Clooney vs. Hanks

December 18, 2020

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When you start a movie blog in a year that is upended by a global pandemic, sometimes you have to get a little creative to keep going.  Content doesn’t just grow on trees, you know.  Luckily, I’ve been able to come up with some interesting ideas to write about, and I have been fortunate to have some topics suggested by a few readers.  So, as I was thinking about how to finish out the year before the holidays, I was looking at the upcoming films from two of our most talented and accomplished actors – George Clooney and Tom Hanks.  I covered their new films in my Winter Movie Preview last week, in case you missed it. 

While both actors are megawatt stars that can be the lead of any movie, they’ve also made interesting career choices demonstrating their range as actors and filmmakers.  Hanks has traditionally been the everyman, the Jimmy Stewart of his generation, leaning on comedy early in his career, while mixing in dramatic roles in the latter part of his career.  Clooney has embraced the leading man role, the Cary Grant of his generation, focusing more on dramatic roles and when he dips into comedy, he leverages his dry sense of humor.  If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know I’m a huge Hitchcock fan.  Can’t you see Hanks playing Stewart’s role in Rear Window and Clooney playing Grant’s role in North by Northwest? 

Now, I could do a top five for one of them, or a career retrospective, but I had an idea that I thought might be a little more fun – a head to head battle.  What’s that mean?  We’re going to see how Clooney and Hanks measure up in categories that I have completely made up.  This competition is entirely subjective because, well, it’s my blog and I make the rules.  Let’s get started.

The Television Years

Hanks and Clooney both started their careers in television in the mid-80s.  Hanks caught success quickly with his role on Bosom Buddies, and a guest turn on Family Ties, before making the jump to movies.  Clooney, on the other hand, labored his way through numerous shows for a decade before landing the role that would catapult him into superstardom on ER.  He would stay on the show for five seasons before transitioning to films.

While you could argue Hanks was more successful because he could leave television faster, at the end of the day, we’re talking ER vs. Bosom Buddies.  Doug Ross vs. Buffy Wilson?  C’mon, it’s not even close.  Verdict – Clooney.

Early Film Career

Both actors had relatively bumpy starts to their movie careers.  While Hanks had early success with Splash, he made a string of mediocre films (The Man with One Red Shoe, Volunteers, and Dragnet come to mind) before his breakout role in Big, which earned him his first Oscar nomination.  Clooney’s start was also pretty bad.  After his success on ER, he made the forgettable action horror film From Dusk till Dawn and bland romantic comedy One Fine Day before torpedoing the original Batman franchise with his turn as the caped crusader in Batman & Robin.  Clooney has admitted that he was so bad in the role that it took almost twenty years for anyone to try a Batman film again, which we got in 2005 with Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins.  Soon after, he starred in the wonderful Out of Sight for Steven Soderbergh and his movie career was off and running.  Verdict – Neither one emerges as a winner here.  Let’s call this a push. 

In Space – Gravity vs. Apollo 13

Now we’re cooking.  In contrast to their early film roles, here we have two excellent movies.  Hanks is the hero in Apollo 13, as Jim Lovell trying to salvage a NASA mission to the moon that turns disastrous.  I previously wrote about my love for this film as one of my favorite comfort movies.  In Gravity, Clooney and Sandra Bullock play astronauts who face certain death when their ship is hit by debris from satellites that were destroyed by a Russian missile.  Gravity is an amazing feat in filmmaking from director Alfonso Cuaron that will give you heart palpitations if you have a fear of heights (like this guy, right here). 

Now, as much as I love Gravity, it’s really Sandra Bullock’s film.  Clooney takes a back seat to her performance and his character is a little smarmy.  In contrast, Hanks completely owns Apollo 13 from beginning to end, and does what he does best – playing the everyday hero.  The winner here is clear.  Verdict – Hanks.

At Sea – The Perfect Storm vs. Captain Phillips

We could call this one the battle of the bad Boston accents.  Why do we constantly see people butchering Boston accents in movies, doing an exaggerated Kennedy “pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd” crap?  The only people who never screw this up are people actually from Boston.  Compare and contrast these performances from The Departed – Matt Damon (Boston native) vs. Martin Sheen (decidedly not).  Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Jed Bartlet.  There were many times this year I wished he was in the White House, but Sheen’s accent was over the top in that performance.  OK, I am wayyyyy off track here. 

The Perfect Storm is the true story of a doomed fishing boat that was lost at sea off the coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts during a hurricane.  Clooney plays the stubborn captain who ignores the warnings and leads his crew into disaster.  Now, the funny thing is that there are a lot of bad accents in this movie, but Clooney doesn’t do one – he probably figured, “I got this – I’ll just talk like Clooney, I’m good.”  There are, however, a lot of other ones.  The film is pretty good – it’s a typical disaster film with more focus on special effects than character development.

Captain Phillips, another true story, is a much better film.  Hanks plays the captain of a container ship that is hijacked by pirates off the coast of Africa.  Despite a distracting accent (the real Phillips was from Winchester, Massachusetts), Hanks plays the everyman captain thrust into a terrifying battle with some pretty scary dudes.  While he exhibits courage during most of the film, he also demonstrates the vulnerability you’d expect from your average person and doesn’t come across as a superhero.  The scene at the end of the film when he breaks down in tears after he is rescued is one of the best scenes we’ve ever seen from Hanks.  While Clooney is good, Hanks is outstanding.   Verdict – Hanks.

In the Air – Up in the Air vs. Sully

OK, I may be cheating a little for this comparison, but go with me for a minute.  In Up in the Air, Clooney plays a job elimination expert brought in by companies to deliver the message when they have layoffs.  He lives on the road, racking up frequent flier miles, and seems to be enjoying his life.  But things are turned upside down when he meets a fellow road warrior (played by Vera Farmiga) and starts to fall in love, all while showing a younger colleague (Anna Kendrick in a wonderful performance) the ropes.  He starts to face a mid-life crisis, but this film presents the story in atypical fashion.  When you think the plot will go one way, director Jason Reitman takes it in a different direction.  It’s a great film featuring a stellar performance from Clooney, who earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

The story of airplane captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who saved the lives of 155 people when he skillfully landed a malfunctioning plane in the Hudson River, was certainly an inspiring one.  But, I’m not sure if it makes a good movie.  I think Clint Eastwood’s film suffers from a lack of meaningful tension.  We all know the story, so the incident with the plane feels like an afterthought.  The investigation into his decision-making feels forced (and was actually embellished for the film).  And I have to say, this film features some of the worst overacting I have ever seen, mostly from supporting characters Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney (who is usually very good, but seems to spend 90% of the movie screaming “Sully!” into a phone), and everyone on the NTSB investigation panel.  Hanks is fine in the role, but this film is just average, which is a disappointment given the cast and director.  Verdict – Clooney.

At War – Three Kings vs. Saving Private Ryan

Two very different stories of men at war.  In Three Kings, Clooney plays the leader of a group of soldiers looking for Saddam Hussein’s stash of gold at the end of the Gulf War in 1991.  David O. Russell’s film is a very good dark comedy featuring effective performances from Clooney, Ice Cube and Mark Wahlberg as soldiers who have become disillusioned with the war and can’t wait to get back to their lives in the United States.  While I liked this film, it’s hard to compare it to one of the best war films of all time.

Steven Spielberg won Best Director for his World War II epic Saving Private Ryan, and he should have won for Best Picture, but lost to Shakespeare in Love (insert face palm emoji here).  The opening sequence of the D-Day landing at Normandy was incredible enough, but the rest of the film is just as impressive as we see Hanks lead a squad of soldiers looking for Private Ryan (Matt Damon, in an early role), who has been granted a release from his service after his three brothers were all killed in the war.  The scope and scale of the film is incredible, and Hanks plays the role of John Miller to perfection as we see both his courage and his vulnerability as he faces death on a regular basis.  As good as Three Kings is, this call is easy.  Verdict – Hanks.

As the Crusading Journalist – Good Night, and Good Luck vs. The Post

It’s hard enough to play a famous person, but the bar is even higher when that person has already been memorialized by an Oscar-winning performance in one of the best films ever made.  Hanks took on the unenviable task of playing Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee in The Post, again partnering with Steven Spielberg, this time telling the story of the fight by the Washington Post and The New York Times to publish The Pentagon Papers.  I think this is a good film, it has a deep impressive cast, but it’s a little too “Hollywood melodrama” for my liking in how the journalists were portrayed. 

It’s kind of ironic that we’re talking about Ben Bradlee when All the President’s Men (the film that won Jason Robards the Oscar for playing Bradlee) paved the way for journalists to be idolized as crusading heroes.  But what I like about that film is that Woodward and Bernstein were shown just doing their jobs, they weren’t portrayed as crusading heroes.  In The Post, I think Spielberg goes a little over the top in how Bradlee, Post owner Katharine Graham (played by Meryl Streep), and the journalists are portrayed as perfect heroes.  We saw a similar portrayal with 2015’s Spotlight, another crusading journalist film.  Also, the last scene of The Post in which Graham says to Bradlee, “I hope we never face such a difficult story again,” followed by the security guard responding to the Watergate break-in was just too “on-the-nose” for me.

In Good Night, and Good Luck, we have Clooney directing, co-writing, and co-starring in the telling of the battle between CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Communist witch hunts that McCarthy led in the 1950’s.  Clooney takes a back seat in the film, playing Fred Friendly, the producer for Murrow, who is played by the underrated David Strathairn in an Oscar-nominated incredible performance.  Clooney chose to release the film in black and white, which gives it a nostalgic feeling of the era in which it takes place.  This is the opposite of a typical Hollywood story – it doesn’t have a neat beginning, middle and end.  While it’s clear who the heroes and villains are during the story, when McCarthy is eventually disgraced, we’re left realizing that there are no winners in this ugly chapter in our country’s history.  As much as I like the popcorn movie feeling of The Post, I think Good Night, and Good Luck is a more impressive accomplishment.  Verdict – Clooney in a close one.

As the Crusading Attorney – Michael Clayton vs. Philadelphia

Clooney plays the title character in Michael Clayton, an excellent thriller about a law firm “fixer” who cleans up the messes of his law firm and their clients, and gets caught up investigating the actions of a large corporation who might be engaged in illegal activities.  It’s a tight story that is told over the course of a few days that uses flashbacks in a clever way that doesn’t feel forced.  The film has a deep cast and features some impressive performances, led by Clooney. 

In 1993, Hanks was known as a comedic actor, so it was a surprise to learn he would play the role of Andrew Beckett, an attorney who sues his law firm after he is fired following an AIDS diagnosis.  Directed by Jonathan Demme and groundbreaking for its time in the portrayal of a gay lead character as the protagonist, Philadelphia showed us the incredible range that Hanks has as an actor and deliver the first of his back-to-back Oscars.  The next decade would demonstrate his dominance as one of America’s leading actors.  This one is close, but I have to go with the Oscar-winning transformational performance.  Verdict – Hanks.

In the Foreign Political Thriller – Syriana vs. Bridge of Spies

Two very good movies here.  With Bridge of Spies, we have Hanks (once again partnering with Spielberg) playing an insurance attorney hired to defend an accused Russian spy (Oscar-winner Mark Rylance).  He then gets pulled into negotiating the trade of the spy for the release of Gary Powers, whose U-2 spy plane was shot down in Russia during the height of the Cold War.  Hanks is excellent in the role and Spielberg delivers a compelling thriller. 

In Syriana, Clooney plays a CIA agent investigating arms dealings in the Middle East, coming in frequent battles with his superiors.  If this one feels like Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic with “oil” as a substitute for “drugs,” it’s not a coincidence.  Syriana was written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, who won the Oscar for writing Traffic.   We have intersecting stories across all aspects of the oil industry, including U.S. and Saudi Arabian governments, big business, and national intelligence agencies.  This is one of Clooney’s most impressive performances as he transforms himself into a flawed man, desperately trying to do the right thing.  Another close one, but like our last category, I have to go with the transformational performance.  Verdict – Clooney

In the Romantic Comedy – One Fine Day and Intolerable Cruelty vs. Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail

Hmm, let’s see.  In one corner, we have two forgettable romantic comedies, including one that I couldn’t even get through.  In the other corner, we have America’s sweethearts Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in love stories from iconic director Nora Ephron.  Are they a little too sweet and sugary?  Yes, but they’re romantic comedies – that’s what you want in these films.  Plus, Sleepless in Seattle has an underrated film soundtrack that almost made my list of favorites that I wrote about a few weeks back.  Verdict – Hanks

In Franchise Trilogies – Danny Ocean vs. Robert Langdon

Look, I like the Dan Brown novels, but the films just lacked a little something.  Ron Howard directed Hanks as symbologist Robert Langdon trying to solve a mystery in The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, and Inferno.  The films were too long, had too many preposterous moments, and let’s not even talk about the haircut choice by Hanks.  On the other hand, the Ocean’s franchise from director Steven Soderbergh are breezy crime comedies with a who’s who of Hollywood stars.  While the first film was clearly the best, the other two films are also very good.  This series is a perfect example of Clooney using his Cary Grant-esque dry sense of humor as the leader of his gang of criminals, Danny Ocean.  Verdict – Clooney in a knockout

In Animated Form: Fantastic Mr. Fox vs. Toy Story franchise

OK, I’m struggling here.  I didn’t even know what Fantastic Mr. Fox was until I started writing this piece, but apparently it was directed by the highly regarded Wes Anderson and it’s considered a good film.  Maybe I’ll check it out – I’m thinking of diving into Anderson’s work next year in advance of his new film, The French Dispatch.  Anyway, even if I’ve never seen it, there’s no way it’s topping Toy Story.  Here, we get the quintessential Hanks on full display, playing Woody with excellent comedic timing and joy.  Verdict – Hanks in a knockout

Behind the Camera

This one is tough to evaluate.  Clooney has directed a number of feature films – some really good, including Good Night, Good Luck and The Ides of March, but some pretty bad ones as well (Leatherheads, anyone?).  But he’s also dabbled in other aspects of filmmaking, including writing screenplays and producing films, receiving Oscar nominations in both categories.

While Hanks has produced a number of his films, he has only directed two feature films – the delightful That Thing You Do and the forgettable Larry Crowne.  That being said, he was the driving force behind two massive limited series for HBO – From the Earth to the Moon (inspired by his experience in Apollo 13) and Band of Brothers (after his role in Saving Private Ryan).  I admire his success on these series, but it was TV, not film.  I also like that Clooney has taken a lot more chances in the film space and has a non-acting Oscar win for co-producing Best Picture winner Argo.  Verdict – They both have had impressive runs here.  We’re going to call this one a push.

Academy Recognition

My verdict may surprise you.  It has to be Hanks, right?  Back to back wins for Best Actor in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, with six nominations overall?  Seems easy, right?  Let’s take a closer look.  Yes, he has two wins, but all of Hanks’s nominations were in the acting category (five for leading, one for supporting).  Clooney also has two wins – for Supporting Actor in Syriana and for co-producing Argo.  But here’s the impressive stat – Clooney has eight nominations, in six different categories.  He is one of only three people in Oscar history to accomplish that feat.  He’s been nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay.  Now, that is impressive.  Verdict – Clooney by a nose

Tale of the Tape 

Did I think for a very long time about how to declare a winner of a subjective contest created as an excuse to write about the brilliant career of two of my favorite actors?  Did I run out of gas after over 3,000 words trying to decide?  Yes and yes.  But there’s no way to pick a winner.  In the right role with a good script, you can’t go wrong with either of these two talented filmmakers.  I’m looking forward to their new movies and to see what they do next.

That’s it for this week.  I hope you enjoyed a fun look at Clooney and Hanks and are able to check out their new films when they come out later this month.  I’ll be taking next week off, but will be back in early January, ready to start a new year.  Thanks for reading and if you’d like to be notified of future posts, you can subscribe here.