A movie is often defined by the quality of its characters, and when a particularly annoying character appears, it can bring down the quality of the entire movie as a whole. There are a lot of things that go into making movies good. Whether it’s the story, the dialogue, the acting, the visuals, or a whole list of other things that can make or break a movie’s reputation.

However, if even one of these elements is terrible, it can be enough to bring the rest down. It doesn’t matter how stunning a movie is, if the plot is aimless and hollow, it’s not a good movie. And it doesn’t matter how good the actors who’ve been hired are, if the script is terrible, it won’t keep the audiences’ attention. But sometimes, all it takes is one terribly annoying character to ruin a movie.

10

Jar Jar Binks

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace

There’s a huge debate between fans of the original series and the prequels. Of course, now there are sequels which have taken a lot of the attention off the prequels, but that doesn’t make up for one of the most annoying characters in the entire Star Wars galaxy.

Jar Jar Binks, the Gungan from the planet Naboo, has been widely despised by the fandom since he was introduced in 1999. From his incredible lack of awareness, to his goofy mannerisms, Jar Jar is just a weird character in a story of well-developed heroes. If anything, he feels like a weird juxtaposition to the rest of the space opera story.

9

Willie Scott

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

I understand that the Indiana Jones movies try to put across how much of a lady’s man Indy is, and how people can’t help but fall for his charm, but when he meets Willie Scott, the American singer in Shanghai in Temple of Doom, she immediately becomes one of the most grating and pointless characters in the series. For whatever reason, she ends up joining Indy on his adventure, but she continually proves why this decision makes no sense.

Willie screams at everything, she faints frequently, and she would rather not be involved in anything that is remotely uncomfortable. Set against the backdrop of an adventure film, where Indy is chasing priceless artefacts and fighting off bad guys, Willie is a useless addition. Thankfully, she doesn’t stick around beyond Temple of Doom.

8

Mary Corleone

The Godfather Part III

There are a number of reasons behind why Mary Corleone is the worst part of The Godfather Part III, which already stands out as a pretty terrible film, especially compared to the films that preceded it. Mary is the daughter of Michael, and, as such, she has the potential to be a major part of the family business. And while Michael places her at the head of his legitimate business operations, Mary is naive enough, and lacks any degree of curiosity, to the point that she is entirely unaware of the criminal dealings taking place behind closed doors.

But more than that, the character is played by Sofia Coppola, the director’s daughter, and she clearly lacks experience in this movie. That wouldn’t be a huge problem for most movies, having a cameo part played by the director or someone close to them, but Mary is a central figure in the third movie. The result was awkward and hollow, and it brought the final film in the series to a screeching halt.

7

Herman Ferguson

Judge Dredd

The 1995 Judge Dredd movie starring Sylvester Stallone had several issues that grated the faithful comic book audience, but the inclusion of Rob Schneider as Herman “Fergee” Ferguson irritated comic book fans and newcomers to the mythos alike. The character joins Dredd as another anti-hero, but the entire purpose of the character in the movie is comic relief, which feels terribly misplaced.

That isn’t to say that the movie should not have had comedy, and breaks up the dark and gritty action, but Schneider’s character feels so out of place, and completely ruins every scene that they appear in. Schneider can be funny, and there are several movies he appears in where he makes sense, but Judge Dredd should never have been one of them.

6

Scrappy-Doo

Scooby-Doo

In 2002, the Scooby-Doo live-action movie written by James Gunn came to theaters all over the world, and it was great to see a part of so many people’s childhoods evolve into a more mature, darker story. Scooby and the gang all embark on a mystery, and at first, they really struggle to figure out who was behind everything weird happening on Spooky Island.

However, the joy of the animated show, and, by extension, the movie, is the prospect of potentially solving the mystery. But Scooby-Doo didn’t give the audience that chance when the villain behind everything turned out to be Scrappy-Doo. Scrappy wasn’t in the movie until the big reveal. This was a disappointing way to end the movie, and topping it off, the fact that the character is incredibly annoying makes it all the more disappointing.

5

Ruby Rhod

The Fifth Element

The Fifth Element is admittedly a brilliant sci-fi film. Director Luc Besson wove together a profoundly interesting futuristic world and mythology, which was significantly elevated by the addition of Bruce Willis as the hero, Milla Jovovich as Leeloo, the mysterious woman, and Gary Oldman as the eccentric and bizarre villain.

But even among that cacophony of madness and noise, with wild imaginative concepts and alien creatures, there was one character who did little more than serve as a distraction. Chris Tucker was cast as the intergalactic superstar, Ruby Rhod, a fast-talking, sᴀssy show host. However, the high-pitched voice, the ridiculous showmanship, and the overall inclusion of the character was distracting and annoying.

4

Jenny Curran

Forrest Gump

So, I understand that Jenny is Forrest’s lifelong love interest. From being a young boy, Forrest was infatuated with the girl. However, as she grows up, and continues to see Forrest as little more than her special friend. It’s incredibly difficult to watch their interactions, and Jenny repeatedly makes terrible life choices.

In contrast to Forrest, who thinks very little about his choices, yet somehow constantly finds himself doing incredible things, Jenny is little more than a frustrating distraction. Even her relationship with Forrest, who immediately endears himself to the audience and everyone he meets, is little more than an annoyance, and it’s painful to watch him being hurt and led on by Jenny.

3

Nicky

Little Nicky

Adam Sandler is a comic actor who is known for creating intense and exaggerated characters. While some of these figures can be kind of annoying, they are generally well-balanced with humor from an experienced actor, and a fun plot worth digging into. The same cannot be said for Little Nicky.

Little Nicky is a movie that follows the third son of Satan on his journey to bring his two older, and more experienced demon brothers, back to hell. Sandler plays Nicky, and while the plot is not inherently flawed, the character of Nicky is exhausting and thoroughly unlikable. It’s a shame, because this could have been a hit, but the character was off, and Sandler’s sense of humor did not match up with the story in the right way.

2

Percy Wetmore

The Green Mile

Villains are meant to be unlikable, but when a villain also possesses qualities such as cowardice, got to their position of power through nepotism, and has literally no one that likes them, it’s a sign that they may be veering off into the realm of being annoying rather than just a bad guy. Such is the case with Percy Wetmore, the prison guard and secondary villain in The Green Mile.

Percy is all talk. He loves power, and he is desperate to have people respect him. However, having never earned respect, worked for what he got, or formed a connection with anyone, he winds up being a generally distasteful guy. Percy is a deeply frustrating character, and considering the fact that he is a secondary villain, it feels as though things could have been improved in the story by simply removing the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ weight character.

1

Commodus

Gladiator

Speaking of completely unlikable characters who got into their positions of power purely through nepotism, Commodus is another great example of a deeply aggravating character. Joaquin Phoenix does a spectacular job of playing the part in Gladiator, and it’s clear that the character is intended to be utterly detestable. However, that doesn’t make them any less annoying in every single scene where they get a chance to talk.

Commodus is the son of Marcus Aurelius, and after his father declared his intention to have General Maximus Meridius succeed him as the Emperor, he does the most mighty thing a coward can do, and kills his elderly father while his guard is down. From then on, he continues to prove how truly despicable he is, and continues to be a grating presence, though perhaps a necessary one in the context of Gladiator.