For more than two decades, it seemed like no one was more critical of George Clooney’s performance in Batman and Robin as the Caped Crusader than, well, George Clooney. However, it appears there is another person who shares this low opinion and also happens to be particularly close to the actor.
By speaking with FilmWeb to promote the new dramatic comedy from director Noah Baumbach, Jay Kelly – now in select theaters and arriving on Netflix December 5, 2025 – George Clooney was asked about a moment in his career he would like to hit the reset button on, and his answer, without hesitation, was Batman and Robin. That would lead to a story of when his 8-year-old son, Alexander, expressed what he thought about his father’s take on Batman in the widely despised superhero film while he was spending Halloween as The Dark Knight.
My son dressed up as Batman for Halloween. He hasn’t seen the film. I said, ‘You know, I was Batman.’ He said, “Not really.” I said to myself, “You have no idea how right you are. »
Clooney starred in Batman and Robintaking over from previous live-action Batman actor Val Kilmer as Bruce Wayne, alongside Chris O’Donnell as the grown-up boy, Dick Grayson, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy and Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl. While the comic book film grossed $238 million worldwide, its $107.4 million gross in North America on a budget of $125–160 million made it a disappointment at the box office, especially compared to previous entries in the DC film franchise. On top of that, critics mercilessly ripped it apart due to its aggressive, cartoonish tone and resemblance to an overpriced toy commercial.
Uma Thurman weighs in on the campy tone of Batman and Robin
The Poisons Ivy actor has an interesting theory about the film and its target audience.
Batman & Robin have seen a slight resurgence
Clooney continues to publicly apologize for his performance in Batman and Robinand the film as a whole, to this day. However, one day he might no longer have to. The infamous comic book adaptation has almost reached cult status, so to speak, with more and more fans expressing why they believe Batman and Robin is unfairly hated on social networks or even in published articles. Many of these people even cite the film’s campy tone as a strength, admiring its more comedic take on the traditionally dark source material as a homage to the Adam West era.
Some have even come to Clooney’s defense, not necessarily praising his performance as Batman per se, but saying the actor at least fits Bruce Wayne and his billionaire playboy persona adequately. The actor himself even showed that he still had a sense of humor about his experience with Batman and Robin reprising the role in a hilarious cameo in The lightning in 2023.
Batman and Robin is available to stream on HBO Max.
- Runtime
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125 minutes
- Director
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Joel Schumacher
- Writers
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Pierre Tomasi
Cast
