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Spinning off from here, I have a few movies that I can acknowledge are probably good, but can't get past an actor that I don't enjoy watching.

For example, Back to the Future - ok premise, well made movie... but Michael J Fox has always (aside from his run in Boston Legal) irritated me. Nothing against his ability as an actor, just one of those things. So who could have made it a great movie? Other potential candidates for the role were apparently Eric Stolz, C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio and John Cusack. Not sure any of those would have been a big improvement, although looking at other actors around the same age, I'm not sure who would have been. Jim Carrey is around the same age... that would have been a very different movie! As is Tom Cruise. I think I'm actually stuck, here. So, short of waiting 30-odd years and making it with Robert Downey Jr and Tom Holland - who would have been a better Marty McFly?

And what's your movie and substitute actor choice?

Replace Jared Leto in any movie with either: a) I dunno Skeet Ulrich? or b) a potato.

Replace the actors in Valerian with the actors from Jupiter Ascending...pretty much any pair of actors with charisma and chemistry.

This is hard.

Even though he was much better than I expected and I don't think he ruined the movie, I still can't fathom why Nicholas Cage was cast in The Color Out of Space.

 LordofHats wrote:
Even though he was much better than I expected and I don't think he ruined the movie, I still can't fathom why Nicholas Cage was cast in The Color Out of Space.

The same could be said about a lot of Nick Cage movies... He's always struck me as an odd choice for most of his action movies. Ghost Rider in particular seemed like really weird casting, although to be fair a different actor probably wouldn't have saved that one.

 LordofHats wrote:
Even though he was much better than I expected and I don't think he ruined the movie, I still can't fathom why Nicholas Cage was cast in The Color Out of Space.

That was my first thought too.

I found him so aggravating, that I struggled to get through the first part of the film.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 insaniak wrote:

 LordofHats wrote:
Even though he was much better than I expected and I don't think he ruined the movie, I still can't fathom why Nicholas Cage was cast in The Color Out of Space.

The same could be said about a lot of Nick Cage movies... He's always struck me as an odd choice for most of his action movies. Ghost Rider in particular seemed like really weird casting, although to be fair a different actor probably wouldn't have saved that one.

Agree 100%. The weird thing is that I liked him in earlier stuff like The Rock, 8mm, Snake Eyes, and Con Air....then his acting seemed to fall off a cliff.

Nicolas cage is fine in movies where the role is made for him to play as Nicholas Cage, eg National Treasure.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Replace Jared Leto in any movie with either: a) I dunno Skeet Ulrich? or b) a potato.

Replace the actors in Valerian with the actors from Jupiter Ascending...pretty much any pair of actors with charisma and chemistry.

This is hard.

My 'Leto' is Johnny Depp. as even recent troubles aside, he hasn't delivered anything of note this century* he's been on a 20 year slide, just us tech-tricks to replace him with Sam Rockwell

*maybe Jack Sparrow, in the first Pirates, but even then his antics detracted from Will and Elizabeth's arcs

Jesse Eisenberg in Batman vs Superman - he ruined that film with that performance. Although to be fair it depends on if the capering mad idiot Loopy Lex was what he was asked to do or not.

IMO it needed someone to make Lex a serious, dangerous threat - not a monkey throwing bannas out of its cage and hoping they would stick to the plot.

Sometimes its difficult ot know if the actor would actually change the tone, script etc of a film and make it better - ie not a fan of the most recent bond films as I find them dull and slow but I don't think that as issue with Daniel Craig but it might be....

Tom Cruise in The Mummy. Tom Cruise playing that character that’s meant to be a 6’ 20” beefcake, and not a 5’ Nowt lunatic.

There’s a really, really good FactFiend about Cruise’s detrimental effect upon The Mummy. In short, and from memory, he basically had it re- written to focus more on him.

It doesn’t help the character is an unrepentant scumbag of course. But Cruise just chews the scenery to the degree any hint of anti-hero goes out the window.

Episode 1. Poor Jake Lloyd. Whilst I did not enjoy his performance at all, it is important to remember he was just a kid. But then, Haley Joel Osment and indeed the Potter leads are evidence that being a kid does not necessarily mean you’re a bad actor.

Unfortunately he delivered all his lines flatly, and without recognisable emotion. Now, how much was a lack of acting ability, and how much bad direction I don’t care to speculate.

Poor old Anakin. If it wasn’t for Clone Wars, he’d remain a whiny little whiner in pop culture.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
FactFiend vid I mentioned. Please be aware language is PG-13.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLbu0oEL1bY

 Mr Morden wrote:
Jesse Eisenberg in Batman vs Superman - he ruined that film with that performance. Although to be fair it depends on if the capering mad idiot Loopy Lex was what he was asked to do or not.

IMO it needed someone to make Lex a serious, dangerous threat - not a monkey throwing bannas out of its cage and hoping they would stick to the plot.

Sometimes its difficult ot know if the actor would actually change the tone, script etc of a film and make it better - ie not a fan of the most recent bond films as I find them dull and slow but I don't think that as issue with Daniel Craig but it might be....

to be fair nobody came out of Dawn well, as for comedy Lex I'm think that was a bad choice, among many, above Mr Eisenberg, presumably he got the gig off the back of Social Network and a even more sinister version of his Zuckerburg would have been fine but Snyder don't do subtle

 Turnip Jedi wrote:

 Mr Morden wrote:
Jesse Eisenberg in Batman vs Superman - he ruined that film with that performance. Although to be fair it depends on if the capering mad idiot Loopy Lex was what he was asked to do or not.

IMO it needed someone to make Lex a serious, dangerous threat - not a monkey throwing bannas out of its cage and hoping they would stick to the plot.

Sometimes its difficult ot know if the actor would actually change the tone, script etc of a film and make it better - ie not a fan of the most recent bond films as I find them dull and slow but I don't think that as issue with Daniel Craig but it might be....

to be fair nobody came out of Dawn well, as for comedy Lex I'm think that was a bad choice, among many, above Mr Eisenberg, presumably he got the gig off the back of Social Network and a even more sinister version of his Zuckerburg would have been fine but Snyder don't do subtle

I actually liked pretty much everyone else - Angry older Batman was good, Superman was fine, Wonder Woman was a scene stealer. Mr Eisenberg was great in Zombieland (not seen the sequal) but he seems to have thought his Loopy Lex was great?

His loopy Lex, assuming he was asked to play that, was fine. Given his book of work I tend to blame the director on that one. That'd be like blaming Natalie Portman or Ewan McGregor for the poop show that was Episode 1.

I'm in agreement on Depp. It's to the point I won't pay to see a movie he's in. I was so mad when they swapped him for Colin Ferrel in the first fantastic beasts. He would have been far superior to Depp in the second one. Depp literally has one character, I'd argue he's worse than Cage that way.

 Turnip Jedi wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Replace Jared Leto in any movie with either: a) I dunno Skeet Ulrich? or b) a potato.

Replace the actors in Valerian with the actors from Jupiter Ascending...pretty much any pair of actors with charisma and chemistry.

This is hard.

My 'Leto' is Johnny Depp. as even recent troubles aside, he hasn't delivered anything of note this century* he's been on a 20 year slide, just us tech-tricks to replace him with Sam Rockwell

*maybe Jack Sparrow, in the first Pirates, but even then his antics detracted from Will and Elizabeth's arcs

Well...if you’re replacing with Sam Rockwell, there are few leading actors who shouldn’t be replaced.

AotC. ANY pair of actor/actress who had some chemistry to replace Portman and Christensen. Literally anyone.

I'm going to disagree completely with that one. That wasn't the chemistry or actors but the horrendous script and direction. Portman is an Oscar-winning actress. The cast in the prequels was excellent overall. But even Liam Neeson came off as wooden reciting all that awkward dialogue.

So....AOTC directed by Sam Rockwell?

Sam Rockwell is on my short list of "do no wrong" actors. Even more so in the less popular films, like Moon, and the one where he's attending a sex-addict rehab program, etc.

I really thought the Hannibal Lecter movies would have been better with almost anyone but Hopkins playing Lecter.

APRIL FOOLS!

On a more serious note, I usually find Keanu Reeves' acting style, I.E. wandering thru scenes with a bewildered look on his face, somewhat underwhelming.

You know why they choose Keanu to play Klaatu in the day the earth stood still remake?

In order to portray an alien incapable of feeling human emotions, hoillywood caste an actor incapable of expressing any.

I honestly feel like Anthony Hopkins ruins TSOTL with his hammy overacting. He comes across like an old man Helena Bonham Carter, pure cringe. The other serial killer—whose actor never got any accolades—was far more sinister.

I think Keanu can be forgiven because he recognizes exactly what kind of actor he is. Not his fault if some movie makers want to give him a huge check to play the wrong role.

This might be a jerk opinion but Maggie Gyllenhaal in the Dark Knight. I know they couldn’t get Katie Holmes back, but I did not find her believable in that role. No charisma or likability yet she has two if the most powerful men in Gotham fighting over her? But that could have just been bad writing and no character development, rather than purely her performance.

Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker was also a huge mistake IMO. But I can’t think of anyone at the time that could have played a role that important for that trilogy.

This one will show my age but Kevin Costner as Robin Hood. Such a bad role for him and not that great of a movie, saved only by Alan Rickman. When I think of that Prince of Thieves movie, I think of a line from a different Robin Hood movie, Men in Tights where Cary Elwes says, “Unlike some Robin Hoods, I can speak in an English accent...” hahahaa

Musselman wrote:
This might be a jerk opinion but Maggie Gyllenhaal in the Dark Knight. I know they couldn’t get Katie Holmes back, but I did not find her believable in that role. No charisma or likability yet she has two if the most powerful men in Gotham fighting over her? But that could have just been bad writing and no character development, rather than purely her performance.

You could put just about any actor change in there for me, even when it's for a better actor... I hate when a character is suddenly being played by someone else, as it's almost always immersion-breaking.

Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker was also a huge mistake IMO. But I can’t think of anyone at the time that could have played a role that important for that trilogy.

As was already mentioned, it's difficult to blame the issues with the characters in the Star Wars prequels on the actors. Hayden Christensen isn't anywhere near as bad an actor as his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker would lead people to believe... The problem with those characters was the director, not the actors.

This one will show my age but Kevin Costner as Robin Hood. Such a bad role for him and not that great of a movie, saved only by Alan Rickman. When I think of that Prince of Thieves movie, I think of a line from a different Robin Hood movie, Men in Tights where Cary Elwes says, “Unlike some Robin Hoods, I can speak in an English accent...” hahahaa

Despite the accent, I would disagree there. Prince of Thieves is cheesy enough to be fun, and if you overlook the fact that Kevin Costner does as competent a job of sounding like an English lord as Sean Connery does as a Russian Submarine Captain, it's far more watchable than, say, Russel Crowe's version of the story.

If the ability to de-age actors existed then that does now, Star Trek Nemisis would have been so much better if Patrick Stewart had played Shinzon as well as Picard in Nemisis. not to slight Tom Hardy but one of the many flaws with that movie was he just didn't sell a "young Picard raised in a gak enviroment"

BrianDavion wrote:
If the ability to de-age actors existed then that does now, Star Trek Nemisis would have been so much better if Patrick Stewart had played Shinzon as well as Picard in Nemisis. not to slight Tom Hardy but one of the many flaws with that movie was he just didn't sell a "young Picard raised in a gak enviroment"

God, yes. It was like 'Oh, he's bald... He must be a clone of Picard!'

I mean, he was quite serviceable as a villain, there was just nothing whatsoever about him that suggested he was a young Jean-Luc, without them specifically saying so.

The only thing I'll say about Eisenberg's Luthor is if you've been around anyone with a genius IQ, they're every bit as phrenetic and flighty as Lex is in that movie during the party portion of it, and HYPER focused on things that matter to them or they deem warrants their entire attention. I think he hit that completely. Luthor shouldn't be played as a sociopath, he should be played as a narcissist and a genius with all the flaws that come with being a genius.





Now, let it be said that I think Christian Bale's lispy Batman was the worst portrayal ever, and I would sacrifice organs for a time machine to give that job to Thomas Jane.

The only thing I disliked about Bale's Batman was the neck on the later version of the suit.

Bane, on the other hand... I don't have a problem with him being different to the comic version, but what the hell was going on with that voice? (and yes, I know the official answer to that question, but it doesnt actually answer the question...)

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I honestly feel like Anthony Hopkins ruins TSOTL with his hammy overacting. He comes across like an old man Helena Bonham Carter, pure cringe. The other serial killer—whose actor never got any accolades—was far more sinister.

I think Keanu can be forgiven because he recognizes exactly what kind of actor he is. Not his fault if some movie makers want to give him a huge check to play the wrong role.

Oh man, you really had me going for a second there!

Wow, I thought I did an april fools post, but yours just totally topped mine.

 Just Tony wrote:
The only thing I'll say about Eisenberg's Luthor is if you've been around anyone with a genius IQ, they're every bit as phrenetic and flighty as Lex is in that movie during the party portion of it, and HYPER focused on things that matter to them or they deem warrants their entire attention. I think he hit that completely. Luthor shouldn't be played as a sociopath, he should be played as a narcissist and a genius with all the flaws that come with being a genius.

Now, let it be said that I think Christian Bale's lispy Batman was the worst portrayal ever, and I would sacrifice organs for a time machine to give that job to Thomas Jane.

Yeah but for me it just came across another version (and a crap one) of the Joker without any reason to be that character....

I did not enjoy the Nolan era Batman but thats because I donlt like Nolan's films - Christain Bale was not great but he was not awful....just in a tedious series of films.

I would have liked to have seen Michael Fassbender play Luthor as a genius psyopath - as many high level successful businessmen are said to be...

 insaniak wrote:
The only thing I disliked about Bale's Batman was the neck on the later version of the suit.

Bane, on the other hand... I don't have a problem with him being different to the comic version, but what the hell was going on with that voice? (and yes, I know the official answer to that question, but it doesnt actually answer the question...)

Bane sounded like Boni. Boni also happens to be my Avatar on here.

How does Boni sound? Well, like Bane. But also more helpfully?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_RAafbgYGc

Watch the whole thing, because Trapdoor is ace any day of the week!

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

 insaniak wrote:
The only thing I disliked about Bale's Batman was the neck on the later version of the suit.

Bane, on the other hand... I don't have a problem with him being different to the comic version, but what the hell was going on with that voice? (and yes, I know the official answer to that question, but it doesnt actually answer the question...)

Bane sounded like Boni. Boni also happens to be my Avatar on here.

How does Boni sound? Well, like Bane. But also more helpfully?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_RAafbgYGc

Watch the whole thing, because Trapdoor is ace any day of the week!

and remember Berk loves a bit of bonking, naughty Mr Rushton sliding such filth into a kids show

 Turnip Jedi wrote:

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

 insaniak wrote:
The only thing I disliked about Bale's Batman was the neck on the later version of the suit.

Bane, on the other hand... I don't have a problem with him being different to the comic version, but what the hell was going on with that voice? (and yes, I know the official answer to that question, but it doesnt actually answer the question...)

Bane sounded like Boni. Boni also happens to be my Avatar on here.

How does Boni sound? Well, like Bane. But also more helpfully?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_RAafbgYGc

Watch the whole thing, because Trapdoor is ace any day of the week!

and remember Berk loves a bit of bonking, naughty Mr Rushton sliding such filth into a kids show

Such a glorous show