MovieChat Forums > Twisted (2004) Discussion > What happened to SAMUEL L Jackson's grea...

What happened to SAMUEL L Jackson's greatness??


I remember from my teen years the greatness this man once inspired in me, whether it was him being a bad @$$ mofo in pulp fiction or whether it was him being an over the top high school teacher in 187....but why the huge dowgrade? I mean come on SWAT, this piece of junk Twisted, and that Changing Lanes movie...isnt it strange that no one wants to higher this one time Academy award nominee..??? : ( come on Sammy L. get back to the top :)

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I agree. What happened? This was a terrible waste of his talent. I didn't see SWAT, but Changing Lanes was also a disaster (I am going to blame some of this on Ben Affleck being his co-star-- yuk!) You're gonna have a few stinkers though amongst the good ones. He was good in Unbreakable with Bruce Willis and that wasn't too long ago. Maybe 5 years ago or so....

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I don't think you can blame Changing Lanes on Afleck. It would have sucked with ANYONE as leads.

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Ben Affleck is an absolutely terrible actor. Nothing else needs to be said.

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Well, since you said it first, I have to admit to being a little disappointed in Samuel L. Jackson taking a role like this in such a cheesy movie, giving up scenes to the likes of Ashley Judd. No, he's better than that...where's the Samuel L. who blew everybody off the screen in PULP FICTION?

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I hope by now you have seen Freedom Land.

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[deleted]

i also think that he seems to read his lines and not act them, look at basic, with john travolta (sp?) that movie so sucked....

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Simple, he does 3-4 movies a year.

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Changing Lanes was a masterpiece.

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Yep, I agree SWAT wasn't very good, but man, that remake of shaft. What a bloody joke.
Still, I'm going to hold out for Sam. He's too damn good to throw in the bin just yet.

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From the big man himself: "A movie is just a movie to me. They open, they close."

Couple that with his astounding amount of roles and you've got yourself enough turkeys to feed the UK & US on Christmas Day for decades to come... ;)

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he has made a lot of movies, but he never was a big star to me.
just a few (very) good movies, where he does his job.

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Noir doesn't require greatness; it only requires competence. "Twisted" is NOT "Gone With The Wind" and doesn't try to be. The noirs are only seen as "great" due to their historical significance. If you really want to see a truly stupid one of these, try "Gun Crazy." It's considered one of the great ones, and I laughed all the way through it! But it's held dear to the hearts of all the "noir experts." Samuel L. Jackson did EXACTLY what he was supposed to do in "Twisted": He played a typical noir character in a typical noir movie, and in that sense, he was fantastic! His greatness in this movie lay in his professionalism to do exactly what was required. As an actor, he displayed amazing humility and restraint, as did Garcia.

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Noir doesn't require greatness; it only requires competence. "Twisted" is NOT "Gone With The Wind" and doesn't try to be. The noirs are only seen as "great" due to their historical significance. If you really want to see a truly stupid one of these, try "Gun Crazy." It's considered one of the great ones, and I laughed all the way through it! But it's held dear to the hearts of all the "noir experts." Samuel L. Jackson did EXACTLY what he was supposed to do in "Twisted": He played a typical noir character in a typical noir movie, and in that sense, he was fantastic! His greatness in this movie lay in his professionalism to do exactly what was required. As an actor, he displayed amazing humility and restraint, as did Garcia.


This. I fully agree. 

"I'm the ultimate badass,you do NOT wanna f-ck wit me!"Hudson,Aliens😬

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He's wonderful in Eve's Bayou...I think he's a great actor who doesn't take himself too seriously. Maybe more of them should take that route!

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He's wonderful in Eve's Bayou...I think he's a great actor who doesn't take himself too seriously. Maybe more of them should take that route!


Agreed.

"I'm the ultimate badass,you do NOT wanna f-ck wit me!"Hudson,Aliens😬

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I thought changing lanes was good, to each his own I guess

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