Tim Roth: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

4. Febre - The Musketeer (2001)

Tim Roth is the "bad guy" in this ill-judged Hong Kong kung-fu re-telling of Alexandre Dumas' classic novel The Three Musketeers. Yes, you read that right: somebody thought it would be a good idea to blend martial arts with The Three Musketeers! Even if that sounds like a masterpiece waiting to happen in your head, check out the results of this movie, directed into the ground by Peter Hyams, and edited into incomprehension by Terry Rawlings (seriously, you can't make out anything that's going on in this flick, despite that being entirely the point). So Tim Roth serves his purpose, which is to be the antagonist of the movie, but he doesn't push the boat out. There are shadings of Rob Roy's Cunningham here, but none of the conviction - the expression on Roth's face throughout the movie pretty much says: "Just read your lines and take the money, Tim. No more, no less." And what lines they are! A script penned by Gene Quintano ensures that absolutely everybody involved comes out looking incredibly stupid. There was never any hope for Tim Roth here; he genuinely looks fed up throughout.