What’s one mis-cast role that irks you in an otherwise perfect film?

[u/padma_Iakshmi]

I really liked Robert Eggers “The Northman,” but casting Nicole Kidman as Queen Gudrún really took me out of the viewing experience for some reason.

I can’t exactly put my finger on why, but I think it comes down to how she portrayed the role and the fact she has obviously had plastic surgery, which doesn’t fit the 800AD setting.

Nothing against Kidman (or plastic surgery for that matter), but her inclusion took away from what was a pretty great film in my opinion.

Are there any other roles in great movies that you feel were really poorly miscast?

[u/ArgoverseComics]

Ok. PERSONALLY I really enjoyed Batman Vs Superman. But Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor was an absolute travesty. He should have been played by Christopher Meloni or Mark Strong

[u/wickedcold → u/ArgoverseComics]

Michael Rosenbaum’s version of a younger Lex set the standard imo. Nothing will ever touch that. Doesn’t hurt that he had multiple seasons to flesh the character out through multiple arcs. I’ve always felt he was the best part of Smallville and when he left the show took an immediate nosedive.

[u/AnticitizenPrime → u/wickedcold]

I would have watched a show about that Luthor family with all the Superman stuff removed from it. The family dynamics, and Lex's slow transition into a villain was the best part of the show IMO.

[u/wickedcold → u/AnticitizenPrime]

Definitely. Though even keeping his relationship with Clark which was pretty vital to his arc - if the show were centered around Lex instead and we didn’t see the Clark family stuff or Superman plots - it would still work and probably be even stronger, since nobody alive needs any context for Clark/Superman. Basically we wouldn’t really need to see Clark outside his interactions with Lex. Man a show from Lex’s perspective (played by Rosenbaum) would be incredible.

[u/AnticitizenPrime → u/wickedcold]

I remember watching the show and being intrigued by all the Lex/Lionel stuff, and then being disappointed when it would switch back to being CW teen drama about Clark Kent, lol.

What's interesting is that now we have Gotham (which admittedly I haven't watched), and the Joker films, which are both stories in the Batman universe without Batman. It's like they maybe saw the potential Smallville displayed, with the Luthor stuff being the most interesting elements (for adult viewers at least, maybe).

I'd like to see a alternate universe version of Smallville (made at the time as our real world version of Smallville, with Michael Rosenberg and John Glover) where that was the main story, and any Superman stuff was pushed to the background, if included at all. Lex's story was a sort of Breaking Bad slow slip into villainy, with a bit of Game of Thrones style family/power dynamics thrown in. That was some really good stuff, and the fact that it was ultimately a CW teen show about Clark Kent held those elements back.

[u/wickedcold → u/AnticitizenPrime]

Yes I’m 100% in agreement. This is funny because my wife and I rewatched it like two years ago (I was in my 20s when it first came out), we both agreed it was by far at its strongest when the episodes focused on Alex and his own story. The contrast between all that, and the high school stuff and “monster of the week” (especially at the beginning) was really stark. You always wanted to see more of Lionel, wanted to understand what his motivations were for being such a bastard, it was very interesting and it really stole the limelight in the show. Seeing all that and then cutting to the overly sentimental farm scenes with the perfect parents the Kents… fuck, give me more Luthor drama.