Good characters can make or break a movie. When audiences are treated to an interesting, well-written character with complex motivations and compelling flaws, the film will stick in their memories. But if there’s anything worse than a boring character, that would have to be annoying or irritating.
Throughout the history of cinema, there have been many movies with characters that viewers can barely tolerate. From the controversial Ruby Rhod fromThe Fifth Elementto the universally despised Jar Jar Binks fromStar Wars, there are many examples that Redditors have been sure to complain about online.
10Ruby Rhod — ‘The Fifth Element’ (1997)
Counted amongthe best action movies of the ’90s,Luc Besson’sThe Fifth Elementhas gone down in history as one of the biggest campy cult classics of its decade, thanks to the stylish sci-fi atmosphere and exuberant visuals.
The movie isn’t without its detractors, though, and those who dislike it often cite Ruby Rhod as one of the reasons why. The exotic host of a famous radio show, played with unparalleled energy byChris Tucker, he’s definitely way too much for some viewers to handle. Some, likeu/Lipka, even argue that he makes the film “borderline unwatchable.”
9Rachel Ferrier — ‘War of the Worlds’ (2005)
Few directors have a track record as impressive as that ofSteven Spielberg, who crafted some of the most iconic American films of the 20th century. In the 2000s, though, his level of consistency dropped somewhat, seeing him make a series of divisive films likeWar of the Worlds.
In the movie, Spielberg offers a modern take onH.G. Wells’s seminal sci-fi novelThe War of the Worlds.Dakota Fanning’s performance as protagonist Ray Ferrier’s terrified daughter is amazingly convincing, but viewers likeu/peatoastfelt that the character was mostly “insufferable.”
8Jar Jar Binks — ‘Star Wars’ Prequel Trilogy (1999-2005)
When talking about annoying movie characters, the conversation is never complete until Jar Jar Binks has been mentioned. The clumsy Gungan introduced inThe Phantom Menacewas one of the film’s most criticized aspects upon release, and the barrage of disdain from fans hasn’t stopped since.
Aside from being a clear racial caricature and being way too infantile even for the film’s target audience, Jar Jar was hated by people likeu/LupinThe8thfor “activelyannoying the other characters” and “[making] things worse for everyone.” Despite this, as the love for theStar Warsprequel trilogy slowly keeps growing over the years, so does the hatred for Jar Jar slightly decrease.
7Willie Scott — ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ (1984)
Although Spielberg’sRaiders of the Lost ArkandThe Last Crusadeare praised as two of the greatest adventure movies ever made,Temple of Doomis much more divisive. Even those who love it, though, must admit that Willie Scott (a singer who finds herself caught up in Indiana Jones’s adventures) is at least a little bit irksome.
Users likeu/gpm21perfectly encapsulate why Willie is so universally disliked: Because they don’t enjoy when she starts screaming, “so whenever she was on screen.” Despite the character’s irritating attitude, at least she served as a different kind of love interest for the franchise’s charming protagonist.
6Amanda Kirby — ‘Jurassic Park III’
InJurassic Park III, easily one ofthe most hated entries in the franchise, a divorced couple deceive Alan Grant into helping them find their son on." a dinosaur-laden island. The wife, Amanda Kirby, is (likeu/avesDZNwould put it) “practically unbearable.”
Quite a number of things about this threequel are annoying, from the uninspired writing to the complete lack of originality or creativity. Still, the Kirbys (most particularly Amanda) are definitely up there. They’re only there to kick off the plot and immediately overstay their welcome.
5Alfrid Lickspittle — ‘The Hobbit’ Trilogy
Although they’re definitely above-average fantasy adventure movies, it’s pretty much universally agreed thatPeter Jackson’sThe Hobbittrilogy is a massive dip in quality compared to hisThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy. This is in no small measure due to characters like Alfrid, who somehow manages to be both annoyingandforgettable.
Cowardly, greedy, and opportunistic, Alfrid is a villain that you’re definitely not supposed to like, but there’s a difference between unlikable and irritating. It’s not like he holds any narrative weight, either. Asu/CaptRobauputs it, the worst part of it all is that he “has nothing to do with the movie at all.”
4Samuel — ‘The Babadook’ (2014)
One of the most popular and important horror movies of the 2010s wasThe Babadook, about a recently widowed mother battling her son’s fear of a monster lurking in the house. For many, said son was a nearly unbearable part of the film for the majority of its runtime.
To be entirely fair, the kid’s exasperating behavior is crucial for the narrative of the movie to work as well as it does. Likeu/Ghostface215puts it, “that was definitely the intention,” but for many audience members, the child was simply too much to handle and had them rooting for the monster throughout.
3Darcy Lewis — ‘Thor’ (2011) and ‘Thor: The Dark World’ (2013)
Thoris typically considered among the weakest installments in the MCU, andThe Dark World… That one doesn’t even need an introduction. Is it a coincidence that these two films feature the character of Darcy Lewis? According to many Redditors, not at all.
While Darcy served only as comic relief in the first movie (and fulfilled that role relatively well), it’s mostly “her role in the much worse second film” that gets her a bad reputation, likeu/LittlleYellowFish1points out. Much to the delight of her defenders, though, Darcy’s role inWandaVisionmade hera much, much better character.
2John Connor — ‘Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines’
In the firstTerminator, John Connor, leader of the future resistance against the machines, is made to seem like a quasi-mythical figure. InTerminator 2, when fans got to meet a young version of him, they immediately understood how such an interesting character could become such a mighty hero. Then,Terminator 3dropped the ball. Hard.
Likeu/sebabdukeboss20puts it, John inRise of the Machinesis “just [whiny whiny whiny].” It definitely doesn’t help that the movie feels cheap, silly, corny, and devoid of the heart and creativity that made its two predecessors classics. Even despite all that, though, it’s hard to believe that a guy like the one shown in the film will be the savior of humanity.
1Lex Luthor — ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ (2016)
Zack Snyder’s DCEU films are probably some of the most contentious superhero movies ever made.Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, in particular, has just as many detractors as it has fans, and most of those detractors point to the character writing as one of the main reasons why they don’t like the movie.
Although some characters have garnered more of the public’s love than they did upon release, likeHenry Cavill’s Superman andBen Affleck’s Batman, others definitely haven’t. The Redditoru/fabrarputs it best when he calls the movie’s Lex Luthor “an awful casting and writing job”, since that’s precisely what it was.Jesse Eisenbergis entirely wrong for the role, but even if he weren’t, the script doesn’t give the iconic villain anything to stand out among the other movie portrayals of the character.
