- 4 weeks ago
Sometimes even the most talented actors can't save a sinking ship. Join us as we count down the times performers gave weak or unconvincing performances that were ultimately the fault of outside forces like bad writing, poor direction, or impossible expectations!
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00:02Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the least convincing, lowest quality and
00:09or weakest performances that came as a result of outside forces.
00:12You peddle gossip. You don't make anything. You don't know what it is to put yourself out there. You're just
00:21a cockroach.
00:25Hayden Christensen Star Wars Prequels
00:27This is where the fun begins.
00:29As Anakin Skywalker, Hayden Christensen took on an iconic character during a divisive run of Star Wars films.
00:36The Phantom Menace laid the patchy groundwork, but Attack of the Clones showed Skywalker as a moody Padawan.
00:41Christensen had to play the younger version of Darth Vader in a role that was filled with so much baggage.
00:47George Lucas arguably gave the actor some of the least convincing dialogue, further complicating a difficult task.
00:53They're like animals, and I slaughtered them like animals. I hate them.
01:00The direction didn't steer the star or his scene partners like Natalie Portman in the right direction.
01:06Even with the improvements in Revenge of the Sith, you can see some of the more intimate moments fall flat.
01:11I hate you!
01:14Joel Kinnaman Robocop
01:16One could argue that this actor fought a losing battle from the start of this remake.
01:21I'm telling you, Murphy, this is a mistake.
01:23The original Robocop is a sci-fi classic, making any new version of the story a tough pill to swallow
01:29for many fans.
01:30Joel Kinnaman can't take the role without comparison to Peter Weller's original performance either.
01:35In the 2014 update, the film felt like a slightly sanitized retread.
01:40Alex Murphy's journey doesn't have the same impact despite some modern tweaks.
01:44In Kinnaman's defense, he likely hoped this would elevate his acting profile rather than draw unfair comparisons to the original.
01:51If you've already forgotten this movie, you'd be forgiven.
01:54Dead or alive, you're coming with me.
01:57John Cho, Cowboy Bebop
01:59Just a humble bounty hunter, man.
02:01Stepping into the role of Spike Spiegel, John Cho entered into a controversial take on a beloved anime series.
02:07Cowboy Bebop for Netflix drew criticism for its very existence, let alone its attempt to turn the property into a
02:13live-action spectacle.
02:14Some critics were more harsh than others, but you could argue that Cho understood the assignment.
02:19You were supposed to love me!
02:21I was supposed to end you.
02:24He brings a successful track record in other sci-fi-like Star Trek films that blend action, humor, and heart.
02:30The overall production seemed unnecessary considering the greatness of the Sunrise classic.
02:35Netflix didn't revive the show for another run, letting it fade away after the first season.
02:40Spike Spiegel!
02:43No. Spike Spiegel. Nothing more.
02:49John David Washington. Tenet.
02:52Where's the drawing?
02:53What?
02:53Give me an introduction.
02:55I'll take the drawing out of the equation.
02:57No picture, no prosecution, no more hold over you.
03:00I might just be your second chance.
03:03It's safe to say that most of us will never probably understand Tenet.
03:06Christopher Nolan's ambitious project has its defenders, but also features some questionable choices.
03:11John David Washington's hero feels more like an empty video game protagonist than a cinematic great.
03:16It's reversing the flow of time. Doesn't us being here now mean it never happens? Or we stop them?
03:24Optimistically, I'd say that's right.
03:25Having to say some clunky dialogue and extensive exposition, the actor isn't just fighting for his life during thrilling action
03:31scenes.
03:32Washington's part doesn't have much character depth considering the need to explain convoluted plot instead.
03:37While Nolan experiments throughout the movie, he seems less focused on giving his cast the proper character to see.
03:42Or maybe I lost my edge.
03:44Edge is still intact.
03:46Most of the cast, Collateral Beauty.
03:48Howard doesn't write letters to people. He writes to things.
03:52What kind of things?
03:53Time.
03:55Love.
03:57Death.
03:58The three abstractions.
04:00It used to be that a huge cast of all stars meant something positive.
04:04With films like Collateral Beauty, viewers might feel duped by the promise of Will Smith and Kate Winslet.
04:09Shed your skin.
04:11Find your life.
04:13Hits you here.
04:16That does hit me here.
04:17Right?
04:19You can have it for free.
04:20This relies on tearjerker scenes in the same way a B-action movie distracts you with shootout.
04:25Where did you get that?
04:27Who are you?
04:29Who did you write the letter to?
04:34I wrote the letter to death.
04:37Nice to meet you.
04:39Smith's hero, Howard, grieves his daughter, seeking answers from the universe in a semi-abstract plot.
04:44This puts him in contact with an ensemble that all seems to learn something new about life.
04:49As the story goes along, the script sounds more interested in getting you to cry than making sense.
04:54The cast all feel lost in a movie that could have been more than a soap opera.
04:59Rage!
05:00Rage against the dying of the light!
05:02Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ringer.
05:04My name is Bridget and I'm f***ed.
05:07From her days on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its cult classic films, Sarah Michelle Gellar certainly gained a following
05:13among millennials.
05:14Her TV return came in the 2010s with the CW series Ringer.
05:18Gellar played a woman named Bridget Kelly that impersonates her sister with a decent premise that didn't end up panning
05:24out.
05:25She can bring energy to almost anything, but something about this crime thriller failed to connect.
05:30It could be because of a long list of cliches that plague the show.
05:34Totally inconsistent among other problems, the series likely confused people hoping for another Buffy.
05:39What if I don't want to play games anymore?
05:41Brad Pitt, Babylon.
05:43Everyone in this period piece is trying hard to make it work.
05:46Damien Chazelle's love letter to old Hollywood didn't land as a commercial success, with some sequences working better than others.
05:53We're also going to need two Gin Ricci's, an orange blossom with brandy, three friends 75's.
05:58Can you do a corpse survivor?
06:00Gin, lemon, triple sec, and Keena Lilit with a dash of absinthe.
06:05Two of those.
06:06Two of those.
06:07Okay.
06:07Two Gin Ricci's.
06:09You didn't have to do that, you know, to get my attention.
06:12Brad Pitt plays the middle-aged star having a rough transition into the talky era.
06:16In one of the film's most compelling subplots, Jack Conrad nurses his habits while trying to maintain a career.
06:22The actor gives the movie more credibility when everything starts to burst at the scene.
06:26Eureka!
06:27I am not alone!
06:32Yeah.
06:36When the script gets too messy or too overblown, Pitt and many other cast members do their best
06:42to elevate it.
06:42Conrad's tragic arc lends a poignant touch to Babylon when some of the other tales don't
06:48stick.
06:48It was the most magical place in the world, wasn't it?
06:54It was.
06:56Another set, another review, another romance, another breakup.
07:16It's okay.
07:19It's okay.
07:20I've been the luckiest bastard in the world.
07:22Chris Christopherson, Isabelle Huppert, Christopher Walken, Heaven's Gate.
07:31Much has been said about this financial disaster.
07:35Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate became a perceived symbol of directors having too much control,
07:40leading to a release plagued by bad press and negative reviews.
07:43The impressive cast seems trapped within an epic that's both ambitious and overstuffed.
07:48Cimino finds an interesting story about the American West, but sometimes forgets the characters
07:53at the center of it all.
07:54Chris Christopherson feels well cast in a Western, and Isabelle Huppert shows English-speaking
07:59audiences that she's extremely talented.
08:02He knew it was coming.
08:03He made his own decision.
08:08And so did you.
08:09Even Christopher Walken creates a promising wild card.
08:13But not every role receives equal time or consideration.
08:16The director ultimately deserves some blame for this curious and ill-fated adventure.
08:21I don't understand you.
08:23I do not understand you.
08:27There's a lot of things you don't understand.
08:29Most of the cast.
08:30Game of Thrones.
08:31The Lord let you come back for a reason.
08:37Stannis was not the prince who was promised, but someone has to be.
08:40Depending on who you ask, Game of Thrones chugged along with four or five incredible seasons.
08:45The later years started to go off the rails as the showrunners charted their own path free
08:49of Martin's text.
08:51In the final season, their decision divided the fanbase and hung the main cast out to dry.
08:55Daenerys and Jon Snow's romantic plot alienated plenty of viewers that were hoping for something
08:59less melodramatic.
09:01Along with several character deaths, it almost seemed like the writers were more interested
09:04in shocking audiences than wrapping up side plots.
09:07Many of the performers will be forever associated with the show and had endured lackluster material
09:12near the end.
09:12Will you lead the Seven Kingdoms to the best of your abilities from this day until your
09:18last day?
09:24Why do you think I came all this way?
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09:36Always on, always live.
09:38Are you not entertained?
09:42Everyone, Fantastic Four.
09:44If you can do that, work together, then you can change the course of history.
09:52That's a pretty good speech.
09:53In the middle of the MCU's cultural dominance, 20th Century Fox tried unsuccessfully to reboot
09:59Fantastic Four.
10:00The cast looks like a group of randomly assorted actors that haven't been utilized well.
10:04Michael B. Jordan, in particular, feels like he should be doing anything else, somehow giving
10:09the worst version of Johnny Storm to work through.
10:11Miles Teller, Kate Mara, and Jamie Bell aren't handed amazing material either.
10:16The whole journey ends up being washed out, lifeless, and largely humorless.
10:20You couldn't resist coming back.
10:23It's not enough to ruin your world.
10:27Now you want to ruin mine.
10:29Even a scene-chewing character like Toby Kebbell's Dr. Doom never comes alive, arriving with distracting
10:35special effects much too late into the story.
10:38Say that again?
10:40It's fantastic.
10:43Yes, it is.
10:45Did we forget another time an innocent actor went down with a cinematic ship?
10:49Let us know in the comments down below.