A Bourne movie without Jason Bourne is going to be a tough sell. “The Bourne Legacy” might have been better without Bourne’s name in the title, since Matt Damon never even appears in the movie.
The film studio behind the series decided not having the title character in the movie was no big deal, switching to Jeremy Renner as a black ops agent named Aaron Cross. Renner might have done well as the least-utilized Avenger, Hawkeye, but having him as the focus of a movie that shouldn’t even be starring him was a misstep.
Ronda Rousey as Kara in Furious 7
In 2015, Rousey was the most famous female athlete in the world, and it-girl in the entertainment world, and had the blonde California surfer girl looks that every action film producer wanted on their movie – we can't fault the producers of “Furious 7” from throwing her into their latest high-octane film.
As the head of an Abu Dhabi billionaire, however, Rousey did little more than wear an evening gown and look grumpy. She gets a fight scene against one of the main characters, and then she's gone. It was stunt casting to the highest degree, with enough film of her to slap into trailers and get more butts in seats.
Seth MacFarlane as Ted in Ted
While this is just the character's voice, that's the problem. Seth MacFarlane is the voice of everyone's least-favorite cartoon dad, Peter Griffin, and when he loaned his voice to the foul-mouthed Ted – a movie he himself wrote and directed – it was impossible not to hear Peter.
The movie had plenty of great laughs, and getting to see Mark Wahlberg as a Boston schlub was enjoyable. Still, any time Ted – the main character of the film – opened his mouth, pretty much everybody could only picture the cartoon dad from Quahog. They tried to make a meta-joke in the middle of the movie, which just drew more attention to it.
Kelsey Grammer as Bonaparte in Expendables 3
Look at this list of names: Stallone. Statham, Banderas, Li. Snipes. Lundgren, Couture, Crews, Ford. SCHWARZENEGGER. Who else could you possibly add to this list to complete the collection? How about that guy from “Frasier,” Kelsey Grammer?
They actually did it, and despite the fact that Grammer's acting was great – as always – pitting him against tough guys, musclemen, and action stars like the list above was an odd choice. The movie requires us to suspend our disbelief in reality, but Frasier beating up bad guys is a step too far for most.
Elijah Wood as Matt Buckner in Green Street
Picture Elijah Wood, and you'll likely imagine Frodo, the little Hobbit that saves the world of Middle-Earth. You might picture a small, mild-mannered actor, but you definitely won't picture a violent, addicted thug who goes around with soccer hooligans terrorizing people. Wood was thrilled in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, but his casting in this gritty movie didn't check the right boxes.
His attempt at a cockney accent might have been the worst thing in the movie, though he might have to co-hold the award with co-star Charlie Hunnam's accent. To call the performance unconvincing is an understatement.