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MMFR best continued an iconic franchise but no way is Hardy (who I adore) the best continuation of an iconic character. Fassbender's Magneto gave us the look inside the bad guy's psyche Lucas was trying to do with Anakin.
Stakes guys, stakes.
All of these, yes even Anne Hathaway's Selina Kyle, are great re-imaginings of the original roles. Yes they all bring something more to the roles they are reprising, but, as written, Magneto's character is the one that changes the most. As a comic book geek, it is obvious in the first trilogy that Magneto is the Bad Guy. He is the classic 70s/80s Magneto.
In the 2nd trilogy. Fassbender is playing the 90s/Aughts version of Magneto. He is a tortured soul who wants to do good and honour his mother, but he feels his power should be used to right the wrongs he has faced. He is a tortured Good Guy forced into being the Bad Guy. He will use his power to stop the world from hurting Magneto, and from hurting those around him.
My vote went for Fassbender. I believe he transformed and expanded the character he was asked to reprise. Fassbender, as always, brought the stakes and cooked them to a perfect medium-rare.
I would like to know how many words Tom Hardy actually says in Fury Road? The movie was amazing but I never felt this was due to Hardy. Mel Gibson played a Mad Max that was interesting and had something to say, at least in the Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome. The only thing similar about Hardy's performance is the name is the same. Not that it matters looking at the results, but I am going with Hathaway who I felt played a Catwoman who was believable in the Nolan Batman universe and held her own among the other big names of that film. Among the options given Hathaway's Catwoman is the only one listed that I felt was better than the original.
I think Hathaway was just fantastic. I find it hard to believe that Hardy's tepid Mad Max is winning this - his performance has nothing on the original manic Gibson performance, it's a magnificent movie and he's a great actor, but I got nothing from that performance, he basically does some limited physical acting and watches Theron put on a fantastic performance.
Pine's Kirk comes off as a bad impression to me. Also sympathy vote for the not qualifified because it's TV show not a movie but absolutely breathtaking performance provided by Mads Mikkelsen in the extremely cinematic Hannibal TV series. Who could have predicted a largely unknown, non-American actor could take a role made famous by an icon of American acting and make it completely his own.
I hate to say it, but I think there are a few obvious choices that were left out of this poll. The first is Michael Gambon's take on Albus Dumbledore, which he took over after Richard Harris's passing. Gambon faced a different challenge than the other actors here — rather than making the character his own, it was important that the transfer of roles was seamless — and he succeeded to such an extent that most Harry Potter fans weren't aware that it was a different actor in the part.
But the winner should be either Jeff Bridges or Hailee Steinfeld in "True Grit," in roles originated by John Wayne and Kim Darby. Bridges and Steinfeld both improved on iconic performances, and they're two of the reasons why the Coens' take on "True Grit" eclipses the original.
Without Gambon, Bridges, or Steinfeld, I voted for Filmspotting Madness Champion Michael Fassbender because, you know, he's Michael Fassbender. But "other" should be running away with this one.
I voted for Hardy, but only because any of the James Bond actors weren't aviable. If you look at the first film of every Bond actor, you'd probably see something refreshing in the new performance. The classic go-to choice would probably be Daniel Craig taking over from Pierce Brosnan. But then augain, maybe that is simply too easy.... Or, to change the subject a bit, what about Robert De Niro taking over the role of the Don in The Godfather II? I mean, Mr De Niro took on one of the greatest characters that won one of the greatest actors an Oscar, and ended up not only making it his own, but also winning himself an Oscar, too.
I can't believe so many are strongly considering McGregor as Obi-Wan over all of the other candidates! That performance is so overwhelmed by atrocity it suffocates and is the weakest option overall.
While the rest of the list features some good candidates, the strongest would have to be Fassbender and Hardy. I thought Max Rockatansky was too iconic for anyone to fill. Hardy side-stepped this issue well by reining in the performance in favor of his co-stars and not being big and flashy.
However, my vote goes to Fassbender as Magneto, who I actually think outdoes McKellan's version of Magneto and is closer to the comic character, if not in age, then definitely in essence. His story in First Class elevated the film above expectations and his agony during the first act of Apocalypse is deeply felt.
Tom Hardy was the worst thing about "Fury Road". I guess his bad performance was overlooked because the movie was so good, and because he often gets a pass anyway.
McAvoy underrated again – the story of his career :-(
I went with Pine but if given the option probably would have went with Anthony Hopkins taking over as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the Silence of the Lambs. Although, I suppose it could be argued that that role only became “iconic” after Hopkins took over despite the fine performance Brian Cox gave in Michael Mann’s Manhunter.
I didn't realize Catwoman was from Kansas ;)
Salina (with a long i sound) is a city in Kansas. Anne Hathaway was pretty good as Selina Kyle, and I love Fassbender, but Tom Hardy definitely gets my vote.
Englewood, CO btw
Fassbender does a serviceable job as Magneto but Ian "You homosapiens and your guns" Mckellen crushed it so hard (specifically in the first two movies) that I feel I still prefer him in the role. Charleze Theron was the one who took over the role of Mad Max as far as I'm concerned. Yes, Hardy is there but Furiosa owns Fury Road. So no points to him. As far as Obi Wan goes, I love McGregor, he looks great with the beard, but his character has no arc and doesn't do anything interesting throughout the trilogy. Maybe his tandem fight against Darth Maul is awesome but it's Maul's dance-fighting and that magnificent score that's doing the heavy lifting.
I say it's Pine! He's charismatic, funny, rebellious, and while I was skeptical at first of the bridge of teenagers - that cast is excellent and his Captain Kirk was perfectly cast. He also has great chemistry with Spock, Ohura, Pike and Bones - and chemistry is in short supply in a lot of these performances.
The performance I like the best of these is atom Hardy as Max, but I think the question demands a performance that fits within the existence of the previous performances. It is “taking over” and iconic role, not bringing a new take.
So that being said, Ewan MacGregor is the only answer. I don’t even like those movies, but man do I believe that his Obi Wan grows up to be Alec Guinness’s version of the character.
Even performances I like, such as Michael Fassbender’s Magneto, don’t exactly feel like the same person emotionally.
Since it looks like almost nobody has voted for her, I'd like to highlight Anne Hathaway's take on Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises. Is she better than Michelle Pfieffer's? I'm sure you can convince me that she's not. And yet, while I researched this as a potential Top 5 for Adam and Josh, Hathaway is probably the only one that jumped out to me as both worthy and underrated. The bulk of The Dark Knight Rises's wit, charm and levity comes because she's on screen. Perhaps because she's Anne Hathaway, whom the internet likes to hate for some reason (*cough*sexism?*cough*) we overlook that.
I agree that this is a better poll question than top 5. Doing the research, I found plenty of characters that his been played by more than one person. It's a remake/franchise/reboot world. But if you're trying to form a top 5? The ones you're thinking of right now are THE ones. I mean, if your list isn't topped by De Niro in Godfather, Part II or Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, who ARE you?
from Hudson Valley, NY
Ewan McGregor for sure. He's about the only charasmatic thing about those prequels. Tom Hardy *scoff* I foget he was even in that Mad Max movie.
This was a very difficult decision for me. Between Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, and Tom Hardy the choice for me was agonizing. I had to ultimately go with Tom Hardy's take on Mad Max. I chose Hardy because to me he embodies what George Miller's crazy guzzoline fueled world is all about. To me the Mad Max franchise is like a series of campfire tales that would be told in this post apocalyptic world. Hardy does a perfect job of embodying the archetypal wanderer or ronin. This to me carries on the franchise in perfect harmony of the originals. The issues I had with the other two actors is, as great as their performances are, the films their characters are in have been less than stellar. While X-Men first class was good, it wasn't great. Likewise the Star Wars prequel trilogy was nothing short of disappointing. (in my opinion both Michael Fassbender, and Ewan McGregor are the best parts of their respective films.) As a side note, I think that with the route that Disney is taking with the Star Wars anthology movies, It would be a crime to not make a film about Obi Wan in the desert, learning more about the mysteries of the force and turning from a grizzled general to a wise guiding hand to Luke Skywalker.
Thank you for the show guys!
Incoming message from Ontario, Canada.
I'm going for Mr. McGregor, as he managed to take up the sizzling-hot mantle originally crafted by the great Sir Alec Guinness, despite being handi-capped by possibly some of the worst dialogue . . . ever. Sorry Josh, but the prequels are not worthy of Ewan McGregor's efforts.
Love the show,
Tyler
Writing from Knoxville, TN here... I was sucked into Adam's Chris Pine pitch, and voted that way, but I immediately regretted my vote. Because then I went back and noticed Tom Hardy, who took over an iconic role and absolutely did it better than Gibson. Sorry, Tom.... I voted rashly.
I will assume that the One Ring had you in the darkness bound when you opined that Chris Pine was both the best in the poll and the best of the Chris's (for the record, the correct ranking goes Evans, Hemsworth, Pine, Pratt). He was by far the worst part of the Star Trek reboot films (well, except for the misbegotten effort to remake the classic Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in Into Darkness, but I digress). Since I've been ripping (primarily) on Josh, I will pander to him slightly by saying that my vote is actually for Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi. While his movies had considerable flaws, his performance does not factor as one of them, and it is easy to believe his Obi-Wan becoming Alec Guiness's version of the character. Beloved though he may be of Adam, I don't see the Fass aging into Ian McKellan.