Robin's portrayal in Batman & Robin

[The Laughing Fish]

On top of other criticisms/condemnations that this movie gets, another complaint I've seen is Robin being accused as a spoiled, whiny brat.

I don't necessarily agree with this complaint. The end of BF was supposed to be a beginning for Batman and Robin to work together. Dick feels that Bruce isn't taking him seriously and feels patronized, and he gets frustrated that Bruce needs to rescue him all the time. This continues from his inexperience during his first time out as Robin towards the end of BF, and this movie shows us his journey towards maturity as a crime-fighter. Eventually, Batman and Robin realised they needed to trust each other in order to make their partnership work.

I think what most people's problem with Robin in Schumacher's films is the fact that Chris O'Donnell is too old for the character he's playing. Would this character arc be better appreciated if someone younger played the part?

[Edd Grayson]

I don't think COD's age was a big problem and in this case,  a younger actor might have been even worse criticised for being a "brat". He was fine.

It's true that Robin lashed out at Batman in this often, but I could see where he's coming from. And Bruce needed to learn that he had to trust him and count on him in the fight in order for them to really be partners, as Robin himself said referring to the Flying Graysons and Batman repeated near the end.

[The Laughing Fish]

I don't think COD's age was a big problem and in this case,  a younger actor might have been even worse criticised for being a "brat". He was fine.

Yes, perhaps you're right. We should take into account that they are people out there who aren't keen on the idea of a very young Robin, not even as a teenager. Whether it's comics or on film.

I want to know if anybody had problems with Dick seemingly changing codenames and different outfits as it was implied at the start of the film, even going by the name Nightwing? I don't have an issue with it, by the way.

[Edd Grayson]

I had zero issue with that, and if the film had not been a failure, a Nightwing spin-off was on the way with COD starring.

[thecolorsblend]

Schumacher was between a rock and a hard place where he didn't want to show Batman endangering children on the one hand but the stories he told work better with Robin played as a young brat. O'Donnell did great under the circumstances but his casting was a compromise in favor of not making Batman unsympathetic to audiences.

[The Laughing Fish]

I had zero issue with that, and if the film had not been a failure, a Nightwing spin-off was on the way with COD starring.

That's right.

You previously revealed that there was going to be a spin-off for Robin, but that didn't end up happening.

Yeah there was at one point: Nightwing. When the reviews came out on Batman & Robin, that was shut down immediately.

http://www.etonline.com/news/165866_batman_forever_20_years_later_chris_odonnell_talks_franchise/

[The Dark Knight]

Sure, Robin is younger in the comics. But I found O'Donnell likeable in the role. That goes a long way. Schumacher gave us Grayson's origin more or less as it is in the comics. That alone garners my respect. In contrast to Burt Ward (which doesn't make it better, just different) we get cocky angst of a young man looking to claim revenge, going down a path that Bruce now knows leads to a dark place. For live action, that was something different for the time.

At least Schumacher had the guts to provide a costume wearing version of Dick Grayson, and not someone whose name just happens to Robin. I'm still cringing at that.

[Edd Grayson]

I feel the same way. Schumacher's Robin gets too much flak. It's not the best ever version, but one that I have grown to like.

[The Laughing Fish]

Sure, Robin is younger in the comics. But I found O'Donnell likeable in the role. That goes a long way. Schumacher gave us Grayson's origin more or less as it is in the comics. That alone garners my respect. In contrast to Burt Ward (which doesn't make it better, just different) we get cocky angst of a young man looking to claim revenge, going down a path that Bruce now knows leads to a dark place. For live action, that was something different for the time.

This is one plot line that gets criminally ignored. I once had an argument with somebody about Batman's loose code in the Nolan films, and he tried to dismiss my complaints by trying to look for faults in Burton/Schumacher's films e.g. accusing Bruce as a hypocrite for trying to discourage Dick in seeking revenge over his family's murders when he killed in B89 and BR. I didn't think about it at the time because I hadn't seen BF in ages, and I actually thought this BS artist might have had a point. 

But when I watched the film again, and particularly this scene in context, I understood and appreciate that Bruce was talking about his own personal experience after he had avenged his parents. He realized that killing Joker failed to put him at peace, and he was looking to protect Dick from making that same mistake. People can complain about Bruce having sidekicks all they want. But there if they're honest, they'd acknowledge that his responsibility and influence in helping Dick here was possibly his greatest achievement.

[Edd Grayson]

I agree and as I said, people are way too harsh on COD as Robin...