# Movies with one outstanding acting performance amongst otherwise poor shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 1, 2012, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-one-outstanding-acting-performance-amongst-otherwise-poor-shows/617460 "2012-04-01T08:37:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-one-outstanding-acting-performance-amongst-otherwise-poor-shows/617460/1 "2012-04-01T08:37:25Z")
No I don’t mean your average poor peformance or good performance. In the Iron Lady, Streep puts out an Oscar winning performance, which the rest of the Cast (with the possible exception of Jim Broadbent) seemed like they were phoning it in. Any other examples? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-one-outstanding-acting-performance-amongst-otherwise-poor-shows/617460/2 "2012-04-02T03:59:14Z")
Franke Potente in The Bourne Identity. Eveybody else was doing their damndest to just be characters in a spy/violence movie, whereas she was acting & reacting as an actual character to the things that were going on around her. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-one-outstanding-acting-performance-amongst-otherwise-poor-shows/617460/3 "2012-04-02T17:43:51Z")
The obvious answer is Ewan McGregor in _Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith_ as Obi-Wan Kenobi. He has Alec Guinness dead to rights; he absolutely nails both what Alec Guinness did with the character originally and what Obi-Wan would have been like as a younger man. Even Natalie Portman is pretty bad in the film. and no one else is very good either. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-one-outstanding-acting-performance-amongst-otherwise-poor-shows/617460/4 "2012-04-02T18:11:26Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > The obvious answer is Ewan McGregor in _Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith_ as Obi-Wan Kenobi. He has Alec Guinness dead to rights; he absolutely nails both what Alec Guinness did with the character originally and what Obi-Wan would have been like as a younger man. Even Natalie Portman is pretty bad in the film. and no one else is very good either. My vote would be Ewan McGregor, but not in Ep.3 (where he’s “not bad” among a bunch of “much worse”), but _Moulin Rouge!_, where he is genuinely exceptional amongst some of the most painful performances ever put on film (with Jim Broadbent being, again, a modest exception) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-one-outstanding-acting-performance-amongst-otherwise-poor-shows/617460/5 "2012-04-02T18:26:49Z")
Alan Rickman as the Sheriff in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. He deliberately went hwayyyy over the top. Great performance. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-one-outstanding-acting-performance-amongst-otherwise-poor-shows/617460/6 "2012-04-02T18:42:28Z")
Check out James Dean in “Rebel Without a Cause”. It was like the difference between AM Radio and Color TV. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-one-outstanding-acting-performance-amongst-otherwise-poor-shows/617460/7 "2012-04-02T19:03:33Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > The obvious answer is Ewan McGregor in _Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith_ as Obi-Wan Kenobi. He has Alec Guinness dead to rights; he absolutely nails both what Alec Guinness did with the character originally and what Obi-Wan would have been like as a younger man. Even Natalie Portman is pretty bad in the film. and no one else is very good either. I thought the actor who played Palpatine was quite good in that movie. For the OP, I thought Gary Oldman was the best thing in **The Professional** , acting circles around everyone else. Of course, he also did this in **True Romance** , but that had the incredible scene between Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken, and Brad Pitt’s stoner was pretty good too, so I can’t say Oldman was the _only_ good thing in it. Speaking of Brad Pitt, he’s run away with a couple of movies. **Kalifornia** and **12 Monkeys** come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-one-outstanding-acting-performance-amongst-otherwise-poor-shows/617460/8 "2012-04-02T22:20:26Z")
I vote for Primal Fear. I’ve never been much of a fan of Gere’s acting, personally. But it had a lot of good actors in it, Laura Linney, Afre Woodard, John Mahoney, Andre Braugher and MOST OF ALL, Ed Norton. He was worthy of a much better film around him, b/c he just blew my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-one-outstanding-acting-performance-amongst-otherwise-poor-shows/617460/9 "2012-04-02T22:23:02Z")
Christoph Waltz in **Inglourious Basterds**. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-one-outstanding-acting-performance-amongst-otherwise-poor-shows/617460/10 "2012-04-02T23:23:42Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > …best thing in **The Professional** ,… Respectively disagree, I normally like Oldman, but I thought he was unbelievably hammy in this movie, surrounded by better understated performances. His performance was certainly amazingly well done, but misplaced with the tone and feel of the rest of the movie and cast. His every appearance was like Python’s Spanish Inquisition bursting in. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-one-outstanding-acting-performance-amongst-otherwise-poor-shows/617460/11 "2012-04-03T16:59:26Z")
I also thought that Russel Crow in **Gladiator** fit the OP. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-one-outstanding-acting-performance-amongst-otherwise-poor-shows/617460/12 "2012-04-03T22:38:01Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Check out James Dean in “Rebel Without a Cause”. It was like the difference between AM Radio and Color TV. Good call. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-one-outstanding-acting-performance-amongst-otherwise-poor-shows/617460/13 "2012-04-04T07:13:43Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Alan Rickman as the Sheriff in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. He deliberately went hwayyyy over the top. Great performance. I would suggest that Robin Hood PoT is the inverse of the OP: pretty much everyone - even the comic relief characters - gave stand-out performances apart from Costner and Mastrantonio. Of course, the film works so much better because Costner is so overshadowed. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-one-outstanding-acting-performance-amongst-otherwise-poor-shows/617460/14 "2012-04-04T07:38:43Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > Respectively disagree, I normally like Oldman, but I thought he was unbelievably hammy in this movie “[Bring me everyone…](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74BzSTQCl_c)” ---
**Author:** ![SticksAndString](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@SticksAndString](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SticksAndString)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-one-outstanding-acting-performance-amongst-otherwise-poor-shows/617460/15 "2012-04-04T17:44:34Z")
I’m inclined to hate _Inglourious Basterds_ not because it’s a terrible film (I’ve not seen it) but because when it came out and there were ads on TV for it all the time, they managed to teach my kiddo a word I didn’t want him to learn. S: Mom…what’s a…basterd? Me: Uh…go ask your father!