10 Underrated Performances In Obvious Cash-Grab Movies

In the lead up to Jon Favreau's The Lion King live-action remake (if it's safe to even call it that?) most of the conversation centred around the fact that ground-breaking visual effects had been used to bring the various animals to life on screen.

Yet, once you got past the hyper realistic (and sometimes unsettling) visuals on offer, what we were ultimately left with was pretty much a shot-for-shot re-run of the original 1994 classic.

There was one key element which kept this entire experience from feeling like a two hour stretch of deja vu, though, and it came in the form of a masterful vocal performance from Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar. Though Jeremy Irons' spellbinding original turn as the villainous cat is still rightly held in high regard, Ejiofor laces a new-found gravitas and menace into this devilish character. He even manages to hold his own against the returning powerhouse that is James Earl Jones as Mufasa.

Admittedly, his rendition of ''Be Prepared" wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but Ejiofor at least put his own distinct stamp on a film which seemed content with just offering up legit-looking lions and pushing the auto-pilot button for the most part.