10 remarkable performances in awful movies
A great movie requires a load of elements to get right, and if just one of those elements is out of shape, the whole film crumbles. A fantastic filmmaker, such as Martin Scorsese or Christopher Nolan, can only do so much with a screenplay that doesn’t cut the mustard, but equally, a gripping script will be put to waste if it doesn’t have the right performers acting it out.
There are countless movies out there that wasted great ideas, with the script not making the most of the core concept or the studio behind the film failing to see its potential. Just take the 2011 sci-fi flick In Time, for example, an ingenious concept that adapted the age-old adage of ‘time is money’ into a narrative before forgetting to build a gripping story around the intriguing premise.
But what about the movies that offer so little to their performers, giving them a threadbare script with barely any character to flesh out? This list will explore the actors who defied all expectations and gave remarkable performances against all the odds, making the most of a situation where they found themselves in a terrible film.
Take a look at the list below, which delves into the world of popular cinema, picking out a number of disappointing high-budget flicks that failed to hit it off with critics but at least managed to gather a convincing cast. Find out why the likes of Chrisitan Bale, Margot Robbie, Adam Driver and Meryl Streep made the cut right here.
10 outstanding performances in bad movies:
Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Jason Woliner, 2020)
The only credit Jason Woliner’s 2020 comedy Borat Subsequent Moviefilm deserves is that it saved households across the world from momentary boredom during the lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic. Aside from this, the sequel to 2006’s Borat was a sad follow-up that had none of the cutting edge of the original, feeling like the product of the contemporary mean-spirited generation of YouTube prank shows.
Indeed, the young actor Maria Bakalova was the only shining light, giving the kind of performance you would have expected from the Sacha Baron Cohen of old. Rising to the challenge with confidence and quality comedic timing, Bakalova was a joy to watch, even earning a nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for her efforts.
Christian Bale – Thor: Love and Thunder (Taika Waititi, 2022)
It’s fair to say that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going through quite a major creative issue at the moment, with almost each and every movie they make turning out to be completely terrible. The 2022 Taikia Waititi movie Thor: Love and Thunder was supposed to be the film to buck the trend, but it might be the worst of the bunch, telling a half-hearted story with some of the most tragic comedies seen in modern cinema.
Marvel usually does its villains dirty with almost no character development at all; unusually, they gave Gorr the God Butcher a decent amount of weight, allowing Christian Bale to thrive in a truly creepy role. Yet, he’s so good that he makes everybody else look that little bit worse.
Hoang Chau – Downsizing (Alexander Payne, 2017)
The story for the Alexander Payne Oscar hopeful Downsizing might be the best idea that was turned into a terrible movie. It all followed the story of a man who believes his life would be better if he were shrunk to five inches tall, where he could easily enjoy wealth and happiness, but, of course, this doesn’t prove to be as easy as he thinks. Far too long than it should be, Downsizing was an overstuffed bore of a movie that didn’t make the most of its concept.
Still, Hoang Chau as Ngoc Lan Tran, a Vietnamese activist shrunk against her will, is a joy to watch after she befriends the protagonist. Chau gives a hilarious performance, quite simply, a shining light in a film that is so bereft of personality.
Adam Driver – Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (J.J. Abrams, 2019)
The latest Star Wars trilogy was supposed to be an easy win for Disney, but the reality was anything but. Quickly realising just how venomous the Star Wars community could be, Disney discovered that they rightfully couldn’t get away with serving sub-par content. The problem is that they did this after having completed a trilogy of utterly awful films.
The final of the three movies, The Rise of Skywalker, is certainly the worst of the bunch, even if Adam Driver’s villain, Kylo Ren, does his best to prop up the moments of great emotional drama. In fact, Driver is one of the trilogy’s only saving graces, acting as a complex individual torn between his past and future.
Michael Fassbender – Prometheus (Ridley Scott, 2012)
The iconic British filmmaker Ridley Scott was supposed to return to the Alien franchise that made him famous with a fantastic follow-up in the form of Prometheus in 2012. The result was one of the most disappointing movies of all time, having none of the class and well-thought artistic direction of the original movie and much more nonsense and extraneous backstory.
As he so often does, however, Michael Fassbender delivers an excellent performance as the android David, giving the film the chilling backbone that it so desperately needs.
Martin Freeman – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Peter Jackson, 2012)
It’s fair to say that Peter Jackson’s adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels peaked with The Lord of the Rings trilogy. While completists begged for the director to turn his unequivocally masterful eye to the characters who set up the tale of Frodo and friends, few were as beguiled by The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as they’d hoped.
Another trilogy would still be delivered, with enough fans of the genre and Tolkein to fill seats and make good on the big budgets. But while the movie largely fell flat with critics for being painstakingly dull, one decision from Jackson was gratified with an instantaneous flash of authentic performance: the choice of Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins. “Martin was the only person that we wanted for that role,” Peter Jackson has said. “We just felt he had qualities that would be perfect for Bilbo.”
Freeman’s performance as a humble and gentle soul slowly turned by the power of an unholy ring distilled the marvellous range he showed in Fargo, The Office and Sherlock into a single franchise.
Thomas Hayden Church – Spider-Man 3 (Sam Raimi, 2007)
“I’m not a bad person, I just have bad luck,” says The Sandman during a particularly emotional moment in the Spider-Man series. But one might suggest that this bad luck also translates to the actor behind the character in Sam Raimi’s 2007 edition of the webbed story.
Thomas Hayden Church’s performance as one of the few criminals in the MCU to be given a redemption arc is notably poignant. Able to show remorse for his connection to Uncle Ben’s death and the pain it has caused him, Church provides an unexpected foil to the superhero movie trope despite this being ostensibly the worst edition of the Spider-Man story ever put to celluloid.
Matthew Lillard – Scooby-Doo (Raja Gosnell, 2002)
In recent years, the clamour for Matthew Lillard’s work has reached a fever pitch. A unique actor in having delivered a super-size performance in almost every role he’s taken on without ever having his name reach the top of the call sheet, Lillard exudes wild comedic value as Shaggy in the 2002 Scooby-Doo movie.
It’s easy to point to Lillard’s blood-curdling performance in Scream as his defining moment, giving Stu Macher an unhealthy amount of vulnerable charisma, but there’s a good shout for Shaggy being the moment of his career that audiences will never forget.
Taking on such an iconic character certainly has its pitfalls, and being a part of such a truly gluey version of a classic childhood caper is most certainly one of them, but Lillard manages to somehow come out unscathed. Aided by the ridiculousness of the original text – Shaggy is, after all, a serial goofball stoner who speaks to an apparently talking dog – Lillard adds both dollops of comedic gold and gems of theatrical pathos.
Margot Robbie – Suicide Squad (David Ayer, 2016)
As has been routinely noted within both the confines of this article and the wider world of cinematic criticism, superhero movies are not the place to display serious acting chops. The market may be valuable commercially, but artistically, it ranks as one of the lowest forms of moviemaking, just ask Martin Scorsese. Of course, not all films require such an artistic or emotional territory to build themselves a sizeable yet shallow swimming pool to spend box office summers in. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few moments of genuine depth, too.
Margot Robbie provides such a moment with her poignant portrayal of Harley Quinn in David Ayer’s 2016 Suicide Squad. The movie was quickly dismissed as another instalment of superhero junk food without much nourishment beyond a hit of sugar, spice, and a treat for the eyes. However, Robbie’s role as Quinn has been regarded as one of the finer moments of the DC universe, as she not only shares the tragedy of a life lived in pain but also her desire to be reunited with her beloved Joker.
It was enough to gain Quinn her own movie and leave Robbie’s impressive CV without a single superhero-sized blemish.
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady (Phyllida Lloyd, 2011)
When dramatising the life of a truly polarising figure such as Margaret Thatcher, opinions will always be split. The former Prime Minister is, for some, a genuine icon of conservative values, while, for others, she represents the most reprehensible vision of capitalist greed over societal value. The Iron Lady, released in 2011, represents this monumental split and is either loved or hated by critics and audiences alike. However, there is one thing every film-goer can agree on with this production: Meryl Streep is flawless in her portrayal of the notoriously immobile Thatcher.
Streep rightly added further gravitas to the claim of being the greatest actor of her generation with her depiction of Thatcher. Not only capturing an inch-perfect mimic of her dialect and movements but also delivering a steely gaze that only Thatcher herself could have matched. Streep would be awarded the Oscar for ‘Best Actress’ for her turn as the lady who is “not for turning” and cement her position as a true great.
