Ask a bunch of Batman fans what the best Batman movie is, and they’ll argue for hours over a number of different titles. Ask that same group what the worst Batman movie is, and they’ll all tell you it’s Batman & Robin, starring George Clooney as the Caped Crusader. Even George Clooney will tell you the movie was bad, unless he’s trying to convince you it’s a secret masterpiece.
Clooney, who stars in the upcoming Netflix movie Jay Kelly with Adam Sandler, was recently talking to IMDb when he was asked if there was a single credit that he felt he should be most known for. He jokes that the answer is Batman & Robin, which leaves the interviewer stuttering in response. It’s a pretty hilarious exchange. Check it out below.
Generally speaking, George Clooney is well aware of the way his Batman performance has been judged, and he doesn’t particularly argue the point. That said, we know Clooney loves a good joke, and he apparently enjoys messing with the media interviewing him by occasionally arguing that he is the best Batman. Honestly, if he said that to me, I wouldn’t argue.
While I can’t really argue that Batman & Robin is a misstep that doesn’t really work, I’ll also, to a point, defend George Clooney’s Batman performance. Batman & Robin was a movie that, by design, was supposed to be lighter and sillier than Tim Burton’s dark and broody takes on the material. It’s fine if people didn’t want that, but Clooney absolutely understood the assignment and did a good job with the movie he was given. It’s fine that people didn’t really want that movie, but it’s unfair to call Clooney “bad” in the role.
Still, Batman & Robin really wasn’t the movie people wanted, leading to the end of that particular franchise and Batman taking a bit of a break before being relaunched by Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. Since Batman and Robin, we certainly haven’t seen much in the way of attempts at a more comedic Batman outside of animation. It feels unlikely we’ll ever see anything like that on the big screen again. Which may not be the worst outcome, as far as the below video goes.
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Clooney did make a return to the role, sans cape and cowl, in a cameo appearance in The Flash, one of the last movies of the previous DC Universe. The appearance itself was meant to be something of a joke, considering Clooney was probably the last former Batman anybody would expect to appear again.
Whether Clooney will remain the “worst” Batman will depend on the future. So far, Robert Pattinson has received solid marks. Another new Batman is on the horizon as somebody will eventually be cast as the official DCU Batman, though when that will happen is an open question at this point.