50 God-Tier Acting Moments Buried in Bad Movies

Batman & Robin is... well, it's Batman & Robin. It's one thing and one thing only: a joke. A long, grating, excruciatingly unfunny joke in which nothing is taken seriously, nothing carries any genuine weight, and no one comes out of it with their dignity intact. Well, almost nobody. 

George Clooney, who's expressed regret over the film in hindsight, gives a career-worst performance. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman humiliate themselves. Alicia Silverstone and Chris O'Donnell's performances were so bad, their careers never recovered. But Michael Gough? He smashes it.

The late English character actor was, aside from Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon, the only actor to remain throughout all four of the '80s and '90s Batman movies, and they were so much better for it. He's lovely as Alfred, being warm, wise, gently humorous, comforting, and thoughtful, and he nailed the part. Despite similarly strong performances from Michael Caine, Jeremy Irons, and Andy Serkis in the Alfred role, Gough is still possibly the finest Alfred Pennyworth to date.

Put it this way: anybody who managed to still be this good while stuck in Batman & Robin deserves all the praise in the world. Gough brings warmth and much-needed poignancy to the movie, and his scenes with Bruce Wayne are really touching, radiating paternal love and selling just what an important bond these two have.