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The best characters let down by awful movies.
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00:00You ever watch a film that is just really bad, and you know it's bad, but there's like one
00:06character who keeps you hooked throughout? Sometimes that's actually worse I find,
00:11because while you could consider the whole endeavor a write-off anyway were they not to exist,
00:15you now get to see that there actually was some real wasted potential too.
00:20I'm Ewan, you're watching WarCulture, and here are 10 brilliant characters trapped in terrible movies.
00:26Be warned, there are some spoilers ahead.
00:2910. Lobster Johnson – Hellboy 2019
00:34As someone who absolutely adores Mike Mignola's Hellboy and BPRD books, yeah,
00:40let me just say that the 2019 movie could not have been any more disappointing.
00:45Whatever film Neil Marshall had planned, I don't know, but the end result is like an awful Deadpool
00:51Suicide Squad 2016 mix that completely misrepresents the tone of the comics.
00:57Even poor David Harbour is misdirected in the role, making Hellboy a loud, shouty manchild,
01:03and not the stoic, permanently tired hero with a conscience he is in the comics.
01:07That said, the film did have flashes of brilliance. That scene with the Baba Yaga hits exactly the
01:14right kind of tone the entire film should have been aiming for, but fell way short of because
01:19it was obsessed with being edgy and irreverent. If any one character could lay claim to being wasted
01:26in the film, however, that would have to be Lobster Johnson. A pulp-inspired superhero who operated in
01:32the 1930s, the lobster was faithfully brought to life by Thomas Hayden Church early on in a flashback,
01:37and then again in a mid-credits scene. A clear reminder of the potential the 2019 film absolutely
01:43squandered.
01:449. Angelique Beauchard
01:47Dark Shadows
01:48Eva Green's career is a bit of an odd one, because while she's incredibly talented and often steals the
01:54show whenever she's around, she also has a habit of turning up in terrible movies that are clearly
02:00not worthy of her talents. This has never been more true than with Dark Shadows, Tim Burton's laziest
02:06and most unforgivably poor movie to date, which follows vampire Barnabas Collins, Johnny Depp,
02:13as he attempts to protect his descendants from his murky past. With cheesy humour, non-existent
02:18character development, and a convoluted plot which never gets to grips with itself, Dark Shadows is
02:23a tough film to get through simply because it's so frustratingly disappointing. That being said,
02:29Eva Green's excellently hammy turn as antagonistic witch Angie Beauchard is one of the actress's best
02:35roles. An over-the-top and deliriously funny villain who skates on the edge of parody but
02:41nonetheless ends up the most well-drawn and compelling character in the film.
02:458. Hannibal King
02:47Blade Trinity
02:49While the first two Blade movies were great little action flicks that proved you didn't have to be
02:54Batman to make a solid superhero film, Blade Trinity left a sour taste in the mouths of moviegoers
03:00everywhere, bombing critically worldwide. Thanks to its infamous production trouble,
03:05supposedly caused by Wesley Snipes, who has long denied any accusations of behind-the-scenes malarkey,
03:11as well as the derivative script, Trinity watches like a cheap fan film with shoddy special effects
03:16and cliched villains at every turn. Once you get past Snipes' uninterested performance and the poor
03:22plot though, there is a lot to be enjoyed in Ryan Reynolds' turn as former vampire Hannibal King,
03:28a fast-talking, uber-confident hunter who steals the entire movie from everyone around him.
03:34Bringing in his typical charm and comedic style to the role, Reynolds is on top form throughout,
03:39and even manages to distract from the awful film he's trapped in, a sign of what was to come
03:44yet again when he played Deadpool in X-Men Origins Wolverine.
03:487. Bertha
03:51To say that Robocop 3 is a bad movie would be a massive understatement, especially when you
03:58compare it to the first film in the franchise, which at least has the common courtesy to realise
04:03how ridiculous it is. The issues with the threequel are endless, but the most glaring flaws lie with
04:09the recasting of original Robocop actor Peter Weller, the toned down age rating and generic action
04:15scenes, the silly villains, and the fact that Robocop himself has very little to do. Though it would be
04:21unfair to classify it as a total failure simply because it gave fans CCH Pounder's badass freedom
04:27fighter, Bertha. Whenever Bertha was on screen, there were hints of a great story coming to life,
04:33thanks in equal measure to Pounder's commanding performance and the themes of oppression and
04:38corruption she brought to the table. Unfortunately, Bertha didn't last, and the film suffered without her
04:43until its dreadful finale. 6. Billy Hope
04:47Southpaw
04:48Southpaw is the kind of by-the-book sports drama where you know exactly what's going to happen,
04:54how it's going to end, and what obstacles the characters will have to face. It's unoriginal,
04:59bordering on boring, let down by its generic script and spoiler-filled trailer. But at the centre of it
05:06all is Jake Gyllenhaal, who as ever offers up a remarkable performance as star boxer-turned-broken
05:12widower, Billy Hope. Not only did Gyllenhaal get ripped for the role and put in some serious hours
05:18to get himself into boxer fit shape, but he seems to be the only person involved in the film who
05:23actually cares about what's going on. Billy is a deeply complex figure, driven by his ego,
05:29then his heartbreak, then the love he has for his daughter, and watching him go through the struggles
05:33of parenthood, addiction and mourning makes for seriously great viewing. In the end though,
05:39Billy is all the film has going for it. It's a striking character city, but the plot around him
05:45moves with dull predictability. 5. Richard Mesner – Smokin' Aces
05:50Through all his popularity, longevity and charm, Ryan Reynolds has a strange habit of starring in
05:56films which end up being critical and commercial failures, hence the reason he makes this list twice.
06:02In Smokin' Aces, an odd assortment of hired killers are sent after a mafia informant, whilst two FBI
06:08agents were to protect him for an upcoming trial. Despite the packed cast, which also includes
06:14Alicia Keys, Common and Ben Affleck, it realizes Agent Richard Mesner who emerges as the film's
06:20leading character. A man caught between a rock and a hard place, he's driven by his duty, but soon
06:26learns a series of devastating truths which shake his world view. And though Mesner makes for a great
06:31vocal point, the rest of Smokin' Aces views like nothing more than a gratuitously over-the-top
06:36dialogue-driven thriller that's clearly trying its hardest to be a Tarantino-esque action flick.
06:424. Officer Max Kennard – Gangster Squad
06:46Reuben Fleischer's dull action drama Gangster Squad tells a fictionalized story of the downfall of infamous
06:53mob boss Mickey Cohen, played by Sean Penn, wearing laughably poor prosthetics. The film stars Josh
07:00Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Michael Peña, Anthony Mackie, Nick Nolte, Giovanni Ribisi, and Robert
07:07Patrick, and somehow squanders every ounce of its impossibly stacked talent to undeveloped characters,
07:13weak storytelling, and an overly dark tone which is overflowing with generic action sequences and tired
07:19dialogue. Amongst all these glaring issues, there are bright spots, including a tragically underused
07:25role from the T-1000 himself, Robert Patrick, who turns in a solid performance as renowned detective
07:31and sharpshooter Max Kennard. There are references peppered throughout the film about Kennard's legendary
07:36gunslinging past, and he spends much of the movie acting as the voice of reason and wisdom amongst his
07:42younger and more impatient squad members. In the end though, he's barely around, and despite a standout
07:48moment in the final act, he ends up little more than a wasted piece of potential in a film that
07:52really should have been this generation's untouchables.
07:55Number 3. Charlotte Bless, The Paperboy
07:58Based on Pete Dexter's novel of the same name, The Paperboy has an awful lot going for it. Written by
08:05Dexter and director Lee Daniels, it features a staggering cast comprised of Matthew McCrae,
08:11Zac Efron, John Cusack, and Nicole Kidman, as well as a striking murder mystery. Unfortunately,
08:17the film features little of the novel's intelligence and raw emotional power, the plot dulled by shock
08:22value violence, dark tonal shifts, and surprisingly weak performances from Efron and McConaughey.
08:29But then there's Kidman, who plays the film's standout character, Charlotte Bless, a tragic and
08:34hopeful woman who falls in love with murderer Hilary Van Wetter, played by Cusack, only to find her romance
08:39overshadowed by Van Wetter's abusive behaviour and murderous impulses. Easily the most compelling character
08:45in the movie, Bless is a seriously complex creation who is as seductive as she is intimidating. The film
08:52around her may just be a melodramatic mess, but Bless is the character well worth seeing it for.
08:58Number 2. Vincent Corleone, The Godfather Part 3
09:02The Godfather Part 3 is the single most disappointing movie sequel ever made, a wasteful drama which feels
09:09like a cheap knockoff of its predecessors as opposed to a genuine direct follow-up. Following the infamous
09:14Michael Corleone as he attempts to leave his empire behind and make a worthy successor out of his nephew
09:20Vincent, played by Andy Garcia, the film is presented as a final farewell to the film's most iconic characters
09:25and an epilogue to Michael's epic rise and fall tale. But it doesn't feel that way. It feels disjointed and
09:32unrelated to its predecessors, strangely uninteresting and nothing more than an uninspired retread of what
09:39already came before. All that aside though, it does have one major saving grace in Garcia's Vincent
09:45Corleone, a powerhouse of a character who brings to mind the early development of his uncle and steals the
09:51film at every turn. An eager man with a big temper and unwavering loyalty to his family, Vincent could
09:57easily carry his own trilogy if he had the chance and hadn't been so royally let down by the film
10:02he ended
10:03up headlining. 1. Sandy Lyle – Along Came Polly
10:08Without question one of the best actors of his generation, the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman
10:13had a way with stealing the show in even the most uninspired of movies. Case in point, Along Came Polly,
10:20a so-called rom-com which stars Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston as a pair of strangers who slowly fall
10:25in
10:26love despite the various personal and professional obstacles in their path. With its gross-out humour,
10:32unlikeable characters, lack of originality and tepid romantic chemistry, the film would be best
10:37left totally unseen if it wasn't for Hoffman's hysterical turn as still as best friend Sandy
10:43Lyle, a struggling actor, former teen idol and hilarious narcissist who's dreaming of making a major
10:48comeback. Considering how genuinely terrible the main characters are in the film, Along Came Polly
10:54would have made a much more engaging comedy if it had dropped the Stiller-Aniston romance and instead
11:00focused on Sandy Lyle's attempts to sort his career out. What a waste.
11:04No one can't do. What a waste.
11:04Now, what a waste.
11:04Now, what a waste.
11:04Now I'll explain about this.
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