Tom Hanks has proven to be one of the most widely beloved and critically acclaimed American actors of all time, lending his talents to countless undeniable classics throughout each stage of his eclectic career. From all-time classics likeForrest GumpandSaving Private Ryanto modern critical darlings likeA Man Called Otto, there is simply no end to the number of exceptional outings in Hanks’s filmography. However, especially for someone like Hanks who has been hard at work in the film industry for over 40 years, not everything he’s been a part of has been an a smash hit.
Whether it be stilted early works before Hanks truly found himself comfortable with his abilities as an actor or more modern misses that failed to capitalize on their potential,many films have simply wasted the inherent charm and grace of the American icon. While Hanks will certainly continue to be in many more exceptional films down the line, these few misses serve as a reminder that even the most beloved of actors are far from perfect at all times.
10’The Da Vinci Code' (2006)
Directed by Ron Howard
The first of what would become an entire trilogy of world-spanning mystery thrillers,The Da Vinci Codesees Hanks as Robert Langdon, an esteemed professor at the center of a mystery surrounding a murder in Paris. More than the actual murder itself, the body proves to be the first domino in a chain of discoveries that threaten to unveil the dark mysterious secrets of Christianity. As Langdon finds himself on the hunt for clues and answers to the discovery, he uncovers a secret, thousands-year-old society that has been guarding these secrets from coming to light.
While the original novel thatThe Da Vinci Codeadapts worked wonders in terms of an enthralling and unpredictable mystery, Robert Langdon’s ventures simply don’t translate to film particularly well. The film is tirelessly bogged down by an onslaught of overwhelming setpieces and dynamics, introducing wild plot threads and mysteries all on top of each other to the point of making the film feel bloated. Even despite the massive amount of things happening in the film,the final execution is nevertheless dull and uninteresting, not having the excitement of an action film or the nuance of an effective drama.
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9’Here' (2024)
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
The latest collaboration between Hanks and acclaimed directorRobert Zemeckis,Hereproves to be yet another misfire that fails to recapture the magic and heart of the duo’s previous collaborations. The film approaches a classic story of growing old and the ups and downs of life with a dynamic filmmaking gimmick, showing all eras of time intertwined with one another through an unbroken shot and perspective. As it cycles between generations and eras, the film mostly focuses on the life of Richard, from his time as a young child to living as an elderly man.
While the film manages tosubvert fantasies of the older generationin certain areas,its few positives simply aren’t enough to get past the myriad of issues and uncomfortable flawsthat plagueHere. Between smaller issues like the uncanny look of a de-aged Hanks to simply failing to live up to the potential of its eon-spanning premise,Herefalls into a lot of the same traps as Zemeckis’s previous dramas. Hanks certainly gives an effective performance as he physically grows throughout the film, yet it isn’t enough to save the film from middling mediocrity.
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8’He Knows You’re Alone' (1980)
Directed by Armand Mastroianni
The strange and often forgottenfirst movie role in Hanks' career,He Knows You’re Aloneis a by-the-numbers slasher that sees a reluctant soon-to-be bride being stalked by a notorious serial killer who only kills brides and the people around them. As her friends begin dying off one by one, it becomes up to a renegade cop whose bride was previously killed years ago to take his revenge against the killer before it’s too late.
Hanks plays a relatively small role in the film as psychology student Elliot, as he uses his knowledge and perspective on the mind in an attempt to give insight into the protagonist and the mental toil she’s dealing with. Hanks doesn’t even end up being murdered by the slasher villain in the film, leaving the film as quickly as he enters and leaving a minimal impact on the story as a whole. The film itself falls into a lot of the same generic clichés and tropes that overwhelmed slashers of the late 70s and early 80s following the success of Halloween,with Hanks’s scenes in the film being a slight uptick in an otherwise uninteresting film.
He Knows You’re Alone
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7’Larry Crowne' (2011)
Directed by Tom Hanks
One of the few times when Hanks wasn’t just the leading star of a film, but was also the director and co-writer of the film,Larry Crowneshows that Hanks is much better at acting than other parts of the filmmaking process. The film sees Hanks as the titular Larry Crowne, having been a blue-collar worker for all his life, yet faces a crisis when he is suddenly fired with nowhere else to go. Larry decides to enroll at a local college in an attempt to start his life over, in the process becoming a part of a thriving community of students and fostering a crush on his teacher, Mercedes Tainot (Julia Roberts).
WhileLarry Crownehas its occasional upsides thanks to the inherent chemistry of Hanks and Roberts,the film offers very little outside this chemistry as a by-the-numbers romantic comedy. Hanks doesn’t have enough experience or excitement behind the camera to bring this story to life in a more meaningful way, creating a largely forgettable experience that leaves no discernable impact on the audience. The film has beenoverwhelmingly forgottenin the over a decade since its release, with Hanks having not directed a feature film ever since.
Larry Crowne
6’The Bonfire of the Vanities' (1990)
Directed by Brian De Palma
While Hanks is most commonly remembered for playing an array of lovable characters, American heroes, and overall rootable characters,Brian De Palma’sThe Bonfire of the Vanitieshas Hanks playing the complete opposite character. The film sees Hanks as Sherman McCoy, a Wall Street bond trader who enjoys living a luxurious life filled with untold riches and frequent sexual escapades. However, after an accident involving his mistress running over a duo of black teens, Sherman sees his life slowly beginning to unravel as a down-on-his-luck reporter attempts to use the story to rise to the top.
De Palma is no stranger to telling stories with less-than-desirable protagonists facing painful and psychologically tormenting downward spirals, yet this avenue of story is entirely butchered by the miscasting of Hanks. Hanks’s biggest strengths come from his inherent charm and likability, sogiving him a role that almost requires him to be as unlikeable as possible to succeed was a recipe for disaster. It doesn’t help that the film severely misses the tone and layers of the original book, creating a vapid film experience that has very little to offer.
The Bonfire of the Vanities
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5’Inferno' (2016)
The final and easily the worst film in the Robert Langdon trilogy,Infernosees Langdon waking up in a hospital room in Florence, Italy with no memory of how he got there as well as an array of hellish visions. After learning from a doctor (Felicity Jones) that he is suffering from amnesia due to a bullet to the head, he and the doctor find themselves in a mad dash against time to stop a deadly plot to take over the world via a superweapon.
While bothThe Da Vinci CodeandAngels and Demonscertainly had their fair share of issues and contrivances,Infernotakes the cake when it comes tocreating not just a boring thriller experience, but an actively aggravating one. The film doubles down on the most chaotic and idiotic aspects of the previous films in the trilogy, telling a story that falls apart at the seams they second you consider its possibilities outside a surface level. Thankfully, this would be the end of Robert Langdon’s cinematic ventures, putting an end to one of Hanks’s most underwhelming cinematic franchises.
4’The Man with One Red Shoe' (1985)
Directed by Stan Dragoti
One of the mostforgotten comedy movies of the 80s,The Man with One Red Shoedoesn’t have nearly the staying power or recognition as Hanks’s other 80s outings such asBigorSplash. The film sees Hanks as an average violinist, Richard Drew, who was tricked by a fellow musician friend and forced to wear one business shoe and one red sneaker on his flight back home. However, it’s this exact insignia that makes Richard the target of a CIA deputy director, believing Richard to be a spy with pivotal information on an ongoing scandal.
While its lighthearted premise makesThe Man with One Red Shoeseem like it would be a lot of chaotic, misunderstanding-based comedy, the execution is simply too banal and underwhelming to conjure anything close to a laugh. Hanks by this point in his career hadn’t truly cemented his style and figure as one of the most likable men in Hollywood, withhis attempts here not quite reaching the levels of his later career. Especially when compared to the original 1972 French film that it’s remaking, the film lacks the wit or charm to make it worthwhile.
The Man With One Red Shoe
3’Mazes and Monsters' (1982)
Directed by Steven Hilliard Stern
A strange fragment from the beginning of Hanks’s career that brought an element of horror toDungeons and Dragons,Mazes and Monstersis a wildly dated 80s fantasy drama. The film sees Hanks as Robbie, a young college student who has been playing the board game “Mazes and Monsters” with his friends when they decide to amplify their game by playing it in a local cavern. However, the darkness of the cave causes fits of psychosis among Robbie and his friends, as the line between fiction and reality begins to blur as the game transforms into a living nightmare.
Dungeons and Dragonswas at some of the heights of its popularity and pop culture awareness during the 80s, yet it was also the subject of much persecution and confusion by older generations, creating strange attempts to take the game down like Mazes and Monsters. For what ended up being Hanks’s first leading role, the film is unlike anything else that Hanks has ever been a part of,growing more and more comically poorly aged and out-of-touch as the years go by.
Mazes and Monsters
2’The Circle' (2017)
Directed by James Ponsoldt
A sci-fi thriller that was considerably late to the ingenuity of its premise and had next to nothing to offer in terms of originality,The Circleis one ofthe worst thrillers of the 2010s. The film sees Hanks as Eamon Bailey, the CEO of a massively popular tech and social media company that has been revolutionizing the digital era. However, when new employee Mae Holland starts her job at the company, she begins to realize the terrifying underbelly beneath the surface, showing the true extent of the company’s surveillance on its users.
Social media companies and the digital era being rife with privacy and surveillance-related issues was far from a groundbreaking story in 2017, withThe Circleadding nothing to the conversation and coming across as mind-numbingly pompous in its execution. It plays out like the cinematic equivalent of someone who acts like they’re smarter than everyone else because they took an entry-level ethics course, with Hanks’s over-the-top performance as a vicious tech CEO being just one of many flaws with the film.
The Circle
1’Pinocchio' (2022)
Disney has been releasing a wide array of live-action remakes of their classic animated series for a good while now, starting in 2010 withTim Burton’sAlice in Wonderlandand up until the modern day with the upcomingMufasa: The Lion King. These films have massively ranged in quality and success, yet the undeniable choice for the worst of these live action remakes goes to the Robert Zemeckis-helmedPinocchio. The film mostly follows a watered-down version of the Disney animated classic, with Hanks playing the primary live-action role as Pinocchio’s creator, Geppetto.
Pinocchioacts as a culmination of everything wrong about these live-action Disney remakes, completely removing the soul and heart from the original film and replacing it with cameos, easter eggs, and pop culture references. Hanks certainly attempts to bring a level of humanity and fatherhood to the character of Geppetto, yethis performance is largely lackluster, almost to the point of unintentional comedy. Even if Hanks had provided an exceptional performance, the wide array of bad visual effects, jarring changes from the original, and outright bad original songs would have alone made the film Hanks’s worst cinematic outing.
