George Clooney's Son Destroys His Batman Performance With a Simple, Two-Word Review

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Jason is an award-winning journalist whose writing career dates back to when he developed the ability to use a crayon. He, most notably, worked previously as a "professional fan," as he likes to call it, at CinemaBlend, for which he wrote about anything and everything under the pop culture umbrella... especially Batman. His passion for the art of cinema began even earlier, stemming from repeat viewings of The Wizard of Oz.
This initially led him to pursue a career in filmmaking -- and even work briefly in the industry as an extra in the straight-to-video family film, Alice Upside Down -- before deciding that his talents would be better served discussing and showing appreciation for the various forms of entertainment he is passionate about.

For more than two decades, it seemed as if there was no one more critical of George Clooney's performance in Batman & Robin as the Caped Crusader than, well, George Clooney. However, it appears that there is one other person who shares this low opinion who also happens to be particularly close to the actor.

While speaking with MovieWeb to promote director Noah Baumbach's new dramedy, Jay Kelly — now in select theaters and coming to Netflix on Dec. 5, 2025 — George Clooney was asked about a career moment he would like to hit the reset button on, and his response, without hesitation, was Batman & Robin. This would prompt a story of when his 8-year-old son, Alexander, expressed how he felt about his father's take on Batman in the widely-despised superhero movie while spending Halloween as The Dark Knight.

My son actually dressed as Batman for Halloween. He hasn't seen the movie. I said, 'You know, I was Batman.' He's like, 'Not really.' I was like, 'You have no idea how right you are.'

28 Years Later, Stars of This Batman Failure Reflect on Tumultuous Experience: 'There Was So Much Hatred'

The stars of the worst rated Batman film of all time look back on their time making it, and their reactions to the negative press it received.

Clooney starred in Batman & Robin, succeeding previous live-action Batman actor Val Kilmer in the role of Bruce Wayne, alongside Chris O'Donnell as the grown-up boy wonder, Dick Grayson, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy and Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl. While the comic book movie did rake in $238 million worldwide, its $107.4 million gross in North America on a $125-160 million budget branded it a box office disappointment, especially in comparison to previous entries in the DC movie franchise. On top of that, critics mercilessly tore it apart for its aggressively cartoonish tone and resemblance to an overpriced toy commercial.

Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy in Batman Robin

Uma Thurman Weighs In on Batman & Robin's Campy Tone

The Poisons Ivy actor has an interesting theory about the movie and its target audience.

Batman & Robin Has Experienced A Slight Resurgence

Batgirl, Batman and Robin shining and smiling in Batman & Robin

Clooney continues to go on record apologizing for his performance in Batman & Robin, and the movie as a whole, to this day. However, there may come a day when he no longer has to.The infamous comic book adaptation has almost reached cult status, so to speak, with more and more fans expressing why they believe Batman & Robin is undeservedly hated on social media or even in published articles. Many of these people even cite the movie's campy tone as a strength, admiring its more comical take on the traditionally dark source material as a tribute to the Adam West era.

Some have even come to Clooney's defense, not necessarily praising his performance as Batman per se, but claiming that the actor is at least a decent fit for Bruce Wayne and his billionaire playboy persona. The actor himself even showed that he still has a sense of humor about his experience with Batman & Robin by reprising the role in a hilarious cameo in The Flash in 2023.

Batman & Robin is available to stream on HBO Max.