9 “Perfect” Casting Decisions That Went Horribly Wrong

2. Michael Shannon As General Zod - Man Of Steel

First things first: in no conceivable way is Michael Shannon's performance in Man Of Steel on the same level of awfulness as Paul Giamatti's hammy turn as Rhino in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. But in terms of potentially "perfect" casting decisions that failed to deliver the goods, Shannon's Zod was easily the more disappointing of the two.

When it comes to playing psychopathic villains few actors working in Hollywood do it as well as Michael Shannon. Ever since his scene-stealing turn as corrupt FBI agent Nelson Van Alden in Boardwalk Empire he's proven himself to be the master of menace, putting his cold and penetrating stare to effective use, particularly as real-life murderer Richard Kuklinski in The Iceman. But the problem with his performance as Zod is just how one-note it is, delivering "Shannon the psychopath" without anything else of substance.

You could of course argue that this is all that's required of a villain like General Zod and that Shannon is simply fulfilling the expectations of the character. But this would be a weak defence of a character who had so much more potential to be far more complex and intriguing than he turned out. As we've come to realize, however, complex and intriguing aren't qualities usually associated with Zack Snyder movies.