Every Batman Ranked From Worst To Best
7. George Clooney
Hard as it may be to imagine now, George Clooneys future as a hunk of particular note was very much up for debate: having become a star through ER, hed yet to give up that day job and go to Hollywood full-time, and had just made One Fine Day (which Roger Ebert called an uninspired formula movie, in which Clooney was merely serviceable a Mel Gibson-lite) and the resoundingly duff nuclear terrorism romp-by-numbers The Peacemaker.
Surely, though, jumping up to a franchise which was still a major concern in 1997 (Batman Forever hadnt put that big a dent in its critical and commercial standing) would be the great breakthrough. Well, no. It was rubbish, and in fairness to Clooney theres very little anyone could have done to improve the film while encased in a Batsuit which came with such artfully and preposterously sculpted buttocks. One of Clooneys great draws is his easy, bar-room charm; the way he can give the impression that he is in on the joke, that hes aware of the inherent ludicrousness of being an actor.
However, when the joke is Were stamping all over a much-loved character which has only just regained its dignity LOL, its a little hard to stomach. Yes, it was probably closest in spirit to Wests ur-Batman, the Batman which begat all others one way or another (more on which later). Its also fairly unbelievable that nobody would notice Wayne and Batman are the same bloke when their voices are exactly the bloody same.