Patrick Stewart: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

2. Rafe Bentley - Masterminds (1997)

There's a very good chance that you haven't heard of Masterminds, because hardly anybody saw it when it was first released. Its only really notable detail is that it is directed by Roger Christian, who only three years later went on to make Battefield Earth, widely regarded as one of the worst films of all time. Beyond that, it's just a dull, unfunny, poorly-directed comedy, which finds Stewart phoning it in and hamming it up.

Masterminds is the story of Oswald "Ozzie" Paxton (Vincent Karthusier), an adept young hacker who was expelled from school for hacking their security systems. Having dropped off his stepsister at his old school, Ozzie stays behind to pull one last prank on the principal, but his plans go awry when the new security officer (Stewart) knocks out the teachers and locks down the school. With Bentley holding the privileged children to ransom, Ozzie must use all his skills if he is to make it out alive.

Masterminds is essentially what would happen if you shoved Hackers and Die Hard in a blender and then gave it to someone who really didn't know what they were doing. Christian may have abstained from endless Dutch angles this time around, but his storytelling is still weak and the cinematography is very drab. Stewart's performance, however, is one of the biggest disappointments, as he fails to overcome a ridiculous moustache and brings nothing distinctive to the part. Not only is he no Hans Gruber, he might just be one of the least memorable villains in cinema.