel Schumacher intentionally wanted to go for something lighter than the serious version of the character that Tim Burton had created. That serious tone is back with this trailer edit. Everything is done in shades of dark blue and none of the one-liners are anywhere to be found. In fact, we never get a line of dialogue from George Clooney as either Bruce Wayne or Batman.
We also never get a clear look at Mr. Freeze because in this version he's not played by Arnold Schwarzenegger but instead Dexter's Michael C. Hall. This is the voice over that's been added. If there's a major issue with the trailer, it's likely this. Michael C. Hall began his acting career on Six Feet Under in 2001, four years after Batman & Robin had been released. It's unlikely even Tim Burton would have tapped a complete unknown to play such a major role. Still, we can't say it doesn't work. Freeze looks menacing here. This is likely the version of the character that many fans would have much rather seen, regardless of who played the part.
Of course, what's most interesting about this version of Batman & Robin may not be what it contains, but what's been removed. There is no Poison Ivy, no Bane, and no Batgirl. All of these characters have been excised entirely for a movie that focuses solely on Mr. Freeze as the villain, the film's title has even been changed to Sub Zero, a reference to one of the animated features that was created as part of Batman: The Animated Series.
The title change is also due to another major shift this version of the film makes, Dick Grayson is not playing Robin in this film. Instead, he makes the transition to Nightwing. It's an interesting idea. Although, considering Robin was only introduced at the end of the previous film, that change is probably a little fast.
Would you have rather seen this version of George Clooney's Batman movie? Let us know in the comments below.
