Starring George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Uma Thurman, Chris O'Donnell and Alicia Silverstone Directed by Joel Schumacher Rated PG-13, with much comic-book violence and double-entendre Running time 130 minutes Jack gives this film a rating of 4 out of 10

(June 20, 1997) -- Batman & Robin is too much. Literally.

From the second film on, the Batman movies have evolved into the Hollywood equivalent of the lazy man's load. Instead of carrying a few engrossing plot lines and a couple memorable characters, the films pile on multiple villains, dozens of extraneous elements and an endless parade of mind-numbing effects until they collapse under the weight of it all.

They're also like three-ring circuses. Audiences think they're getting more bang for their buck, but they're constantly distracted, trying to check out the nearly simultaneous action in rings one, two and three.

And the concept reduces Batman to the role of ringmaster -- a guy you rarely notice and ultimately forget about. Increasingly, the Batman films have been about the villains; no wonder leading men keep walking away from the role.

The new Batman is George Clooney, the handsome likable headliner of TV's ER, who is continuing his drive for big-screen stardom. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman play tag-team villains Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy.

Clooney brings a maturity to the role of the Caped Crusader -- and a suggestion of depth. I wish he had been allowed to grapple with some of the darker psychological threads that were woven around the character in the first two films, when Michael Keaton had the role.

Alas, there's little for Clooney to do in Batman & Robin beyond posturing in the thickly molded bat suit. Akiva Goldsman's script tries to inject heart into the film by putting Batman's faithful man-servant, Alfred, in ill health; but it's too little too late. (Fortunately Alfred is played by Michael Gough, the top-billed survivor of the three previous films and easily the best actor in the series.)

If Batman and Alfred are holding down ring one, and the villains are camping it up in ring two, then the stars of ring three are the film's obvious teen attractions -- Chris O'Donnell as Robin and Alicia Silverstone as the newly arrived Batgirl.

O'Donnell is a holdover from the last film and plays Robin here as a precocious upstart who wants equal billing -- his own bat signal in the sky and his own batmobile. "I want a car. The chicks dig the car," he says, with sublime shallowness.

Silverstone, who was so impressive in Clueless, doesn't have a clue what to do with Batgirl. For one thing, she's supposed to be English -- Alfred's niece -- but makes no attempt at an accent, which is only too obvious when she has conversations with the Shakespearian-trained Gough.

Her big contribution appears to be an ability to ride a motorcycle, but that only leads to the film's dullest scene, a pointless cycle chase through Gotham, made confusing by the eternal darkness and the helmets.

Obviously, it's up to the villains to save Batman & Robin, and Poison Ivy, at least, makes a valiant effort. Granted, the character has much in common with the dastardly flirtatious Cat Woman, played earlier by Michelle Pfeiffer. But Uma Thurman brings a comic Mae West flair to Ivy; she's the only actor who manages to bring the script's many joke lines and bad puns to life.

As Mr. Freeze, Schwarzenegger is hampered, in part, by a clumsy costume that makes him look like a Buick on legs; and also by his overt way with a joke. His lines would be better delivered as asides, casually thrown away; Schwarzenegger spouts Freeze's endless chill puns with heavy emphasis, as if he's afraid people won't get the joke if he doesn't also elbow them in the ribs.

Joel Schumacher's direction often has flirted with the flamboyant, and never more than in Batman & Robin. Several of the film's major set pieces are staged as if part of an extravagant chrome-ladden musical. This is especially clear in the film's effective, high-energy opener -- a confrontation between our heroes and a legion of Freeze henchmen, playing a violent hockey game in an iced-over museum. Starlight Express, anyone?

If your idea of a good time in summer is simply to see a movie that moves, with lots and lots of combat toys and swirling action, then Batman & Robin delivers. (Whenever the Caped Ones are in trouble, they have just the right tool up their sleeves; they're constantly shooting grappling hooks and portable bombs from levers attached to their wrists.)

But if you've outgrown comic book movies, just as you did comic books themselves; then Batman & Robin soon wears thin. There is simply too much pizzazz and not enough purpose. Indeed, sometimes more is less.