VIDEO : GIVING `BATMAN & ROBIN' THE SLIP.

Byline: Robert Bianco Special to the Daily News

It's getting increasingly difficult to avoid a movie you don't want to see.

No sooner are you done dodging it in theaters - which, with a major release, means staying away from every mall in America - when you have to start dodging it on video. Before you know it (and way before video retailers would like), you're running away from the same movie on pay-per-view and cable. By the time it hits network TV, you may find submission is inevitable.

Still, just because the fight is difficult doesn't mean it's not worth waging. If you've held out this long against ``Batman & Robin'' (Warner, 1997), it only makes sense to hold out a little longer - at least until you can see it for less than $22.97.

To be honest, I didn't initially intend to avoid ``Batman & Robin.'' In fact, like many filmgoers, I almost felt obligated to see it, if only because I'd already seen the first three films in the big-screen ``Batman'' series.

Then something occurred to me: I didn't LIKE any of the other films. When the reviews and the buzz came back almost uniformly negative, it seemed senseless to pay money to keep a streak like that going.

The least successful, critically and financially, of the four ``Batman'' movies, ``B&R'' marks the introduction (and possible swan song) of George Clooney as the caped and corseted crusader. For the record, the villains are Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman, and the sidekicks are Chris O'Donnell and Alicia Silverstone (whose appearance in the rubber Batgirl suit became a matter of national import).

It's possible, I suppose, that all the critics were wrong and ``Batman & Robin'' is a fine movie. Revisionist history may even brand it the best of the series eventually. Someday, I'll have to find out.

But not yet.

Elsewhere on video

Mike Myers can milk more laughs out of bad British dental habits than any man on Earth - which is both a compliment and a warning. Some talents are best used sparingly.

Despite the tonsorial excess, there is much to enjoy about ``Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997, New Line, priced for rental), Myers' silly spoof on the '60s, James Bond and all things mod. Whether there's enough to enjoy to take you all the way to the end is debatable - and perhaps fitting. A lot of the Bond movies ``Powers'' is spoofing have just as much trouble sustaining interest all the way through their extended climaxes.

``Powers'' stars Myers in a dual role as fab English agent Austin Powers and as his arch enemy, Dr. Evil. Frozen (literally and figuratively) in the '60s, the men are defrosted in the '90s to start their battle anew.

Powers reached his libidinous prime in a world where you could have bad teeth (or even a bad rug) and still be a sex symbol. Now he must adapt to a society where ``shagging,'' his favorite euphemism, is more competitive and more dangerous.

``Powers'' is consistently, if mildly amusing, but there's no threat to or posed by either character. (At times, the movie seems to be less a spoof of the Bond films than of other Bond spoofs - particularly ``Casino Royale'' - which is a spoof too far removed). The bad news is, Myers likes this character so much that he plans to keep playing him. That's more shagging than we really need to see, even from someone as gifted as Myers.

Speaking of reliving the past, Live is releasing the 10th anniversary special edition of ``Dirty Dancing.'' The film is available in pan-and-scan for $14.98, letterbox for $19.98, and packaged with a 90-minute ``live in concert'' video for $24.98. It's worth renting if only to compare the original Jennifer Grey with the current surgically altered (and almost unrecognizable) version.

Talk about rushing the season. We haven't even hit Halloween, and Hallmark is releasing ``Mrs. Santa Claus'' (1996; $14.98) - a charming TV musical with hummable songs by Jerry Herman and an assured star turn by Angela Lansbury. (One oddity: The show seems poised to deliver a rousing hail-to-the-heroine Herman showstopper, a la ``Mame'' or ``Hello, Dolly!'' but it never happens.) It's fine family fare, but wait until Thanksgiving to share it with your family.

While we're on the subject of Thanksgiving, Paramount is releasing a second direct-to-video ``Rugrats'' title, ``A Rugrats Thanksgiving.'' The tape, which sells for $12.95, contains the new, double-length cartoon ``The Turkey Who Came to Dinner'' along with two ``Rugrats'' repeats.

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Photo: Mike Myers spoofs James Bond and his ilk in ``Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.''