Random Worst Superhero Performances In Comic Book Movies (14 items)

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  (#1) Shaquille O'Neal

  • 46

  Shaquille O’Neal was an amazing basketball player. And at the time of Steel's production, at the height of his athletic prowess, he certainly looked like he could play the post-Death of Superman character of Steel. The problem? Shaquille O'Neal cannot act. Buying him as an engineer was a virtual impossibility. He delivers every line like he's starring in a commercial - which is certainly more in his wheelhouse.

  The tone of this film is predominantly a family-style superhero flick, but Shaq didn't bring much super nor hero. He's believable enough as a veteran who wants more for his community, but he lacks the seriousness and edge to pull off a heroic character covered head-to-toe in steel. His performance in the film took it more into the territory of unintentional comedy than lighthearted family adventure.
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  (#2) Halle Berry

  • 52

  Halle Berry could not save this movie. Her turn as Catwoman was strange at best. It's unclear whether she was trying to channel Eartha Kitt, but in any case, it felt more like she was channeling Mariah Carey in Glitter. She vacillated between eccentric to what seemed almost zany. The film as a whole felt way more camp than intended.

  Catwoman had a lot of bizarre components that it couldn't channel into a unifying vision, including cat spirits, a villain whose power is diamond-hard skin from toxic face cream, and questionable special effects of Halle Berry's eponymous anti-hero bouncing around in action. Whether the character in question needed to be more grounded or not, Berry's performance is as much of a trainwreck as the rest of the movie - and she was "honored" with a Razzie for her ignominious performance.
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  (#3) George Clooney

  • 57

  Phoning it in is putting it lightly. George Clooney barely mustered up a performance as anyone other than George Clooney for his role in Batman & Robin. He's the only Batman in all the films to not change his voice when he's in the cape and cowl.

  As for the movie? There's just so much going on. Director Joel Schumacher even admitted that the goal of his franchise was to "sell toys." But while Clooney, in real life, already has the charm of Bruce Wayne, his interpretation of Batman removed all signs of it. At times, Batman & Robin feels like a Saturday Night Live sketch. It's widely considered the worst Batman movie, and Clooney is the Batman in the worst Batman movie, so do with that what you will.
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  (#4) Alicia Silverstone

  • 42

  On some level, Alicia Silverstone was done a disservice. She had to play a reimagined version of Batgirl, but somehow missed out on any of Barbara Gordon's qualities - except maybe driving a motorcycle. The film didn't even give her the trademark red hair. This incarnation was all over the place - an English prep school girl with a strict American accent and a thirst for motorcycle racing. But like her costars, Silverstone seemed to be phoning it in.

  Despite figuring out Batman's true identity, nearly losing her Uncle Alfred (Michael Gough), and even donning a suit herself, she seems reactionless. In Batgirl's various appearances elsewhere, so much of what makes her a great character is her advanced intelligence - not to mention her inexorable discovery that Bruce Wayne is the Dark Knight. Nicole Kidman in Batman Forever, in a non-superhero role, did both of those things with more panache than Silverstone.

  Batman & Robin has a lot of problems, and they certainly aren't all Silverstone's fault, but she didn't exactly make Batgirl a memorable onscreen superhero.
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  (#5) Chris O'Donnell

  • 48

  So much of Batman Forever hinged on the evolution of Robin's character after losing his parents. But in Batman & Robin, all that seemed to be thrown out of the window. While this film was chock full of puns, it was not full of particularly great acting. Chris O'Donnell was incapable of selling whatever was left of the character.

  At various points, Robin (née Dick Grayson) is under the influence of Poison Ivy's pheromones or in heated conflict with Bruce Wayne, and yet all of it seems like the same flavor of... well, nonexistent.
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  (#6) Brie Larson

  • 29

  In Marvel's long-overdue first solo female superhero movie, Brie Larson takes center stage as one of the most powerful heroes the MCU has to offer. And yet she leaves little permanent impression beyond that. While her part-human, part-alien character spends the bulk of the film figuring out her identity, the performance never figures out its own. This is a character wading through an existential crisis and an actual narrative mission, and yet Larson delivers a robotic performance that doesn't succeed on either level.

  To be clear: She's a great actor, worthy of the Best Actress Oscar she won for Room. And there was a bit more brass to the character in her Avengers: Endgame appearance. But our collective introduction to a living, breathing Carol Danvers was a far cry from the much more memorable character from the comics.
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  (#7) Ryan Reynolds

  • 39

  While Ryan Reynolds has made light of his Green Lantern role in recent years - most notably in his Deadpool films - no one was having any fun when the movie actually came out. Sure, Reynolds looked the part - the chiseled looks of a leading man and the superhumanly cut physique of a superhero. But the performance lacked much of anything beyond Reynolds's Ryan Reynolds-ness. He never seemed to get much of a read on the character of Hal Jordan, and somehow had little chemistry with his love interest, played by Blake Lively, whom he ended up marrying in real life.

  This movie hinged so much on CGI that Reynolds's humor simply couldn't sell the superhero character. Beyond that, the DC Universe contains so many characters better suited for Reynolds's personality - The Flash, Shazam, and a number of villains, among others - that Hal Jordan/Green Lantern seems like a waste of both character and star. Ultimately, he bounced back with Deadpool, which gave him a huge career boost and shifted mainstream comic book movies into a more adult direction.
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  (#8) Jessica Alba

  • 37

  Jessica Alba has been an action hero. And she's been a superhero - Max, the genetic hybrid in the James Cameron-created series Dark Angel. And yet she brought so little of that ability and persona to her run in the Fantastic Four series. To say she never captured Sue Storm is an understatement; she wasn't believable as a brilliant scientist, as a maternal figure, or even as a blonde. She had little romantic chemistry with Mr. Fantastic, and together, those two are supposed to be one of Marvel's true power couples.

  Alba's simplistic portrayal of such a strong character didn't help the franchise, nor did it do much for female superheroes' attempt to stand out in the "boy's club" of the very genre.
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  (#9) Sylvester Stallone

  • 72

  Sylvester Stallone is a bonafide action hero - he's just not necessarily a superhero. Judge Dredd has long been considered one of his worst films. It was panned by critics and flopped financially. While Stallone may not be anyone's first choice for King Lear, he's really not a bad actor. But even in this one minute of him in character as Judge Dredd, it's clear he can barely deliver his lines coherently.

  It also turns out he had his hands in too many other pies. Director Danny Cannon had such a tough time working with Stallone, he swore off working with big-name actors. Apparently, Stallone pushed for both a PG-13 rating and more comedic scenes. This really threw a wrench into the adaptation of a comic characterized by its aggression, ironic tone, and social commentary. Maybe he should have focused more on delivering his lines in an organic way than backseat producing.
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  (#10) Ben Affleck

  • 46

  While Ben Affleck didn’t make the best Matt Murdock, his performance in Daredevil seemed almost like a pre-emptive audition for the role of Batman. Affleck wasn't the worst Caped Crusader to ever grace the screen, but it does seem like audiences weren't exactly here for Batfleck. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was a tough enough sell. The impressive early trailers promised something the final product couldn't quite deliver.

  By the time Justice League rolled around, Affleck was dealing with a lot of pressure and backlash. In what turned out to be his final go-round as the beloved character, Affleck wasn't able to capture Batman's inherent darkness nor the savvy intellect required to plausibly embody the so-called World's Greatest Detective. He didn't have Bruce Wayne's charm either. You can practically see the bat-defeat in his eyes. It's highly doubtful the oft-rumored, never-seen Snyder Cut would fix this particular performance.
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  (#11) Amber Heard

  • 32

  Though she takes a backseat to the title character of Aquaman, Mera is a superhero in her own right. And with comparatively few female superheroes flying across screens, Mera deserves better than what Amber Heard delivered. There's so much potential for this character in the DC Universe; she has similar strength to Aquaman as well as the ability to control water with magic.

  But Heard's portrayal lacked both charm and physical credibility. Her wig seemed to be doing more for her character than she was. It's almost inexplicable that the princess of an underwater kingdom could have so little impact in a movie designed to highlight the superpowered neon madness of said underwater kingdom, but somehow, Heard pulled it off.
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  (#12) Malin Åkerman

  • 40

  Malin Akerman is a terrific comic actor and has loads of experience in drama. But her incarnation of Silk Spectre in Zack Snyder's divisive Watchmen conspicuously lacked the requisite intensity, nor the personality that has come across memorably in other roles throughout her career. She could sell the action scenes well enough, and yet, at times, she wasn't able to sell that her character was having an actual human conversation in an actual human relationship.

  So much of the relationship between Silk Spectre and Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) hinged on her performance. After all, he's bright blue, computer-animated, and not wearing any clothes - her humanity is the required counterweight. And yet, her line deliveries barely suggest there's a character there at all. This is the sole female member of the Watchmen, so Akerman's ineffectual performance leaves a substantial void.
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  (#13) Patrick Wilson

  • 45

  The character of Nite Owl was not meant to be a typical superhero. He was meant to be a bit washed up and sad, post-retirement. He also was meant to be more of a tech nerd than action hero. But the tone of this character seemed to swing wildly throughout Watchmen.

  As the character is shown during multiple periods of his life, Patrick Wilson was tasked with hitting a variety of different nuances and beats that don't necessarily cohere on the page. But his decision to play Nite Owl II as meek and banal conflicts - and not in an interesting way - with the degree of aggression he delivers in the film's fight scenes. The comic character's internal sadness and regret was instead represented as a mopey void of a psychological profile.
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  (#14) Jeremy Renner

  • 48

  Jeremy Renner's presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe can sometimes feel like the centerpiece of a game of "Which One of These is Not Like the Other?" His character, Hawkeye, can best be described as a member of the Avengers B-team, and Renner himself lacks the characteristic pop that has helped define most in the Avengers ensemble.

  Characters like Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Drax (Dave Bautista), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) all have similar supporting roles in the MCU, but the performers have defined those characters clearly and memorably. Hawkeye has a body count that rivals Black Widow, but none of her pathos. He has an entire family to take care of, but just sort of seems like a regular, indistinct guy. He has so much working for him, and so much to play off of, but does little more than fill in the background of a franchise filled with much more vivid characters.

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