Gambit: 10 Lessons It Must Learn From X-Men Failures

10. Play To The Actor's Strengths

James Marsden is a fine actor. He's shown his range through roles both comedic (Sex Drive, Death At A Funeral) and dramatic (Robot & Frank, Bachelorette). Similarly, Halle Berry managed to get an Oscar for her performance in Monster's Ball, and Famke Janssen was a deliciously demented bad guy in Goldeneye. Yet none of these totally great actors got a chance to show off their chops in the X-Men films, were each was totally miscast in the totally bland roles of Cyclops, Storm and Jean Grey, respectively. Honestly, not much could've been done for the wet blanket Scott Summers was written as in the script, but it also didn't help much that nobody suited their role in the original X-Men films as much as Hugh Jackman. And maybe Anna Paquin. Rather than being slavishly devoted to their comic book characterisations, the filmmakers should've played to the stars' strengths - similarly, hopefully Channing Tatum's Gambit will be an interesting, funny, charming character, rather than a one-dimensional slimeball with a silly accent.