The newest George Clooney vehicle, "The American," opened nationwide on Wednesday, and critics expect huge audiences in the coming days. Clooney plays an assassin, holed up in Italy for one last assignment. Given the film's star, one can expect intrigue and romance along the way, but does the newest Clooney film really show Clooney at his best? And what, exactly, is Clooney at his best?  

We look back at Clooney’s films with two people who know his work well, and we’re asking, what's the best version of Clooney, and what makes Clooney's appeal is so broad?

Takeaway contributor and Newsday critic Rafer Guzman, like most male Clooney fans, says he’d like to be Clooney, or even just have a beer with him. Emily Rems, managing editor of Bust magazine, also weighs in, and as a female Clooney fan, she’d ... also like to have a beer with him.