Batman and Catwoman Might Be Super, But Clooney and Berry Are Not
While The Dark Knight and Iron Man receive kudos from fans and critics alike, it's easy to forget that not all superheroes are created equal. For whatever reason, the superhero genre has the unique ability to stymie the talent of most good actors, and draw out the hackery of bad ones. Herewith, the ten worst superhero actors of all time.
10. Shaquille O'Neal
Rather than a smart, urban superhero spun off from Superman, Shaquille O'Neal's Steel is more a radioactive club bouncer -- only slightly more interesting than the "actor's" turn as a genie in Kazaam. Our only wish after that movie was to never see Shaq attack another comic book character; his turn in Steel ensures that wish will come true.
9. Jennifer Garner
First Garner turned the deadly Elektra into a doe-eyed romantic lead in Daredevil. Then she resurrected the character in Elektra, ignoring the source material to create a compassionate hit-woman. She didn't do the ninja assassin -- nor herself -- any favors with this mess of contradictions. Perhaps she should stick to romantic comedies and J.J Abrams television spy dramas.
8. Nicolas Cage
For years Cage pushed to be in a superhero movie, finally getting his chance as the flame-headed Ghost Rider. Aside from bestowing on the character his usual Elvis impersonation, Cage gave Blaze bizarre, non-canonical tics like a Jelly Bean fixation. Then he took a pass at Philip K. Dick, playing a pre-cog in the sublimely underwhelming Next. Coming up, Cage will star in an adaptation of Mark Millar's Kick-Ass. He's one superhero Hollywood can't quit.
7. Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman's character in My Super Ex-Girflriend has a problem endemic to actors who have no knowledge of superheroes: Broad and superficial mannerisms and a downright supervillainy attitude. Her turn as the latex-clad Emma Peel in The Avengers is equally flawed, making audiences yearn for the 1960s when campy, uninformed performances were expected -- not tolerated.
6. Chris Evans
Fantastic Four may be the worst superhero franchise ever -- made even worse by Evans' relentlessly sarcastic Human Torch. The actor also turned one of the coolest Turtle characters ever, Casey, into a snarky whiner in the recent TMNT. Humor is fine, but superheroes need dramatic heft as well -- something that Evans has never bothered to locate. Luckily, he's been perfectly cast in the upcoming Scott Pligrim vs. The World -- as an annoying action star. Interesting.
5. Dolph Lundgren
Lundgren handily beats out Thomas Jane and Ray Stevenson for the title of "Worst Punisher ever." How do you manage to mess up a character who's only defining characteristic is "having guns," and "shooting things"? Like Arnold Schwarzenegger without the catch-phrases or charm, Lundgren also mangled his way through Masters of the Universe (as He-Man, no less) and Universal Soldier.
4. Sean Connery
Connery was also a large part of the big-screen debacle that was The Avengers. The preposterousness of a villain taking over the weather is made worse by the actor's Scottish waxing, "You will buy your weather from me!" And let's not forget The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, where Connery's insistence on changing key aspects of his character to make a more heroic leading man upset the movie's team balance and permanently derailed the actor's career.
3. Ben Stiller
Stiller is so bad at playing tough, even his caricatures are unbearable. His role as a superhero actor in Tropic Thunder was so overwrought not even Robert Downey Jr. could rescue it. And his Mr. Furious in Mystery Men made simple the arduous task of determining who among a team of low-level superheroes is the most pathetic -- hands down, the guy who only throws temper tantrums.
2. Halle Berry
Who could forget Halle Berry taking Michelle Pfeiffer's brilliant turn in Batman Returns and injecting it with pseudo-mystical cat-god nonsense in Catwoman? Berry won a "Worst Actress" Razzie for that performance, but the actress made matters worse by single-handedly destroying the X-Men series when she demanded more focus be placed on her very-much supporting character, Storm. Boorrinng!
1. George Clooney
Clooney has a recurring role in the headache-inducing Spy Kids series, but there's only one movie that can make grown comic fans weep: Batman & Robin, in which Clooney saddled the Caped Crusader with rubber nipples, credit cards, and several annoying sidekicks. The actor has publicily admitted he "almost killed the Bat franchise," which is, in a way, an act of repentance. But we still can't forgive him for killing our childhood.
It's hard to argue with any of these, but how can you have this list and not put Sylvester Stallone's Judge Dredd up there at the top?
I suppose, maybe, it's not exactly in the superhero genre, but it tried. It tried so, so hard, and failed so, so dreadfully.
Hm, good point DPoem; though you could probably also blame that movie on Rob Schneider too, can't you?
I'm getting a little sick just thinking about it...
If you're going to include such an easy target as Shaquille O'Neal, why not go back and nail the old Fantastic Four movie. Sure, it didn't really get released properly, but hey.
How about some of the Incredible Hulk movies that were released on television? The ones with Thor and Daredevil are good targets.
While we're on the subject of TV superheros, Misfits of Science anyone? Great cult classic. Bad acting. Manimal? Mantis?
Supergirl's Helen Slater? How about Swamp Thing?
Not to criticize your choice, but is it fair to blame Clooney for the nipples, credit cards and sidekicks? He didn't write the scipt. And those things have nothing to do with his performance. If he's tops on your list, you should actually mention the acting as you did with the rest.
Hey captplothole: totally fair suggestions, and there's way more than enough to generate at least two more lists of awful superhero acting. For Clooney, how's this work:
"The only thing stiffer than his batsuit, is his acting."
Eh?
You have to wonder how much of this is realy the actors fault. I dont think anyone would make that batman costume for them selfs. And bad writeing can kill just about anything.
I'm disagreeing with most of these...Evans nailed the snarky irresponsible but loveable douche that Johnny Storm is. And well, I have a soft spot for Mr. Furious.
I'm with Wareve on this. You can't blame the actors if their parts are badly written. For example, I think the "pseudo Cat-god nonsense" was probably the screenwriter's fault, not Halle Berry's!
Wellll.... I actually do think you can blame Halle Berry for the cat nonsense. It's pretty well documented that she was in her "I'm a big star, and you'll do what I say," phase, and was very controlling of her projects. Catwoman languished for years until she attached herself to it, and then the script was overhauled multiple times.
I'm not going to say she bears the sole brunt of responsibility, but any self respecting actor would have at least said, "No, I'm not wearing that horrific costume."
The other stuff I take full blame for.
We often see superheroes in movies. Their role is of course to save people against the impious ones.Ever hear of Shadowhare? Shadowhare has nothing to do with male pattern baldness; he is a real life urban superhero. He and his group, the Allegiance of Heroes, patrol the streets of Cincinnati fighting crime and helping people in trouble, replete with masks and costumes. It does take courage, especially since they have purported to be willing to perform a citizen's arrest on anyone they find up to no good, and they are armed with handcuffs and pepper spray. Some members of Cincinnati PD would get a quick payday loan to get him to go away, but it's apparent he isn't. So long as his crime fighting doesn't lead to needing debt relief from missing work, Shadowhare is part of growing trend.