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So after the release of Batman & Robin, one of the decisions that was heavily criticized was the decision to have Arnold Schwarzenegger play the villainous Mr. Freeze. Originally, I thought the same. Audiences knew him as an exuberant action hero with clever one-liners, and didn't see different onscreen. While the final result wasn't very convincing, I think there's still a case to be made for why Schwarzenegger was a good choice for Mr. Freeze.

The best case is actually Terminator - the first, where he was a stone-cold killer. Just look at the brutality.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFxaCa-hr8o

One thing that absolutely wasn't present in Batman & Robin is Arnold's ability to actually convincingly act without emotions (as opposed to someone being a corny robot). He even had a distinct robotic quality to his voice in monotone (which sadly didn't carry over in lines like "cool party"). Another quirk of Arnold in this serious role is that he could actually portray humor without breaking character
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-o-4txOiVE

Some good things we did see in the film were that this guy could fill the Freeze suit. I also found his recollections of his wife even a bit moving (though it usually got broken up by a one-liner).

I like Joel Schumacher, and I defend a lot of his decisions that many don't agree with. Though in this case, I'm afraid I have to say it's the direction and not the actor that made the character fall short of his true potential.

I voted 'yes' Slashman and I entirely agree with everything you said.  :)

I'll try to add some more thoughts at a later date, but I'm of the opinion that Schumacher's reasoning for casting Schwarzenegger, that he was a Teutonic type who looked like he was 'built out of a glacier' were entirely sound and it was simply the script and the direction that let Schwarzenegger's performance down (even though there were hints of a decent story with respect to Mr Freeze's mourning for his wife - taken from the 'Heart of Ice' episode of B:TAS.

I was going to mention Terminator when I saw the headline, but both of you already beat me to the punch.

Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze might have worked if he played the same stone cold killer like he did in T1. In fact, I could imagine him like this in one of Arkham City's concept artwork. I bet the glowing red eyes in this were inspired by Terminator too.

(https://www.batman-online.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fvignette4.wikia.nocookie.net%2Fbatman%2Fimages%2F4%2F44%2FMrFreeze_conceptart-arkhamcity.png%2Frevision%2Flatest%3Fcb%3D20140227061757&hash=e92af926f65fd0bbc09795229ebc4350eb42220d)

And besides, Mr. Freeze is a character who completely lost his humanity when he suffered that accident, so I don't think a lack of emotion in Arnie's acting would be a defect.

like Clooney the role is so poorly written that it's nearly impossible to give a serious assessment to the actor.

Mr. Freeze is a character with a clear motive just like the Terminator; both characters have one goal and will do whatever is required and accept any collateral damage (pun intended) to acheive their end means. Neither take their eyes off the prize. In T2 and T3 Schwarzeneger was able to give funny lines without being embarassing or stopping the plot.


Still that being said I'm voting a no on the basis that there were better options; Patrick Stewart and Anthony Hopkins were both considered but vetoed by Schumacher. Both are infinitely better actors than Arnold.

Patrick Stewart as a "Heart of Ice" style Freeze. Wow. That could have been perfection.

Nah, Arnold was perfect for the time it was made (considering you need a box office draw in big films like this).  The Austrian accent was like Otto Preminger's German accent in the 60s show.  It was obviously more of a 50s/60s inspired Mr Freeze than 'Heart of Ice'.  Even the ice puns were from that era.

But it was still good of Schumacher to include parts of 'Heart of Ice' in the movie.

I've always associated the ice-themed Freeze and his wife with Scandinavia, so it made sense to me that he was played by a Nordic-looking actor like Schwarzenegger.  I also like that Freeze was originally an Olympian as well as a genius scientist, making him the guy who had everything, brains, brawn, good-looks, a gorgeous wife, and a happy marriage, before his wife tragically succumbed to illness.

Quote from: OutRiddled on Tue, 17 May  2016, 02:25
Nah, Arnold was perfect for the time it was made (considering you need a box office draw in big films like this).  The Austrian accent was like Otto Preminger's German accent in the 60s show.  It was obviously more of a 50s/60s inspired Mr Freeze than 'Heart of Ice'.  Even the ice puns were from that era.

But it was still good of Schumacher to include parts of 'Heart of Ice' in the movie.

I agree. I think Schumacher always made that association with the character from the '66 series, so there wasn't really another direction to go if the characterization was going to remain filled with freeze puns. And honestly when you watch this film, the whole movie is built around Arnold. I think that's why Schumacher didn't give the replacement for Val anymore thought than what he did. I believe he felt Arnold would be the star and Batman was more or less a visual prop for this particular story. Clooney was all the buzz on television with ER, so Schumacher probably felt he was a safe choice to fill the role.

I think the biggest problem here is that Arnold really had no one to play off of. Clooney was so vanilla, it was difficult to see Freeze as anything other than a ancillary type character with scripted villainy to drive the plot, but otherwise no emotional queues for the audience to pick or chose sides except for who was wearing the hero costumes. So changing the actor who played Freeze really wouldn't have remedied the bigger issues in play here. Besides even the people who seem to hate this movie still love to recite Arnold in the role, so that might be one of the accidental closet pleasures this film will always provide. The critics can only deny Arnold so much before they feel inclined to start imitating his delivery. Even some of the takeouts from Deadpool have Ryan Reynolds imitating Arnold.

With respect to the freeze puns; by most accounts Arnold is a good sport, Clooney speaks very highly about how welcoming Arnold was on set despite Clooney being a newcomer to the big screen. I can't say I've ever seen an actor or director complain about having to work with Arnold. So no matter how you feel about his performance I think we can conclude that unlike Clooney he gave it his all. How many actors would have given up trying or even walked off set about having to say that many freeze puns? Arnold took it all in and had fun with it.

I guess if they were copying Vincent price from the 60's, Arnold was the likely choice.

Arnold could have been really brilliant in the role. Emotionless and built like a tank, just like the original Terminator movie. He was entertaining in B&R, but I still can't help but feel it was a massive wasted opportunity.

It could have been a lot more effective if Freezes motivation were a mystery. I would have had him serious not have a lot of dialogue overall. Give him an actual cold personality and have Batman find out later in the film that he is stealing diamonds for his wife.

Quote from: riddler on Tue, 24 May  2016, 14:17Clooney speaks very highly about how welcoming Arnold was on set despite Clooney being a newcomer to the big screen.

Really ? I have never seen quotes by Clooney about working with Arnold. That's cool to know, though :)

Quote from: BatmanReturns88 on Wed,  3 Aug  2016, 21:06

Quote from: riddler on Tue, 24 May  2016, 14:17Clooney speaks very highly about how welcoming Arnold was on set despite Clooney being a newcomer to the big screen.

Really ? I have never seen quotes by Clooney about working with Arnold. That's cool to know, though :)

Nothing recent but I watched a few promotions at the time of release such as a spot on Leno, basically the context of his quote was "I was a newcomer to the screen and Arnold went out of his way to welcome and accept me, he didn't have to and I have nothing but good things to say about him". They did work together on an environmental project while Arnold was governor about 10 years later.

As much as Arnold is noted for being the Terminator and Conan, I honestly believe he will be equally known for playing Freeze and I doubt it will be frowned on when he's gone. He captured the spirit of the villain using his own brand of delivery. I think people have come to embrace his role in this film and honestly who doesn't know all of his lines? That kind of speaks for itself.

Arnold didn't give an Oscar-winning performance in B&R. But it still takes a lot of skill to perform the way he did. Playing a little over the top in a fun and zany way is hard as hell to do. People who make fun of that performance are mostly accustomed to more modern, Methody types of acting. Arnold is demonstrating some really solid range and talent. It isn't a "serious" performance, no, but it's still top shelf acting. Underrated.

Glad to see this post resurface, I had been thinking about this. And yes Arnold could have been so good at it if it had been written right. He still was good at what was written. I adore him (I hate some of the things he's done in his personal life, but I can't bring myself to hate him, and he's tried to make up for those things anyway), and yes like was said before it feels like such a wasted chance that his ties to Batman will always be considered a joke. Maybe someday there'll be another chance for him.

Quote from: Catwoman on Sat,  9 Sep  2017, 08:51
Glad to see this post resurface, I had been thinking about this. And yes Arnold could have been so good at it if it had been written right. He still was good at what was written. I adore him (I hate some of the things he's done in his personal life, but I can't bring myself to hate him, and he's tried to make up for those things anyway), and yes like was said before it feels like such a wasted chance that his ties to Batman will always be considered a joke. Maybe someday there'll be another chance for him.

I think had they tried to make him more serious, it might have been even hokier than what it was. I believe that treatment was pretty much what it needed to be for such an outrageous character. Mr. Freeze is very much a creation for comics. Why not have fun with it? I think Arnold will always be remembered for it in a fun way. I think Schumacher takes the chief blame for dialogue, not the actors.

I don't think he has to be outrageous and cartoony. There's a reason "Heart of Ice" is one of the most beloved episodes of BTAS.

Victor Freeze has an interesting and unique story as well as a believable motivation. He's only a joke of a villain when he's treated as one. I don't blame Arnold for his dialogue, ultimately Shumacher is the one who had the final say on the dialogue and thus the one who should be blamed for the excess puns. Arnold showed what he could bring to the role when the character shows rage or sadness, too bad they didn't have more of that in the film. It's too bad they reduced his backstory to a short clip.

Quote from: Catwoman on Tue, 12 Sep  2017, 00:01
I don't think he has to be outrageous and cartoony. There's a reason "Heart of Ice" is one of the most beloved episodes of BTAS.

Understood, but I believe to fit into Schumacher's world he has to be a bit more over-the-top. I remember everyone wanting Arnold for this role because of his popularity at the time for one-liners. Everyone loved the idea and thought it was a perfect casting choice. I think in this case, they just overdid it with the one-liners. But his origin was pretty well serviced in terms of a comic book style and he looks great in the part. I mean who doesn't like his look in this movie? He's easily one of the best designed villains in Batman's cinematic history. Schumacher just didn't give him much to do except emote goofy puns, so we have to place that on the director. 

Yes, had they toned that down and focused more on real character development, we could have seen a more sophisticated villain in the part. But in terms of appearance, Arnold really steals the show here. I can't think of him any other way. I'm sure if this character is revisited in the DC Universe they will purposely run from this design, which is too bad. It really works IMHO.

Arnold could have been good with a good script and direction but even then he probably would have felt like a big stretch, more cast for his big name and maybe irony than fitting the role, as a scientific researcher/genius. He did play one in Twins but that was only so believable even in a comedy.