14 Awesome Performances In Otherwise Awful 2015 Movies

11. Reg E. Cathey - Fantastic Four

The Movie: What else needs to be said about Fox's outrageously awful attempt to resurrect the Fantastic Four property with a gritty, youthful veneer? A talented cast of up-and-comers are completely wasted on wretched material which doesn't even begin to get going until it's already halfway-done, leading to a jarring time leap, a number of wildly underwhelming action sequences and a finale that was blatantly pieced together in a mangled edit as Fox tried to salvage Josh Trank's inept work. Trank, who was locked out of post-production, insists that his own version of the film would have been vastly superior, but it's tough to believe that there would've been any way to make a good film out of the detritus served up here. The Performance: Cathey is a terrific character actor who completely nails his role here as Dr. Franklin Storm, a brilliant scientist whose level of intrigue in many ways outweighs the titular group and Dr. Doom thanks to Cathey's strong performance. His determination to help kids who slip through the cracks, his attitude towards his son and his eventual anger towards the government are all perfectly well-realised, the latter burning with a scarcely-contained intensity...but completely wasted in an otherwise terrible film. He won't get much credit for his fine work here, but he acquits himself very well regardless of the circus that was the film's production.