Jeff Stockton here with this season's edition of Casting Grades. In this segment I will dissect the casting of several films from the season - namely adaptations featuring characters that exist in other formats (or reality). Here we go....
WOLFENSTEIN
Game to Film Post: http://hmsfilms.blogspot.com/2023/07/game-to-film-wolfenstein.html
Luke Evans as Frank Webley
Appearance: B+
Performance: B+
Thoughts: It was nice to see a star-vehicle for Luke Evans after all these years. His character does most of the acting work with action, but does it well.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Barry Keoghan as Fergus Reid
Appearance: B-
Performance: B+
Thoughts: Keoghan plays the group's wildcard who becomes a villain with a good intensity.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Mads Mikkelsen as Wilhelm Strasse
Appearance: B+
Performance: A-
Thoughts: Mikkelsen has always been good at playing villains, and this performance is no different with it clearly being tailored to some of his strengths in that department.
Overall Casting Grade: A-
Bridget Regan as Marianna Blavatzky
Appearance: B
Performance: B-
Thoughts: I was less sold by Regan's performance than the other cast, but I think some of that is with the story keeping her character more mysterious.
Overall Casting Grade: B-
Cary Elwes as Heinrich Himmler
Appearance: B-
Performance: B
Thoughts: Super small role, but Elwes managed to add a little flair to it.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Overall Film Casting Grade: B+
PARTICLE
Comic to Film Post: http://hmsfilms.blogspot.com/2023/07/comic-to-film-particle.html
George Clooney as Hank Pym
Appearance: B
Performance: A-
Thoughts: Much more dramatic than most superhero fare, Clooney played the role well.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Laura Dern as Janet Van Dyne
Appearance: B-
Performance: B
Thoughts: It took a little longer to be sold on Dern as Janet, but by the end I could see it.
Overall Casting Grade: B-
Jeremy Davies as Ultron
Appearance: N/A
Performance: A
Thoughts: I can't think of a better choice than Davies as the voice of Ultron. He managed to make a robot feel needy and petulant, which is impressive.
Overall Casting Grade: A
Overall Film Casting Grade: B+
DETROIT: BECOME HUMAN
Game to Film Post: http://hmsfilms.blogspot.com/2023/07/game-to-film-detroit-become-human.html
Jennifer Lawrence as Kara
Appearance: C+
Performance: B
Thoughts: Lawrence doesn't look the part so much, but she gave a decent performance even if the character doesn't really play to her strengths as a performer.
Overall Casting Grade: B-
Michael B. Jordan as Markus
Appearance: C+
Performance: B-
Thoughts: Once again, Jordan doesn't feel like a great fit for the stoic character. Jordan does best playing anger and aggression, and I didn't get that here even if he does his best with the material.
Overall Casting Grade: C+
Brandon Micheal Hall as Luther
Appearance: B+
Performance: B+
Thoughts: This film was my first introduction to Hall (that I'm aware of). He came off nicely, giving a better performance than his A-List co-stars.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Lexi Rabe as Alice
Appearance: B
Performance: B
Thoughts: Hard to judge kid performances, but she didn't distract from the story.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Samara Weaving as North
Appearance: B
Performance: B
Thoughts: Weaving didn't get a ton of real acting to do, but she did what she could.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Alfred Molina as Zlatko
Appearance: B+
Performance: B-
Thoughts: Molina maybe played this role a little too obviously villainous ruining the surprise of his character.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Barry Keoghan as Jerry
Appearance: B
Performance: B+
Thoughts: Keoghan got to play multiple copies of the same character and seemed to be having fun with it.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Octavia Spencer as Rose Chapman
Appearance: B-
Performance: B-
Thoughts: Spencer is not a subtle performer, so I found her a bit distracting at first but eventually settled in to her performance.
Overall Casting Grade: B-
Caleb McLaughlin as Adam Chapman
Appearance: B
Performance: C
Thoughts: The character was written very well, making the character annoying, and McLaughlin wasn't able to make up for that in the acting department.
Overall Casting Grade: C+
Woody Harrelson as Todd Williams
Appearance: C+
Performance: B+
Thoughts: Harrelson brought some energy to his role even it is one that feels beneath his talent level.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Tyler James Williams as Josh
Appearance: B+
Performance: B
Thoughts: The character didn't make much of an impact, but Williams wasn't bad in the role.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Leslie Grace as Roxanne
Appearance: B
Performance: C
Thoughts: I'm not convinced Grace is going to be the star some want her to be. She wasn't terrible, but not great either.
Overall Casting Grade: C+
Dacre Montgomery as Simon
Appearance: B+
Performance: B+
Thoughts: His character kind of gets the short end of the stick in his storyline, but I thought Montgomery did a solid job.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Overall Film Casting Grade: B-
THE HIPPIE PREACHER
Fact to Film Post: http://hmsfilms.blogspot.com/2023/07/fact-to-film-hippie-preacher.html
Wyatt Russell as Lonnie Frisbee
Appearance: B+
Performance: A
Thoughts: Russell is definitely better looking than the real Frisbee. The film only works because of his stellar performance, managing to keep the film working even when the writing falters.
Overall Casting Grade: A
Kyle Chandler as Chuck Smith
Appearance: B
Performance: B+
Thoughts: The writing lets Chandler's Chuck Smith down even more, which hurts Chandler's ability to nail the character at times, hurting the performance.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Laura Dern as Kay Smith
Appearance: B
Performance: B
Thoughts: Dern does what she can with a severely underwritten role.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Ben Schnetzer as Greg Laurie
Appearance: B
Performance: B-
Thoughts: The script had no clue how to use this character, but Schnetzer was decent but not great.
Overall Casting Grade: B-
Overall Film Casting Grade: B+
NIGHTCRAWLER: DEMONS OF THE PAST
Comic to Film Post: http://hmsfilms.blogspot.com/2023/08/comic-to-film-nightcrawler-demons-of.html
Jamie Bell as Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler
Appearance: B
Performance: B+
Thoughts: Bell did a good job as Nightcrawler, managing to bring humanity to the character through the blue face paint.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Astrid Berges-Frisbey as Amanda Sefton
Appearance: B
Performance: B
Thoughts: The role is a bit underwritten, but she did a decent job with what she was given to do. Not much to say.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Liam Neeson as Azazel
Appearance: B
Performance: B+
Thoughts: Neeson is back as a villain for the first time in a long time. He's good as villains as it allows him to be more intense.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Kristin Scott Thomas as Margali Szardos
Appearance: B
Performance: B+
Thoughts: I liked her character and performance. I would have liked to see more of her.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Diogo Sales as Agent Sunspot
Appearance: B
Performance: C+
Thoughts: Sales was okay. The character seemed to be around more for plot purposes than performance purposes.
Overall Casting Grade: C+
Bill Nighy as Agent Fitzroy
Appearance: B-
Performance: C
Thoughts: I like Nighy as an actor, but I didn't think he was a good fit for this character.
Overall Casting Grade: C+
Simone Kessell as Selene
Appearance: A-
Performance: B
Thoughts: She certainly looks the part. Of the various Hellfire agents, she probably came off as the best after Neeson.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Oliver Stark as Agent Pierce
Appearance: B+
Performance: B-
Thoughts: Stark does a nice job with the physicality of the role.
Overall Casting Grade: B-
Overall Film Casting Grade: B-
BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL
Comic to Film Post: http://hmsfilms.blogspot.com/2023/08/comic-to-film-batman-knightfall.html
Jake Gyllenhaal as Bruce Wayne / Batman
Appearance: A-
Performance: A
Thoughts: Gyllenhaal continues his great work as Bruce Wayne / Batman. This film did a good job of giving us a decent dose of each side of the character.
Overall Casting Grade: A
Dave Bautista as Bane
Appearance: A
Performance: A
Thoughts: Can anyone else pull off a comic accurate version of Bane better than Bautista? I don't think so.
Overall Casting Grade: A
Taron Egerton as Dick Grayson / Nightwing
Appearance: B
Performance: B+
Thoughts: Egerton hasn't always felt like a great fit for the character, but he's slowly grown into the role.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Chris Rock as Harvey Dent
Appearance: C+
Performance: B
Thoughts: Rock has done a nice job of making Dent a relatable good guy over the last couple films. It will be interesting though if he can pull off the villain side once that comes up.
Overall Casting Grade: B-
Caleb Landry Jones as The Joker
Appearance: A
Performance: A
Thoughts: He doesn't have as much to do in this one as other films, but he's amazing as the Joker still.
Overall Casting Grade: A
Jonathan Pryce as Alfred Pennyworth
Appearance: B
Performance: B
Thoughts: This film brought his tenure as Alfred to an era, but Pryce gave another solid performance.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Douglas Booth as Jason Todd / Azrael
Appearance: B
Performance: B
Thoughts: I wasn't sold on Booth at first, but as the character slowly became more villainous I liked his performance more.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Tatiana Maslany as Selina Kyle / Catwoman
Appearance: B+
Performance: B-
Thoughts: Maslany did an okay job in this one, although clearly she was only around to
Overall Casting Grade: B-
Adele Exarchopoulos as Talia Al Ghul
Appearance: A-
Performance: B+
Thoughts: Exarchopoulos is great at Talia Al Ghul, giving a conflicted performance.
Overall Casting Grade: A-
Gustaf Skarsgard as Victor Szasz
Appearance: A-
Performance: B
Thoughts: The character is a one-off villain in the beginning, but he does nice work.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Melissa Leo as Mayor Marion Grange
Appearance: B
Performance: B
Thoughts: Leo brings some gravitas to a mostly thankless role as Gotham's mayor.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Rochelle Aytes as Gilda Dent
Appearance: B+
Performance: C+
Thoughts: Aytes' Gilda Dent is a bit of a throwaway character until the end.
Overall Casting Grade: C+
Jean-Claude Van Damme as Slade Wilson
Appearance: B
Performance: B
Thoughts: JCVD is an inspired choice for Deathstroke. Obviously he can pull off the action.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Overall Film Casting Grade: A-
JIMMY NEUTRON: BOY GENIUS
Animation to Film Post: http://hmsfilms.blogspot.com/2023/08/animation-to-film-jimmy-neutron-boy.html
Julian Hilliard as Jimmy Neutron
Appearance: B
Performance: B+
Thoughts: I thought he was good in the lead role. I don't know much about the character so I'm simply going off Hilliard's talent level.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Edward Norton as King Goobot V
Appearance: N/A
Performance: C
Thoughts: Norton didn't seem funny enough or sinister enough in his voice performance for me. He didn't ham it up enough.
Overall Casting Grade: C
Ravi Cabot-Conyers as Sheen Estevez
Appearance: B-
Performance: C+
Thoughts: It's hard to judge kid performances, but I just didn't get a positive impression of him in the role.
Overall Casting Grade: C+
Jeremy Maguire as Carl Wheeler
Appearance: F
Performance: C
Thoughts: He looked nothing like the character, so even if he played the part right I simply cannot give it a good rating.
Overall Casting Grade: D-
Violet McGraw as Cindy Vortex
Appearance: C-
Performance: B
Thoughts: I liked her character more than most of the cast. She doesn't really look the part, but Violet sold it well.
Overall Casting Grade: C+
Jaidyn Triplett as Libby Folfax
Appearance: B
Performance: C
Thoughts: The character doesn't have much to do, but I thought Triplett was a decent choice for how it was written.
Overall Casting Grade: C+
Mark DeCarlo as Hugh Neutron
Appearance: D
Performance: D-
Thoughts: DeCarlo was all wrong. I didn't buy him as a hapless inventor. It was a missed opportunity to add a better actor in the role here.
Overall Casting Grade: D-
Megan Mullally as Judy Neutron
Appearance: D+
Performance: C
Thoughts: Mullally felt a bit too old for the role, although she acts the part nicely.
Overall Casting Grade: C-
Jahzir Bruno as Nick Dean
Appearance: C-
Performance: C-
Thoughts: He seemed a lot older than the other kids to the point that his casting felt off (even if he is closer in age than he looks - I didn't bother to look this info up).
Overall Casting Grade: C-
Andrea Martin as Ms. Winifred Fowl
Appearance: C
Performance: C+
Thoughts: Martin was funny in the role. A small part, but she was a good choice.
Overall Casting Grade: C+
Steve Blum as Professor Calamitous
Appearance: D-
Performance: D-
Thoughts: Let's just say that Blum is a voice actor for a reason...
Overall Casting Grade: D-
Overall Film Casting Grade: D+
ANASTASIA
Animation to Film: http://hmsfilms.blogspot.com/2023/08/animation-to-film-anastasia.html
Kiernan Shipka as Anastasia Romanov
Appearance: B+
Performance: A-
Thoughts: Shipka is super charming as Anya, finally getting the star vehicle she deserves.
Overall Casting Grade: A-
Harris Dickinson as Dimitri
Appearance: B+
Performance: B
Thoughts: Another strong casting choice. He maybe wasn't quite roguish in the beginning, but that's a minor issue.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Jim Carrey as Grigori Rasputin
Appearance: B+
Performance: A-
Thoughts: Carrey brought his trademark wackiness to the role with great affect as Rasputin.
Overall Casting Grade: A-
Oliver Platt as Vladimir Vasilovich
Appearance: B+
Performance: B
Thoughts: Platt hams it up nicely as Vladimir, bringing a lot of comedy to the good guys.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Russell Brand as Bartok
Appearance: N/A
Performance: B-
Thoughts: Brand was good as Rasputin's conflicted henchman (no longer a bat though in this one). The character doesn't get a done of heavy-lifting to do.
Overall Casting Grade: B-
Julie Christie as Marie Fedorovna Romanov
Appearance: B+
Performance: B+
Thoughts: Not a big role, but Christie lends a regal charm to the small but important role.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Lucy Davis as Sophie
Appearance: B-
Performance: B
Thoughts: Davis was charming and funny in the role in her limited screentime.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Ioan Gruffudd as Tsar Nicholas II
Appearance: A-
Performance: B
Thoughts: Gruffudd didn't get a ton to do, but he looks the part and was very believable.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Radha Mitchell as Tsarina Alexandra
Appearance: B
Performance: C+
Thoughts: She has even less to do than Gruffudd, but she wasn't terrible.
Overall Casting Grade: B-
Carol Kane as Phlegmenkoff
Appearance: C
Performance: B
Thoughts: Kane was funny in a small, thankless role.
Overall Casting Grade: C+
Tinsley Price as Young Anastasia
Appearance: C
Performance: B-
Thoughts: Another kid performance that is hard to judge. It's a small role and she was believable as a younger Kiernan Shipka.
Overall Casting Grade: C+
Overall Film Casting Grade: B
SAM
Fact to Film Post: http://hmsfilms.blogspot.com/2023/09/fact-to-film-sam.html
Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Sam Cooke
Appearance: A-
Performance: A
Thoughts: Harrison Jr. was really good as Cooke. He owned the role completely.
Overall Casting Grade: A
Jonah Hill as Allen Klein
Appearance: B
Performance: B+
Thoughts: Hill was good in a role that felt a little underwritten to me.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Keke Palmer as Barbara Cooke
Appearance: B-
Performance: B+
Thoughts: This is probably Palmer's best performance in her young career so far.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Yara Shahidi as Dolores Cooke
Appearance: B
Performance: B
Thoughts: Shahidi gave a good performance in a slightly less showy part.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Courtney B. Vance as Rev. Charles Cooke
Appearance: B+
Performance: B
Thoughts: Vance doesn't have a ton of screentime, but he puts it to good use.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Kedar Williams-Stirling as Lou Rawls
Appearance: C+
Performance: C-
Thoughts: I just didn't get a Lou Rawls vibe from Kedar. He wasn't terrible, I just wasn't feeling him.
Overall Casting Grade: C
Tramell Tillman as Bumps Blackwell
Appearance: C-
Performance: B-
Thoughts: Tillman felt like Blackwell, although the look was a bit off.
Overall Casting Grade: C+
Eva Noblezada as Elisa Boyer
Appearance: B+
Performance: B+
Thoughts: Eva Noblezada impressed me as Boyer. The character was a tricky one, but I think she did a good job.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Loretta Devine as Bertha Franklin
Appearance: B-
Performance: B+
Thoughts: Loretta Devine is always good, even in smaller roles. Her Bertha felt like a real person to me.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Overall Film Casting Grade: B+
WONDER WOMAN: LABYRINTH
Comic to Film Post: http://hmsfilms.blogspot.com/2023/09/comic-to-film-wonder-woman-labyrinth.html
Alexandra Daddario as Diana / Wonder Woman
Appearance: A
Performance: A-
Thoughts: Daddario once again shows that she is a great choice for the role. She has the charm of a Lynda Carter, but is able to bring a more modern feel to the role at the same time.
Overall Casting Grade: A
Josh Hartnett as Steve Trevor
Appearance: B+
Performance: B+
Thoughts: The role of Steve Trevor can be a bit thankless at times, but Hartnett is charismatic enough to make the most of what material he is given.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Antonio Banderas as Ares
Appearance: B
Performance: A-
Thoughts: I really dug Banderas as Ares here. He brought a dangerous charm to the role that I haven't seen before.
Overall Casting Grade: A-
Julia Roberts as Queen Hippolyta
Appearance: B-
Performance: B+
Thoughts: I felt like she got a bit more to chew on in the sequel, and Roberts took advantage.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Jake Weary as Jason
Appearance: B
Performance: B+
Thoughts: Weary did nice work as a repetant Jason trying to make up for his past wrongs. This played to Weary's strengths as a performer well.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Paula Patton as Etta Candy
Appearance: C+
Performance: B-
Thoughts: Patton was an interesting choice for this more action-oriented take on the character. It didn't feel much like any of the comic versions, but Patton was decent.
Overall Casting Grade: B-
Christopher Lambert as Hades
Appearance: B+
Performance: A-
Thoughts: I thought it was great to see Lambert here as Hades. The role was small, but I had a blast with that section of the film.
Overall Casting Grade: A-
William Petersen as General Philip Darnell
Appearance: B-
Performance: B-
Thoughts: He had less to do in this one, but brought some authority to the part.
Overall Casting Grade: B-
Camila Mendes as Donna Troy
Appearance: B+
Performance: C+
Thoughts: She takes a backseat for much of the story once again, but she certainly looks the part.
Overall Casting Grade: B-
Tracy Spiridakos as Artemis
Appearance: B
Performance: B
Thoughts: Spiridakos was entertaining as the villainous Artemis in this one. I haven't seen her in much else, but I like her.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Ralph Ineson as Hephaestus
Appearance: B-
Performance: B+
Thoughts: It was nice to see Ineson back in a new way. He just has the one sequence, but it was a lot of fun.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Ashley Romans as Nubia
Appearance: A
Performance: C
Thoughts: She doesn't really have anything to do in this one other than look the part.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Liam Cunningham as Zeus
Appearance: B
Performance: B
Thoughts: A small but pivotal role once again. I would like to see more of him in bigger doses in the future films.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Overall Film Casting Grade: B+
NAMOR THE SUB-MARINER: IMPERIUS REX
Comic to Film Post: http://hmsfilms.blogspot.com/2023/09/comic-to-film-namor-sub-mariner.html
Alden Ehrenreich as Namor McKenzie
Appearance: B
Performance: A-
Thoughts: While he doesn't quite have the physicality of the character down perfectly, at least not compared to what he looks like in the comics, but he handles the character's trademark anger well.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Tom Hanks as Leonard McKenzie
Appearance: B
Performance: B+
Thoughts: Hanks gets a little more to do in this one, allowing him to bring different aspects of the character that we didn't get to see in the first one.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
John Hawkes as Dr. Lemuel Dorcas
Appearance: B
Performance: B+
Thoughts: Hawkes was downright creepy as Dorcas. I wasn't sure what to expect going in as Hawkes doesn't really feel like a super villain, but he was really entertaining.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Samara Weaving as Lady Dorma
Appearance: B
Performance: B
Thoughts: I couldn't really figure out where they were trying to go with Lady Dorma in this one. Weaving was still good though.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Logan Browning as Carrie Alexander
Appearance: B+
Performance: B-
Thoughts: Not as big of a part in this one, but Browning was still good as Namor's love interest.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Jay Ryan as Todd Arliss / Tiger Shark
Appearance: B
Performance: B+
Thoughts: Jay Ryan was a big surprise in this one as the physical threat to Namor. I was impressed.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Casper Van Dien as Jake Malloy
Appearance: B+
Performance: B
Thoughts: Talk about a casting choice I wasn't expecting. Casper Van Dien is a little older and a little gruffer, but he still has the charm he had in Starship Troopers.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Tracy Letts as Senator Philip Voigt
Appearance: B
Performance: B
Thoughts: Letts plays the jerk senator really easily.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Isaiah Washington as Caleb Alexander
Appearance: B+
Performance: C+
Thoughts: I would have liked to see more of Washington as he takes a big step back in this one.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Andrew Koji as Attuma
Appearance: B-
Performance: B
Thoughts: Clearly his appearance here is more of a set-up for the future, but count me as excited to see more of him.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Overall Film Casting Grade: B+
SWAMP THING 2
Comic to Film Post: http://hmsfilms.blogspot.com/2023/09/comic-to-film-swamp-thing-2.html
Alexander Skarsgard as Alec Holland / Swamp Thing
Appearance: B+
Performance: B+
Thoughts: I really like Skarsgard as Swamp Thing. He never allows you to forget that the character was human afterall.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Keira Knightley as Abby Arcane
Appearance: B
Performance: B
Thoughts: I didn't love how Knightley was utilized this time around, but she's talented enough to make it mostly work still.
Overall Casting Grade: B
Ian McShane as Anton Arcane
Appearance: B+
Performance: A-
Thoughts: It was great to see McShane back. He could watch/listen to him read the dictionary and still be riveted.
Overall Casting Grade: A-
Matt Jones as Matt Cable
Appearance: B
Performance: C+
Thoughts: I honestly didn't love Jones as Matt Cable. He just didn't feel able to pull off basically being the third star in a major movie like this even though the writing clearly felt more tailored to his abilities.
Overall Casting Grade: C+
Michael Berryman as The Phantom Stranger
Appearance: B+
Performance: B+
Thoughts: Berryman's appearance brough an other-worldly quality to the Phantom Stranger that worked really well.
Overall Casting Grade: B+
Lucy Griffiths as Linda Wise
Appearance: B-
Performance: C-
Thoughts: I didn't like Lucy's Linda in the first film, and I still don't really like her.
Overall Casting Grade: C-
Steve Railsback as Chester Williams
Appearance: C+
Performance: C+
Thoughts: It's been forever since I've seen Railsback in anything, so this was a nice treat. The character isn't written great though.
Overall Casting Grade: C+
Overall Film Casting Grade: C+
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