“I dodged a couple of bullets”: how Mark Wahlberg nearly starred in one of the worst movies ever made
Mark Wahlberg is a fascinating creature.
He has proven himself very capable of appearing in good movies, and for proof, just look at Boogie Nights or The Departed. So why is it that, time and time again, he turns up in some of the most truly heinous pieces of cinema ever committed to film?
You only have to spend about five seconds rooting around in ‘Marky Mark’s’ filmography before a proper stinker leaps out and smacks you in the face. After Shia LaBeouf left the Transformers series, he saw Michael Bay’s brainless celebration of giant CGI monsters smashing into each other and thought, ‘Yes, please, I want some of that.’ Then there’s Max Payne, The Happening, and the rotten remake of Planet of the Apes, which even Wahlberg himself has said he never wants to see again.
The Bostonian’s spotty track record came up in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, where he was posed an interesting question about roles he was glad he’d turned down, otherwise they would have been another entry in his long list of duds. At first, however, he tried his best to avoid dragging anyone’s name through the mud.
“I dodged a couple of bullets. I did a couple ones that weren’t so good. We don’t need to mention those,” he said, before eventually relenting and answering the question, “I did not get an official offer, but I was meeting with Joel Schumacher about Batman & Robin for Robin… I’m glad that didn’t come my way. I was a fan of Joel’s and his other work, but I was not really interested in that kind of project.”
The third sequel to Tim Burton’s 1989 reboot of the Caped Crusader, Batman & Robin features the first (and only) full-time appearance of Wahlberg’s Three Kings co-star George Clooney as the titular hero. Chris O’Donnell returns as the ‘Boy Wonder’ from the previous film, Batman Forever, serving as the main bridge between the two stories. He probably wishes that bridge had been burned down, as Batman & Robin is widely regarded as one of the worst films ever.
A cheesy script, questionable costumes, and all-around lack of polish quickly convinced viewers that ‘The Bat’s’ days in the sun were over. Clooney himself has come out and slagged it off, joining millions upon millions of people who severely regret that it was ever made. As for poor O’Connell, his career went into a nosedive from which he never fully recovered. He didn’t appear in another film for two years and never again reached the cultural heights of playing one of the most famous comic book characters of all time. It didn’t help that he turned down the role of Agent J in Men in Black. That might have helped wash some of the stink off.
It’s almost passe to talk badly about Batman & Robin to the point where you almost feel sorry for it. Mark Wahlberg probably doesn’t share that sympathy, however. He’s probably still thrilled his career wasn’t curtailed before it had fully gotten a chance to begin.
