Worst Performances By Good Actors

[Max J Power]

You have got to be sh**ting me?! McGregor was the saving grace in those crapfests. Taking aside some of the horrible dialogue Lucas made him vomit, he did as good a job as you can expect.

I'll shout it from the rooftops

It's not that their performances were bad, but that they were much weaker than everything else I've seen those actors in. George Lucas is a vortex.

 

[That-Guy]

I actually thought Bana was better than Norton and that Ang's delt with the characters more than the new one. I trully think Ang's Hulk was better than LL's. Atleast Bana could show rage and angst where Norton was dull and dry, IMO.

I wholeheartedly disagree. I felt that Ang Lee's movie TRIED to deal with the characters but failed on every level because the characters weren't very interesting, at least Banner and Talbot. Maybe if those two had been written better, I could have enjoyed the movie more. Banner was lifeless and Talbot walked around like he was possessed by Satan. Though I will say that Sam Elliot kicked ass as General Ross.

I felt that Norton, on the other hand, conveyed a better sense of panic and frustration. Within the first five minutes of TIH, I cared more about him than I did after a whole movie with Bana's version of the character. I don't think that's because of Bana's ability (I really like him as an actor, usually) I just think that the movie didn't work.

 

[Octoberist]

Bana's character was very passive and contained.

Even then, I don't think Incredible Hulk really took it the next level. It was better than Hulk (a film that I kinda enjoy) but it's almost a forgotten movie to me, lost in the sea of Iron Man and Dark Knight.

 

[Wesley Dodds]

Jon Voight in Anaconda.
Either it was the worst performance in a major motion picture ive ever seen or it was SOOOOO good that it went all the way around and ended up at bad!
I still dont know what was going on there....

 

[That-Guy]

Jon Voight in Anaconda.
Either it was the worst performance in a major motion picture ive ever seen or it was SOOOOO good that it went all the way around and ended up at bad!
I still dont know what was going on there....

 

[That-Guy]

I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me, but I'd have to say Cate Blanchett in I'm Not There. I know she was nominated for an Oscar, but I couldn't help but feel like her performance was Dylan imitation that was better suited to an SNL sketch. Same with Christian Bale and that other annoying guy who played the Dylan who was being interrogated.

 

[Figs]

I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me, but I'd have to say Cate Blanchett in I'm Not There. I know she was nominated for an Oscar, but I couldn't help but feel like her performance was Dylan imitation that was better suited to an SNL sketch. Same with Christian Bale and that other annoying guy who played the Dylan who was being interrogated.

How were they supposed to play him??I guess they could have just made up their own personalities...but then that wouldn't have been very Dylan.

 

[That-Guy]

I don't know, honestly. But considering you're talking about a movie where an aged version of Billy the Kid is somehow also Bob Dylan, I suppose that they didn't have to just try and mimic him.

Maybe it was just the movie that I didn't like though, I don't know. I'm not the biggest Dylan fan... I like his music, but I find obsessive hero-worship pretty silly, and that's what the movie felt like to me.

Not that it was all bad. I thought that Marcus Carl Franklin was excellent, Heath Ledger and Charlotte Gainsbourg's story was interesting, and damn, who knew Bruce Greenwood could do such a perfect English accent?

 

[Dark Victory]

Matthew McConaughey in every romantic comedy. Seriously, what happened to this guy? He was awesome in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4, Dazed and Confused, Contact, Frailty, and was even decent in Two For the Money, U571, and Reign of Fire. Now, he's in **** like Failure to Launch, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Fool's Gold, We Are Marshall, Sahara and so on. This guy needs to find a new agent.

 

[Schlosser85]

Anthony Hopkins and Mickey Rourke in Desperate Hours (but that movie is bizarre anyway)

Elijah Wood in Ash Wednesday and Green Street Hooligans, in both of which he is hopelessly miscast (Elijah as the hotheaded Irish mob brother or a street brawling hooligan? riiiiight)

Winona Ryder in Alien Resurrection

I don't think Tom Hanks' Oscar winning performance in Philadelphia is nearly as good as most people think, or as good as most of his other performances, but I also think the movie is weak and doesn't give him many well-written scenes

Everyone except Jet Li in Lethal Weapon 4 (crapfest)

Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man 3 (likewise crapfest)

Ian McDiarmid in Revenge of the Sith (one of the saving graces of the prequels and great in THAT movie until he becomes the Emperor, and then he's just ridiculously over-the-top like he's suddenly playing the Wicked Witch or something)

Harrison Ford in Hollywood Homicide and Random Hearts (sleepwalking through crap material, as he has a tendency to do)

Most of Rutger Hauer's roles outside of Blade Runner, Inside The Third Reich, Soldier of Orange, The Hitcher, Batman Begins, and Sin City

Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones in The Legend of Zorro (another crappy sequel)

Samuel L. Jackson in Revenge of the Sith ("we must act quickly if the Jedi order is to survive"...sounded like he was reading off a card)

Ashley Judd in Someone Like You...granted the movie is a stupid, weird romantic comedy, but I wouldn't have thought Judd could act so shrill and obnoxious.

Ralph Fiennes in Maid in Manhattan...could he have looked any more like he'd rather be somewhere else? He literally looks like you can see him squirming in embarrassment all through that movie.

 

[That-Guy]

Matthew McConaughey in every romantic comedy. Seriously, what happened to this guy? He was awesome in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4, Dazed and Confused, Contact, Frailty, and was even decent in Two For the Money, U571, and Reign of Fire. Now, he's in **** like Failure to Launch, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Fool's Gold, We Are Marshall, Sahara and so on. This guy needs to find a new agent.

Yeah, I don't really get it either. Frailty is one of the most horrifying movies I've ever seen and he was excellent in it. U571 is my all-time favorite WWII submarine movie. Dazed and Confused is a friggin' classic. He needs to rebuild his career ASAP. At least he had a good supporting role in Tropic Thunder.

 

[Dark Victory]

Yeah, I don't really get it either. Frailty is one of the most horrifying movies I've ever seen and he was excellent in it. U571 is my all-time favorite WWII submarine movie. Dazed and Confused is a friggin' classic. He needs to rebuild his career ASAP. At least he had a good supporting role in Tropic Thunder.

I hope so, but things aren't looking good. He was just in that rom com with Jennifer Aniston.

 

[Figs]

Most of Rutger Hauer's roles outside of Blade Runner, Inside The Third Reich, Soldier of Orange, The Hitcher, Batman Begins, and Sin City

Not even Blind Fury?

 

[That-Guy]

Chow Yun Fat in Dragonball or Bulletproof Monk. Geez, can you remember back when he was the next big thing in the U.S.?

Billy Bob Thornton in Bandits... that movie was a pathetic pile of crap and Thornton was the worst part. I wanted to shoot him.

John Travolta in Battlefield Earth.

 

[matrix_ghost]

Matthew McConaughey in every romantic comedy. Seriously, what happened to this guy? He was awesome in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4, Dazed and Confused, Contact, Frailty, and was even decent in Two For the Money, U571, and Reign of Fire. Now, he's in **** like Failure to Launch, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Fool's Gold, We Are Marshall, Sahara and so on. This guy needs to find a new agent.

I believe actors do have a say in what movies they pick. It's not the like agent comes and says " This is the script i got you. Make it !".
So McConaughey is just as guilty as his agent.


And while we are baffled by his choices of constantly appearing in rom-com's they did made money.

 

[MAN O STEEL]

Elijah Wood in Ash Wednesday and Green Street Hooligans, in both of which he is hopelessly miscast (Elijah as the hotheaded Irish mob brother or a street brawling hooligan? riiiiight)

Wow someone didn't pay attention to the movie very well did they?. The whole point of casting Elijah was to have some one who looked like an average everyday guy who's broguth into the tough world of hard talking, tattoo wearing, rough voiced guys who were the polar opposites. It shows you the truth, that just because you might look weak, doesn't mean you are & you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. Same with the character of Pete, sure on the surface he looked rough, talked rough & acted rough, but he also tought kids soccer at schools & had a code of honor himself. That's why Elijah was cast & in the end if you understand the movie properly you'll agree it was great casting.






Steve

 

[Sam Fisher]

Nick Stahl and Claire Danes in Terminator 3

These are good actors?

 

[Dark Victory]

Gary Oldman in the Unborn.

 

[lou2099]

Matthew Mconahey(sp) is a terrible actor, I'm sickened that he's even mentioned as a good one here. Here are a few critically acclaimed, GOOD performers who just couldn't make it work in certain films:

Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman---Ishtar
Dudley Moore --Best Defense, Arthur 2 On the Rocks, Like Father Like Son
Christian Bale--Shaft, The Dark Knight, (sorry, but he was a lousy Batman in this one).
Walter Matthau and Christopher Lloyd--Dennis the Menace
Raul Julia--The Rookie, Street Fighter
Meryll Streep --She Devil

 

[That-Guy]

Christopher Eccleston - G.I. Joe

Johnathan Pryce - Tomorrow Never Dies and G.I. Joe

Joseph Gordon Leavitt - G.I. Joe

 

[Figs]

Christopher Eccleston - G.I. Joe

Johnathan Pryce - Tomorrow Never Dies and G.I. Joe

Joseph Gordon Leavitt - G.I. Joe

I could understand if this thread was about Good Actors in bad movies but I thought JGL did a good job with the sinister yet campy villian role. It is G.I. Joe afterall. *waits for fanboys to try to convince me how mature and super serious the G.I. Joe cartoon and comics really were*

 

[SWAT]

Joseph Gordon Leavitt - G.I. Joe

He was the best thing about that movie IMO.

 

[Figs]

He was the best thing about that movie IMO.

See, that's what I'm talking about.

 

[That-Guy]

Sorry guys, but I thought he was as terrible as everyone else. The part was written poorly, IMO, and the over-the-top "evil" voice they gave him were probably the true culprits, but I don't think that his performance helped the matter.

 

[TLH]

Didn't read through this thread to see if those one has been said, but...

Nicolas Cage in "The Wicker Man"

Check this HILARIOUS montage out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6i2WRreARo