Mutant Reviewers from Hell do
"Come on, people! A guy in a weird suit with two polar bears can't be hard to spot!"

1998 NR / Superhero Action Directed by: Boyd Kirkland Starring: Kevin Conroy, Michael Ansara, Loren Lester

Tagline

No tagline

Summary Capsule

Old, bald freak kidnaps gorgeous redhead to perform "medical procedures"… yeah, where I come from, we have a term for stuff like that.

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Amazon.com: DVD

Drew's Rating: You think Batman could beat Subzero from Mortal Kombat? I'll bet he could.
Drew's Review: Pop quiz, hotshot — you're a renowned cryogenics researcher and occasional involuntary guest of the federal government. One day while minding your own business in your arctic hideout, a submarine bursts through the glacier floor, accidentally shattering the cryogenic tube containing your frozen wife. This causes her fatal disease to relapse, meaning she'll be dead within two weeks. You:

"You're a deeply emotional, melodramatic individual with the soul of a poet and the brains of a trout."

A) Scream your unfettered rage to the sky, pausing on occasion to beat your breast and wail mournfully; then search for a sharp icicle to fall on in order to follow your beloved into the great unknown.

B) Shake your head and lament the cruel yet impartial hand of fate that taketh the just and the unjust alike; then start brushing up on pickup lines and get ready to hit the singles bars.

C) Grab your freeze gun and pet polar bears and make tracks for your old stomping grounds. Once there, check hospital records for organ donors with the same rare blood type as your wife. Find one who's both the police commissioner's daughter and the occasional crimefighting partner of your greatest enemy, then kidnap her and prep for a quickie organ transplant.

Okay, now it's time to grade yourselves, kids. If you answered "A," congratulations — you're a deeply emotional, melodramatic individual with the soul of a poet and the brains of a trout. There's a Shakespeare play being performed in the park this afternoon… be in it. If you picked "B," you're Kyle. And if you chose "C"… well, sounds like you've got a date with a Batfist to the face, my friend, perhaps followed by a Robin kick in the nads. Enjoy!

If you hadn't guessed from the above, SubZero focuses on Mr. Freeze's attempts to kidnap Barbara Gordon, AKA Batgirl, and transplant her organs into his dying wife, as well as Batman and Robin's efforts to thwart same. The second feature-length film to spin out of the Batman animated series (after Mask of the Phantasm), it also carries the distinction of having been released in the wake of the terrible Batman and Robin, starring many of the same characters, and yet being infinitely better. That being said, while SubZero is probably what you'd call a good film, it's really not in the same league as Phantasm.

Now don't get me wrong — there are some really strong elements. While SubZero doesn't delve into Batman's emotions nearly as much as MotP did, we get great insight into Mr. Freeze and what makes him tick. Like most Batman villains, he's not a bad person at heart, simply the victim of an unfortunate accident who allowed it to turn him into a monster. It creates a nice contrast with Batman, who used his personal tragedy to become a force for good instead; plus it gives Freeze depth and keeps him from being a one-note bad guy (*coughSchwarzeneggercough*), lending credence to his somewhat noble actions toward the film's end. The animation is also strong, though the brief 3-D computer animated segments are a bit jarring, and the voice actors remain impressive. Loren Lester gets a chance to shine as Dick Grayson/Robin, furious at the kidnapping of his girlfriend, and Michael Ansera excels at the flat, emotionless tones of Mr. Freeze.

But when all's said and done, the entire thing just feels a bit drawn out, like it might have been better served as an episode of the animated series rather than a full-length movie. The plot's pretty straightforward for a Batman story, and the ending has a definite streak of deus ex machina to it. There's plenty of action, but you find yourself wishing for a few less explosions and a little more character development. Ultimately SubZero is worth seeing at least once, but for the best use of Mr. Freeze, be sure to check out the cartoon episode "Heart of Ice"… that's where it's at.

In New York City, they got a guy like this on every street corner She's MY juicy fruit! Robin needs to take some anger management classes

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• Why travel from the arctic all the way to the U.S. eastern seaboard? Surely there's suitable blood donors closer than that.
• It's supposed to be an abandoned oil rig, yet there's tons of oil spilling out and catching on fire. Why abandon a site that's still full of oil?

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

Uh-uh.

Unnecessary Background

Batman has arguably the best rogue's gallery in all of comics (rivaled only by Spider-Man), but they aren't all winners; in developing the animated series, producers had to choose which villains to include and how to alter them to fit the show. Some underwent almost no changes whatsoever (the Joker), but others were redesigned from the ground up, including Mr. Freeze. No longer a dopey bank robber with a cold gun, as reimagined by Paul Dini, Victor Fries was a cryogenics researcher whose wife Nora contracted a rare, fatal disease. Placing her in hibernation while he searched desperately for a cure, Fries encountered trouble when his funding was cut and security came to shut down his equipment. In the ensuing scuffle, the machinery keeping Nora alive was destroyed and Victor was exposed to chemicals that altered his body chemistry, making him unable to live outside subzero temperatures. With his wife (seemingly) dead, Fries proclaimed his heart frozen and himself devoid of all emotions save one: a thirst for revenge. Whipping up a cryogenic suit and an ice gun, he renamed himself "Mr. Freeze" and went after the executive responsible for his project's termination. Though he was stopped by Batman and Nora eventually revived, Freeze would never again be normal, ensuring continued villainy on his part through the years.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

SubZero was originally slated to be released in 1997 but was pushed back to '98; supposedly this was an effort to keep the well-received SubZero from reflecting poorly on the critically panned Batman and Robin, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze.

This movie takes place in between the original Fox cartoon and the revamped The New Batman Adventures on the WB. After the events of SubZero, Mr. Freeze only appeared once on the new show, but again it was for an intense, tragic reason.

Groovy Quotes

Robin: Thank you, Alfred. I don't know what we'd do without you.
Alfred: Frankly, sir, neither do I.

Commissioner Gordon: Come on, people! A guy in a weird suit with two polar bears can't be hard to spot!

DVD Review

There's a bunch of features, but none of them particularly compelling. Basic cast and crew info, trailers for other releases, an uninspired interactive game, a brief montage of animation mixed with storyboards and concept art, and an odd little segment where an artist draws Batman's head - doesn't explain HOW to draw it, just sketches it in front of you in about 45 seconds. Weird.

Soundtrack Review

Comparable to what you're used to getting out of the cartoon- dark, atmospheric music, very good in most parts. No actual songs, just mood music.

If you liked this movie, try these:

• Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
• Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
• Batman and Robin? (Hah, just kidding!)