Ian McShane: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

4. Paul Griffen - We Are Marshall (2007)

It's hard to fathom the decision-making in Hollywood sometimes. Just as someone out there figured that it would be a good idea for Michael Bay to make a film about World War II, so someone thought that the director of the utterly empty-headed Charlie's Angels movies would be the right man to helm a tender sports drama. That man being McG, the result was a disaster, giving us McShane's next shameful performance. We Are Marshall is about the aftermath of the 1970 plane crash which claimed the lives of the entire Marshall University Thundering Herd American football team. Having considered shutting down the football programme entirely, University President Donald Dedmon (David Strathairn) is persuaded to hire a new coach in the shape of Jack Lengyel (Matthew McConnaughey). He sets about rebuilding the team in the face of much opposition, culminating in a much-anticipated game against the Morehead State Eagles. We Are Marshall is a classic example of 'right story, wrong director'; McG is at home in the kinetic sporting shots but he doesn't give space for the drama in-between to become genuine. If you want to see how to do this story properly, go and watch the TV movie United, which covers the Munich air disaster of 1958 which decimated Manchester United. McShane doesn't get much to do in the film, but he makes the very least of his part, failing to form a believable bond with McConnaughey and looking like he doesn't want to be there - like many of the actors in McG's films.