George Clooney is one of America's favorite A-list actors. He has starred in a slew of massively successful films and been nominated for every prestigious award imaginable (he even has an Academy Award to his name). However, he 59-year-old superstar does have a few career regrets. In a new interview with GQ as the magazine's Icon of the Year, George Clooney admitted that his work in the 1997 film Batman & Robin was "terrible." Read on to see what he said about the movie, and for a different great Clooney story, check out George Clooney Just Confirmed This Wild Rumor About Himself.
The subject of Batman & Robin came up in Clooney's interview with GQ, with journalist Zach Baron dubbing the actor "the least loved Batman in the history of Batmen." But Clooney had the perfect response, owning up to the epic fail. “The only way you can honestly talk about things is to include yourself and your shortcomings in those things,” he pontificated. “When I say Batman & Robin's a terrible film, I always go, ‘I was terrible in it.’ Because I was, number one. But also because then it allows you the ability to say, ‘Having said I sucked in it, I can also say that none of these other elements worked, either.’ You know? Lines like ‘Freeze, Freeze!’"
Just how "terrible" was the 1997 film, which also starred Chris O'Donnell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Uma Thurman, and Alicia Silverstone, and was directed by legend Joel Schumacher? Well, Batman & Robin earned a paltry 11 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, a score representing the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show.
Read on for some of the review lowlights on the worst film of Clooney's career, and for more on how the movie stacks up to others in the franchise, check out Ranking Every Batman Movie, From Worst Reviewed to Best.
Read the original article on Best Life.
"George Clooney is the big zero of the film."
Warner Bros."George Clooney is the big zero of the film, and should go down in history as the George Lazenby of the series. Beyond the sheer bad luck of looking 20 years older in his Batmask, Clooney—he's not a doctor but he plays one on TV—makes a smug, complacent, one-dimensional Caped Crusader."
–Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
And for more big screen bombs, check out The Worst Movie That Came Out the Year You Graduated.
"There isn't much performance to discuss."
Warner Bros."Of all modern Batmans, George Clooney bears the closest physical resemblance to the comic-book hero, but there isn't much to say about his performance because there isn't much performance to discuss."
–Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal
And for more performances big stars wish you would forget, check out The 15 Worst Movies Starring Oscar-Winning Actors.
"George Clooney turns out to be a good-looking bore."
Warner Bros."George Clooney turns out to be a good-looking bore as the Caped Crusader; Chris O'Donnell is a perfectly serviceable Robin, and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman are indelible villains. So why is it all such a bore? Because sequence after sequence turns out the same; you could switch their order, and it wouldn't make much of a difference. A loud musical chord introduces a scene change, followed by action, and then a couple of characters trade one-liners. It's as if 20 directors each created a single scene, and they all worked at the same fever pitch."
–Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune
And for more awful critiques, check out these 33 Hilariously Bad Reviews of Classic Movies.
"The Bruce Wayne scenes are cheesy."
Warner Bros."This third sequel to the 1989 smash hit is about Batman learning to trust his new partners, while fighting three new villains. The script is as lame as it gets: the dialogue is dumb, the Bruce Wayne scenes are cheesy and there isn’t anything original."
–Kevin N. Laforest, Montreal Film Journal
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"The smirky George Clooney has no screen charisma."
Warner Bros."The smirky George Clooney has no screen charisma. Chris O’Donnell’s strutting, crew-cut Robin is a superfluous second superhero, indistinct from the first. Uma Thurman tries to interject some vampish style as Poison Ivy, but the inanity of her character—environmentalist turned plant woman?–has the audience snickering against her. Alicia Silverstone, as a computer whiz turned Batgirl, purses her lips uncertainly."
–Alex Ross, Slate
And if you want to know what was the biggest film lemon of all, check out The Worst Movie of All Time, According to Critics.
