AMC Movie Blog

Ten Movies With Not-So-Great, Actually Really Bad, Leads

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The Best Actor/Actress Oscar rewards the talent that so embodies the character in a great movie, a viewer cannot imagine any other actor playing the part... This list does the opposite. But don't expect to see Nicolas Cage or Kevin Costner on this roster -- we expect their movies to be bad. What we've done is compiled the acting performances that make us say, that movie was great -- except for that guy who was in every scene.  

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1. Charles Bronson, Death Wish
Charles Bronson plays it tough and cool, like he does in all  of his movies. And that's the problem. Was there any doubt that Charles Bronson could not be tough and cool? Unfortunately, the role calls for a nonviolent, peaceful architect who goes on to be tough and cool after a gang victimizes his family. Bronson works hard at being nervous and afraid, but having Bronson afraid or nervous is like having Kirstie Alley act not hungry in front of a buffet: You just do not believe it.
Better Casting: Jack Lemmon, Martin Landau, Richard Dreyfuss

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2. Glenn Close, Fatal Attraction
As a violent psycho, Close was pretty believable and scary. But her part? Not one male viewer of this movie believed Close was this sultry, attractive, sexual dynamo. That is, unless, you find wet greyhounds or George Washington attractive. OK, maybe that went a little too far, but if you're Michael Douglas' character, the woman that you will risk your marriage and career on is not going to be Glenn Close.
Better Casting: Julia Roberts, Demi Moore, Kim Basinger, Sean Young

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3. Neve Campbell, Scream
Scream brought back the thriller in a time when horror and suspense was resigned to slasher sequels and James Patterson/Ashley Judd collaborations. Scream was smart and action-packed, but it definitely didn't have a strong lead actress. The masked killer was not the only thing that had viewers cringing as Campbell's character, Sidney Prescott, tried to fit the storyline's puzzle pieces together. Whenever you make David Arquette look good, you know you should think about returning to acting school.
Better Casting: Kate Winslet, Jennifer Connelly, Michelle Williams

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4. Edward Furlong, Terminator 2
Terminator 2 may be the best action movie ever made. It is the paradigm for cool one-liners, unprecedented special effects... and the most annoying pubescent scream ever recorded. Edward Furlong was never a good actor, but still, a Corey Feldman-like performance would have been Oscar-worthy compared to Furlong's yelps. If the world was really in John Connor's hands and Furlong's performance was a bellwether to his ability, we should cash in that life insurance policy and head to Tahiti. Just how bad was he? Remember how Nick Stahl took over the role in Terminator 3? Was there one peep of protest?
Better Casting: Any of the kids from The Monster Squad or The Goonies, even the fat ones.

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5. Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
DiCaprio has mixed his Hollywood looks with the emotion and  depth of a Marlon Brando-esque method actor. The problem with DiCaprio and why he merits inclusion on our list is because none of his so-called "research" ever involves being as tough as he "acts" to be onscreen. This guy is probably 120 pounds. When DiCaprio "acts" angry and tough, most guys watching laugh like when they see a 12-year-old try and sit at the adult table at Thanksgiving, only to be yelled at by mom.
Better casting: Woody Allen, Rick Moranis, Bob Balaban.

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6. William Shatner, Star Trek I-VI
Yeah, he was good looking and held his own as the ship's leader, but what from William Shatner's performance was beyond the ability of Kermit the Frog. His staggered speech, his lopsided toupee, his over acting towards the camera... his performance is bad, bad, and bad. If you were traveling across galaxies or even watching adventurers do so, wouldn't you want someone holding the ships' reins who didn't have a vanity mirror taped to the ship's steering wheel?
Better Casting: Richard Boone, James Garner, Kermit.

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7. Charlton Heston, Planet of the Apes
The problem with Heston is that in this movie, he is not holding a stone tablet from a mountain, which is the level of faux-gravitas he is bringing to a movie set in a world run by apes. His melodramatic cries and grunts make the character as empathetic as a chair. Sure, he was good looking and he had that voice, but image an actor with a broader range in the part? Agony, anger, Heston had those covered. But what about everything in between?
Better Casting: Marlon Brando, Roy Scheider, Laurence Olivier

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8. Al Pacino, Scarface
While Pacino's portrayal is entertaining and electrifying, it's so over-the-top that it actually takes away from the movie and relegates the story to a one-dimensional tale of the rise and fall of a king. You know how it's more disturbing when the super-nice guy in your office freaks out about who stole his lunch from the fridge? It's talked about for days, maybe even years later. When the jerk in your office flips out? That's called Tuesday.
Better casting: Al Pacino in any other movie

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9. Mark Hamill, Star Wars Trilogy
You might argue that we are unable to envision Mark Hamill as anything but Luke Skywalker, he was subsequently unable to really find any other work due to his type-casting. Or, maybe it's really the fact that this guy can't act. He was in a horrible car accident that disfigured his face in between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back so we'll just critique his work on the first movie: From his disinterest in his calling to his little smile at the end as Luke is being congratulated, Mark Hamill's acting is as believable as C3PO not being homosexual.
Better Casting: Daniel Day-Lewis, Mel Gibson, Robert Englund (who did audition for the role)

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10. Keanu Reeves, The Matrix
Reeves' performance is one of the worst atrocities ever put on celluloid, even worse than the aforementioned cinema gems combined. He has the incredible talent of looking and sounding like he just smelled something foul and doesn't know where it came from when he delivers his lines. Likely, when you left the theater you needed to sit back, absorb what you just saw and ponder: Could this actually happen? Has it happened? Why does Keanu Reeves continue to get work?
Better Casting: Joaquin Phoenix, Will Smith, Ewan McGregor

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Filed under: Themed Movie Lists
Tags: al pacino, charles bronson, charlton heston, death wish, edward furlong, fatal attraction, glenn close, keanu reeves, leonardo dicaprio, mark hamill, neve campbell, planet of the apes, reveal, scarface, scream, star trek, star wars, terminator 2, the departed, the matrix, william shatner

Comments

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I agree that Glenn Close isn't looking so hot in that movie even when she's acting normal, but I'd like to suggest that this is a production problem and not a casting problem. On the DVD you can watch a featurette that shows her rehearsing with Michael Douglas, and she looks totally different -- softer, sexier, more believably human. The makeup and costume people really did a number on her. I wonder if she's ever forgiven them?

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I couldn't agree more with comment number 3 about Scream! When the movie came out it was nice to get the RR back in horror but they could have been a little more specific when casting that flick, no?

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I am definitely going to have to agree with the Glenn Close and Leo views. Glenn's hair was not cute, even though she probably was at that time, not exactly my idea of a hot mistress. And even though I do love Leo and love the movie, someone else would have been better suited for that role, a bigger, buffer, grittier person, maybe Wahlburg should have had that part???

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i've often wondered whether keanu reeves is bad or whether he simply exists in another universe.

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OK...LOVE the 1-5 picks...all justified! But DON'T MESS WITH THE SHAT!! James T. Kirk is the guy we should have making executive decisions PERIOD! Also, while Mark Hamill certainly got typecast for this role and the car accident really sent him "on a path to the darkside", he is perhaps one of the great voice actors in the last 20 years. After Jack and before Heath....HE WAS THE JOKER!

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Yes, Mark Hamill did a great job with his Joker VO work. I remember seeing the credits and thinking... "Really? Must be some other guy." Who knew he had it in him... but then again, living a lifetime of "could have been"s might be better training to play the Joker than taking Ambien and hanging out with the Olsen twins. Ah, actually not, that sounds pretty twisted.

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LOL, I love the Nicolas Cage reference..I'd like to know who the casting directors are that keep this guy employed...I was expecting some Shai LeDoucheBag references since he can almost destroy any movie he's in regardless of how small his part is..

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With Nicolas Cage, the casting directors and producers are probably friends of his uncle, Francis Ford Coppola. Shia, on the other hand, made it to Hollywood on his own merits. Supposedly he called up a casting, acting like he was an agent to set up an audition and this eventually led to his first gig. Too bad such convincing Shia acting never showed up on the big screen.

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