The Forrest Gump star has proved himself to be one of our greatest actors with several award-winning performances. On top of that, he’s a really nice guy. That’s why it stings to have to point out a few of his career missteps that either left us expecting more or wanting to see less. He still tops our list of Favorite Hanks-es, but if he keeps pumping out films like those on this list, we’ll have to give Colin the edge.

The Terminal

In The Terminal, Tom Hanks plays a man trapped at JFK International Airport while his native country is in the grips of a revolution. That’s how I felt while watching it. Trapped.

It had all of the elements of a movie I would watch the crap out of.

- Tom Hanks. Great.
- Steven Spielberg. Cool.
- Catherine Zeta-Jones. Okay.
- The Tooch. Word.
- That guy that isn’t Gael Garcia Bernal. Fine. I’ll allow it.
- Partially based on the true life story of that guy I read about in Rolling Stone. Check.
- Kumar from Bottle Rocket. Awesome.

But the resulting sum of all these parts fell short. Of course, watching Tom Hanks actually live in the airport like Top Cat was fun. But when the additional characters and love interests enter the mix, things take a turn for the confusing and not needed. It’s no wonder a sequel where Tom Hanks sets up shop in Ikea never got the greenlight.

The Money Pit

This mid-80′s comedy about a house falling to ruin didn’t have enough going for it to stand on its own. On paper, it looks great. We’re talking about a movie where Shelley Long gets beaned in the head by falling plaster. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to see. Sadly, physical comedy, the charm of Tom Hanks, and a concussed Shelley Long weren’t enough to make this movie enjoyable. I’ll go to Funny Farm for my fix of “a couple in over their heads in new surroundings” comedy, thank you very much.

Motion capture strips an actor of their identity and allows them to invent a character completely from scratch. Serkis knows this and has spent a good part of his career honing these abilities. He’s at least deserving of recognition for his accomplishments. These other guys, not so much.

Tom Hanks – The Polar Express

Tom Hanks finally shed his nice guy image with his performance in Robert Zemeckis‘s The Polar Express. Once regarded as the nicest man in Hollywood, the multiple Academy Award winner is now known as a dead-eyed, clammy-skinned abductor of children. Look at the stern, cold reserve in those eyes. You don’t want that climbing into your son’s room in the middle of the night.

Sam Worthington – Avatar

Though Avatar was a huge leap forward for 3D and motion capture technology, it was criticized for its weak plot and acting. A lot of the hate was directed at the film’s lead, Sam Worthington. I feel that this was unfair. He played a pretty convincing paraplegic turned giant cat person and he hardly even slipped back into an Australian accent. Still, the movie wasn’t exactly Ishtar.