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Tuesday 15 January 2013

I don't believe it.


A few weeks ago I had mentioned how much I had enjoyed the Jack Reacher film.
Immediately fans of the series of books by Lee Child dived forth to air their disappointment in the lead role being taken by Tom Cruise as physically he has virtually nothing in common with the anti-hero of the books apart from them both being male and American.
As someone who has never read a Jack Reacher novel the original source material hadn't cast a shadow over my enjoyment of the film, but I can understand why others had an issue with the casting.
We have all watched an adaptation of a much loved book or graphic novel and winced at the choices made by the studios in who have cast in the roles

This got me thinking. What is the worst example of this?

Sylvester Stallone as Judge Dredd was a humdinger of a choice.
We all know that ol' Dredd was Clint Eastwood, but by the time the film came to be made he wouldn't have been suitable for it at all.
A shame really as that would have been interesting.
A friend recently threw in Nick Nolte for the role, and I could have seen that working, but only if they had stripped away the gloss as well.
Nolte could carry that pent up violence and when he uttered 'I am the law' I'm sure that no one would have been in any doubt he meant judge, jury and say hello to your maker lawbreaker.
The more recent outing had Karl Urban reprising the role, and while I have no major issues with him playing the part I did slightly question the physicality of him as Dredd.
I would have rather seen someone bigger.
Not some behemoth who spends hours every day in the gym building himself up to Hulk sized proportions, but just a bit beefier than Urban was.
Tom Hardy springs to mind.
He could excel at playing that brooding humourless character trait of Dredd, and match it with the solid intimidating muscle that the role would require.

Sticking to the comic books how about Halle Berry as Catwoman?
I sincerely hope that the people responsible for that choice are now disallowed by law to make any decisions small or large.
They better not be allowed to to change channels on the television without prior permission from someone more responsible.

Another one that was mentioned to me was Tom Hanks in The DaVinci Code, and similar to the Jack Reacher movie I probably wouldn't have had a problem with him as the lead character if I hadn't read the books, but I had so I did.

Back to Tom Cruise now.
The Vampire Lestat?
Please.
Okay. We all know Anne Rice had a problem with the casting.
Then capitulated and said that she loved him in it, but no.
Read the books and it is so glaringly obvious that Cruise was arrogantly shoe horned into the role.
There is no common ground between the actor and the character there at all.
His playing Lestat is akin to casting Adam Sandler in the lead role of a biopic about Martin Luther King.
That the film was a success is irrelevant.

So who else stand out as missing the mark by a large margin, and also who nailed it?
Let's here you.

7 comments:

  1. I think the casting for the Christopher Nolan Batman films has been spot on. The 90s ones were a bit of a joke. Though I generally think that Tim Burton's involvement in most things is a joke, Ed Wood and Big Fish are the exceptions. Just a personal opinion. Ben Affleck as Daredevil was shocking and the casting of Michael Clarke Duncan as his nemesis the Kingpin was nothing short of a joke. Damien Lewis would maybe fit the bill if they decided to do it again though but he would have to put in the hours at the gym.

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  2. Ben Affleck as Daredevil, not a very good movie but an even worse choice for the part. There's actually so many comic related disasters springing to mind now that I could be here all day (Green Lantern anyone?) but the one that's making me truly shit my pants is The new Dark Tower series being made for the big screen. If they fuck that up then I would seriously think about going on some sort of rampage.

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  3. I've just noticed my over use of the word joke in my last comment. I do apologise.

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  4. I have a soft spot for the Affleck Daredevil.
    It's not that I think it's a great film, far from it in fact, but when I sit it alongside HBs Catwoman, Dolph Lundgrens Punisher and the 2nd Ghost Rider film it is immediately elevated to the top of the best of a bad bunch list

    I used to love Burtons movies, but it's been to an extent diminishing returns for a while now. His Batman is a nostalgia trip to an extent. A nice springboard for taking it darker, but in hindsight it's not as good as thought at the time.

    The Dark Tower is a good example of a much loved concept that will suffer the ire of the fans if they miscast. Same with American Gods.
    They will get one shot and careful consideration of cast choices must be made.

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  5. Makes a difference from your over use of the word poke Willie.

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    1. I don't even know where they will start with American Gods. I'd like to see Ciaran Hinds as Mr.Wednesday but I think he will be tied up with Game Of Thrones. I never really got into the Dark Tower books, so I can't really comment.

      Poke!

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  6. I heard that 'The Rock' was in the running and in a strange way if he kept the dialogue to a limit I think he could maybe carry the role.
    It would help him break free from the characters he has been playing.

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