2. Wesley A. Gibson - Wanted
Released in 2008 and directed Timur Bekmambetov, Wanted stars James McAvoy alongside Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman, in an action packed thriller based of the comic book series of the same name. Now, let me convey why I believe this performance to rank so low. McAvoy isnt alone in this film in providing a poor performance, but there is a strange contrast in the strength of his performance here and in previous films he's led. Atonement and The Last King of Scotland felt energised by having him at their core, exuding confidence and comfortably adjusting to whatever emotion needed to be portrayed. Here, McAvoy is on auto-pilot, never grasping the purpose or intent of the material. Also: while this could be considered knit-picking, McAvoys American accent is as generic and bland as any impression around. There is no effort to really tie down any specific dialect. Wanted mostly drifts between serious and outlandish, struggling to settle for a coherent tone. This volatile nature does no one any favours, and in particular McAvoy ,who looks uncomfortable and uneasy for the sum of the film's runntime. This, like Welcome To The Punch, sees McAvoy forcing himself into the action-man role... a role that I personally feet isnt right the kind of actor that he is, and one he shouldnt be in a rush to reprise any time soon.