6. Karl Urban - Dredd
The Sylvester Stallone version of Judge Dredd was harshly criticised for many reasons (terrible script, Rob Schneiders comic relief etc) but the decision to show Dredds face which has never happened in the comics was rightly signalled out. Dredd is supposed to be an enigma, so turning him into just another grunting Stallone action hero was not a popular move. The filmmakers behind the Dredd reboot understood this, and star Karl Urban kept his helmet on for the entirety of the film. Urban was clearly having the time of his life playing the character, and he completely nails Dredds stern attitude and sand paper dry sense of humour. His teacher/pupil relationship with Judge Anderson is the centre of the story, and while he was never going to have the most emotional of arcs, his subtle change of heart regarding her is nicely handled. Sadly the Dredd movie didnt earn a whole lot of money despite some glowing reviews, most of which singled out Urbans performance for praise, which is all the more impressive since he only had the bottom half of his face to work with.