No it’s not a joke, the 1997 epic failed “Batman & Robin” has been deemed by Marvel Studios suit Kevin Feige as the most important film that the comic book movie genre has ever seen.
The LA Times had the chance to recently reviewed the career of Akiva Goldsman who has been involved in many comic book properties such as “Jonah Hex,” “The Losers” and “Batman & Robin,” the bat nipple George Clooney film that just about crippled the superhero movie genre in the late 1990s.
But Feige, one of the many new creative minds behind “Iron Man” and the reinvigorated Marvel Studios lineup, admits that this current renaissance of quality comic book movies wouldn’t be possible without the widespread critical (and financial) failure of the campy “Batman & Robin.”
“That may be the most important comic-book movie ever made,” said Feige. “It was so bad that it demanded a new way of doing things. It created the opportunity to do ‘X-Men’ and ‘Spider-Man,’ adaptations that respected the source material and adaptations that were not campy.”
In the interview, Goldsman admitted that there were some flaws with “Batman & Robin,” though he wouldn’t fully apologize for the film’s failings.
“What got lost in ‘Batman & Robin’ is the emotions aren’t real,” he said. “The worst thing to do with a serious comic book is to make it a cartoon. I’m still answering for that movie with some people.”
As he should…