Batman Top 6

Ranking Batman - Part 1 

Who did it best?

The Character of Batman has never been so popular, just last year DC Comics celebrated a 75 Year anniversary of the Dark Knight. During this time there have been countless interperaions of the iconic hero. Today we're concerned with the popular cinematic iterations the caped crusader and more to the point which actor managed to nail the character of Batman best. So who did the most justice? When deciding this I've taken a few things into consideration;

• All aspects of the character - There are many sides to Bruce Wayne, who made him real?
• Action - Which actor could bring the smackdown on criminals and handle the Batmobile best?
• Script - Sometimes you can only be as good as the lines you are given.
• Supporting Cast - Hugely important in helping an audience believe in a world with a Batman.
• Overall Performance - Finally, just how does the actor bring of of this together within the final film?

 Okay, got it? Let the games begin!

#6 - George Clooney - "Batman and Robin" 1997

Clooney trying hard to move in the 90 pound rubber foam bat-suit.

This may come as a shock, or maybe not, but the fact remains that out of these particular Batmen there is no way George Clooney can come any higher than last on this list. That isn't to say all of this is Mr Clooney's fault. If you are just going on appearances you can see he is a great fit for Bruce Wayne, he's got the billionaire playboy looks and has that heroic jawline to perfectly fill out the Bat Cowl. Unfortunately Clooney made zero effort to get himself in proper physical shape for the role and the fact that his bat suit had fake abs and nipples certainly didn't help either.

These nipples are completely necessary...

 Alot of what went wrong with this film (and there is so, so, SO much wrong!) was out of the control of the Hollywood Star. The Director, Joel Schmuaccher, had a campy pun-filled script and subsequently admitted he was pressured by Warner Bros into making the film more "Toyetic" in an aim to sell more merchandise to kids. The bizarre supporting cast were also at fault, gaudy, over the top performances from Arnold Schwarzenegger (Mr Freeze) and Uma Thurman (Poison Ivy) made the film more comedy the comic book and Clooney couldn't muster one ounce of chemistry with either Chris O'Donnell (Robin) or Alicia Silverstone (Batgirl).

Who knew there was such a thing as a boring threesome?

 Unfortunately for Clooney he never really got the chance to sink his teeth into the character. The film was so focused on the villains that Batman barely registered except for when he was needed to throw a punch. Clooney couldn't even convince in action sequences either but again these are probably the worst brawls you'll ever seen in a Batman film, there's not really much you can do when the script has you pop ice skates out your bat boots and beat up thugs with hockey sticks. Despite the countless creative missteps, there are a few brief flashes of what might have been in the films few stronger scenes, most notably the ones that Bruce shares with a dying Alfred portrayed by the late Michael Gough. Check out the video below for quite possibly the best scene in the entire movie, it's telling that it's only around a minute long...

With the benefit of hindsight we all know what a talented actor George Clooney really is and his take on Batman is more a shame than anything else, imagine if maybe he'd been offered the role with a better script and with a different director, we may all well be having a different discussion. Admirably Clooney doesn't hide from the fact that his performance wasn't up to scratch, he has since openly bemoaned the picture (see here) and apologised to fans whilst maintaining that in taking the role it opened up opportunities for him to further his career. Ultimately though, his Batman was unimposing, unmotivated and a bit part player in his own freaking film, watch the movie again, (preferably with a stiff drink) it's almost as if George Clooney is trying to hide...

It's okay George, someone forgives you...

Well that's all for this week check back next week for number 5 and let me know your thoughts in the comments below!