Top 10 Movies Damaged by Dodgy British Acting

Perhaps not so much for the performance itself but just the fact that Roger Moore was simply too old to be playing Bond at all. Maybe if the film was presented as a gritty “Unforgiven” type movie, with this being Bond’s final mission, Moore’s age of 57 would have made more sense. Instead, it wasn’t acknowledged and 007 was simply portrayed as still being in his prime. Moore was, by his own admission, older than his love interest's mother, and at times it showed. Producers recast the role for the next film, and finally netted the much younger Timothy Dalton.

Quite frankly, James Corden’s reputation precedes him at this point. Some will just never be able to embrace any of his performances, despite the award-winning “Gavin & Stacy”. Though he didn’t exactly help himself by starring in “Lesbian Vampire Killers”. For his critics, while watching Peter Rabbit it was hard to hear Peter and not Corden. James doing his normal everyday voice didn’t do much to enhance the suspension of disbelief, or make the Beatrix Potter favourite feel especially likeable. This was all on top of some personality traits that fans thought were out of character for the iconic rabbit.

A surprise entry on this list, as Idris Elba is usually pretty solid in most things he stars in. People love the guy. But “The Dark Tower” will always be a blip on his resume, as Elba’s performance does nothing to enhance an already underwhelming movie. He wasn’t the only one at fault mind you, as Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey didn’t fare much better at the film’s antagonist. The below par acting combined with everything else assured this one never spawned the franchise that it was intended to.

While Orlando Bloom nailed it as a supporting character in “The Lord of the Rings” movies – playing the badass elf Legolas – he didn’t quite have the chops to carry a three-hour epic as the lead. Coming off the likes of “Gladiator”, there was high hopes for director Ridley Scott’s historical action drama “Kingdom of Heaven”. But, those were hopes it didn’t really fulfill. As with “Gladiator”, the historical accuracy is up for debate, but regardless, critics and audiences agreed that Bloom wasn’t the ideal casting choice for the story’s hero, lacking the rough magnetism of a Russell Crowe.

Another leading man issue here, as Aaron Taylor-Johnson just wasn’t able to display any of the loveable charm he exerted as DIY superhero “Kick-Ass” for 2014’s “Godzilla”. As such, he was overshadowed by fan favourite Bryan Cranston, who portrayed his father. Unfortunately, Cranston wasn’t given nearly enough screen time, and so the bulk of the movie fell onto Aaron’s shoulders, who didn’t exactly take the baton and run with it. Most agreed his performance was dull and lifeless. When you’re out performed by agiant CGI beast, you must be doing something wrong!

“X-Men: The Last Stand” is already considered one of the weaker instalments of the mutant film series for numerous reasons. And Vinnie Jones’ turn as the villainous brute Juggernaut is certainly one of the contributing factors to the film’s poor reputation. The ex-football hard man isn’t exactly Shakespearean trained and can seem a bit out of place in anything outside of a Guy Ritchie British gangster flick. Fortunately, “Deadpool 2” has since given us a comic-accurate interpretation of the character to help erase the painful memories of Jones’ attempt.

Where do you go after winning an Oscar? Why you follow suit of so many great British actors and ham it up as a corny villain in a big budget blockbuster, of course! That was the path of Eddie Redmayne at least, as after his award-winning portrayal of Professor Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything” he leaped into the role of Balem Abrasax for the Wachowskis “Jupiter Ascending”. To give him the benefit of the doubt, perhaps Eddie thought he was starring in a purposely cheesy, sci-fi spoof. Or, perhaps we should just forget about it and move on.

Regretfully, Sean Connery’s career went out on a whimper rather than with a bang. It could have been worse mind you, at least he didn’t retire after 1998’s ”The Avengers”! Instead, “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” was Connery's less than ideal swan song. An infamously troubled production led to Connery being at odds with the film’s director, Stephen Norrington. And Sean’s displeasure with behind-the-scenes proceedings reflected in his acting, resulting in a far from perfect performance... Connery’s work wasn’t the only thing wrong with this, but it was a big part of the problem.

What was hoped to be the next “Hunger Games” instead ended up getting its fourth and final planned instalment cancelled due to a lack of box office success. The “Divergent” series tried, but ultimately failed. Even with Kate Winslet on board, this sinking ship of a franchise couldn't be steered to safety. Perhaps Winslet just saddled up with the series for the pay cheques, or maybe she's just fundamentally too nice to play a convincing villain. Either way, her turn as the series' baddie Jeanine Matthews was notably underwhelming.

Deemed derivative and asynchronous, “Geostorm” arrived a couple of decades too late. Had it predated the likes of “Armageddon” and “The Day After Tomorrow” it may have actually seemed original – and the CGI may have seemed acceptable. As it was, it was pretty rubbish. The stellar cast fail to rescue things as well, with lead Gerard Butler going through the motions and seemingly playing the same role he usually does, all too far removed from his glory days of “300”. Butler’s point-blank refusal to be anything other than a bland, brooding, forgettable hero earns him top spot here. The negative forecasts for this movie proved all too accurate!