Sure, the notorious 1997 superhero flick that tanked each critically and commercially wasn’t only a low level for followers but additionally for George Clooney himself. And but, the Caped Crusader’s stumble grew to become the last word turning level. Clooney didn’t simply replicate on the flop—he flipped the script on his profession.
“It’s very easy to select: Batman & Robin. That’s not a joke,” he admitted. “Up till that second, I used to be an actor solely involved with discovering work. After the failure of that movie creatively, I understood that I wanted to take management of the movies I made, not simply the function.”
What adopted was nothing wanting a Hollywood masterclass. Clooney traded bat-nipples for brilliance, delivering knockout performances in Out of Sight, Three Kings, and O Brother, The place Artwork Thou?. These weren’t simply profession strikes; they had been statements.
However let’s rewind a bit. Clooney wasn’t at all times Hollywood’s golden boy. Earlier than ER, he’d survived seven TV sequence and 13 pilots that didn’t stick. His flip because the suave Dr. Doug Ross on the medical drama was the breakthrough he’d been chasing for practically 20 years. “ER was such a phenomenon that it swept all of us up in it,” he recalled. It catapulted him into the large leagues and ultimately landed him within the Batcave—a gig that, let’s be actual, appeared like a slam dunk.
Solely it wasn’t.
Batman & Robin didn’t simply bomb—it was obliterated. Followers hated it. Critics skewered it. Even Clooney known as it “a waste of cash” and quipped that it would’ve “killed the Batman franchise completely.” Ouch.
Clooney didn’t let the flop outline him—it grew to become a wake-up name. “If you happen to’re gonna be held liable for a movie, as an alternative of simply being an actor in that movie, you’d higher choose higher movies,” he later mirrored.
What adopted was a reinvention. Clooney tackled cerebral dramas (Michael Clayton, Up within the Air), quirky comedies (O Brother, The place Artwork Thou?), and directing hits (Good Evening, and Good Luck, The Ides of March). Seven Oscar nods, two wins (Syriana, Argo)—not dangerous for a comeback.
As we speak, Clooney’s legacy is untouchable.
So, right here’s to Batman & Robin: the last word profession catastrophe that cast one of many trade’s brightest stars. George Clooney’s Batsuit days is perhaps lengthy behind him, however the classes? They’re timeless.
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