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VOICE OVER: Ryan Wild WRITTEN BY: Jonathan Alexander
These movie "heroes" straight-up suck. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most annoying, cringey, or just plain awful movie characters that we were supposed to root for. Our countdown of the most hated movie heroes includes characters from films like “The Blair Witch Project”, “500 Days of Summer”, "Passengers", “Transformers”, “Dear Evan Hansen”, and more!

#20: Mike

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“The Blair Witch Project” (1999)

This guy is a spitting example of what you shouldn’t do in a crisis. When Mike and two other junior filmmakers set out into the woods to find the fabled Blair Witch, they end up with a lot more than they bargained for. And, how does Mike react to the pressure? By kicking their map into a river out of frustration, that’s how. Even worse, he refuses to take responsibility for his actions, and instead remains a whiny, immature pessimist until the very end. Now, to be fair, no one’s going to be completely level-headed when running from a malevolent witch. But, you could do a whole lot better than Mike’s piss-poor attitude.

#19: Julianne “Jules” Potter

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“My Best Friend's Wedding” (1997)

Wedding crashers have nothing on Jules Potter. Rather than reminiscing over the one that got away, this conceited rom-com lead decides to take her man back by sabotaging his wedding. Oh, and keep in mind, she’s literally the Maid of Honor, too. What’s more, Jules strings along the lovesick George to help with her scheme. In the end, the only thing she succeeds at is making everyone around her miserable. Julia Roberts never turns in a bad performance, but it’s hard to get on her side when it’s clear that Jules only cares about three things: Jules, Jules, and Jules. By the time she sees the error of her ways, it’s too little, too late.

#18: Cole Young

“Mortal Kombat” (2021)

Video game adaptations don’t always pan out, and decisions like this are exactly why. Instead of starring Raiden, Sub-Zero, or Scorpion, 2021’s “Mortal Kombat” introduced a whole new main character. To say Cole Young didn’t connect would be an understatement. He’s a boring, wet blanket on the story that sucks away screen time from characters fans actually wanted to see. Cole is completely unnecessary, especially since the games have been delivering cinematic story modes without him for years now. It’s not like “Mortal Kombat” is lacking in iconic main characters, either. Cole Young is a damning “fatality” on what could’ve been a great film, and no amount of lame fight scenes could convince audiences otherwise.


#17: Sierra Burgess

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“Sierra Burgess Is a Loser” (2018)

Catfishing. Lying. Unwanted kissing. More catfishing. No, we aren’t describing a supervillain, we’re talking about Sierra Burgess. Although, when you think about it, they’re basically one in the same. For context, Sierra realizes the best way to woo her crush, Jamey, is to text him pretending to be it-girl Veronica. If you thought the ruse would end on their first date, you’d be wrong. There, Sierra concocts an elaborate scheme to steal a kiss from him. He’s none the wiser, of course. For someone trying to make it into Stanford, Sierra clearly doesn’t know the meaning of the word “consent.” It’s obvious that, loser or not, Sierra Burgess is no hero.

#16: Tom Hansen

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“500 Days of Summer” (2009)

You know the saying “if you love something, set it free?” Well, apparently, Tom Hansen never learned that one. One day at work, he meets Summer Finn, the girl of his dreams. Or, so he thinks. As the film goes on, it’s abundantly clear that Tom is more in love with the idea of Summer than who she really is. But, rather than working through that, he mopes around and lashes out when she can’t meet his unrealistic standards. In Tom’s defense, his toxic relationship with love lays the groundwork for some worthwhile character growth. It just takes a very, very long time to get there.

#15: Catwoman

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“Catwoman” (2004)

Don’t get excited, despite the name, this is not Selina Kyle. In fact, she’s barely a character at all. Patience Phillips’ entire personality can be boiled down to bad cat puns and some laughable method acting. Throw in a few bizarre feline tics, and you have Catwoman, a role that turned Halle Berry from an Oscar winner into a Razzie recipient. Look, it’s one thing to write a bland, action star, but another entirely to drag Catwoman’s name into it. Instead of just a bad character, now she’s a bad character with massive missed potential. They say cats always land on their feet. But, the same could not be said for Patience.


#14: Noah Calhoun

“The Notebook” (2004)

Grab a pen and paper, we could fill more than one notebook with Noah’s red flags. For one, he threatens to throw himself off a ferris wheel if Allie doesn’t go on a date with him. Then, when she breaks it off, he proceeds to write her letters every single day for a full year. While they were actually intercepted by Allie’s mom, for all Noah knew, he was getting rejected. But, did that stop him? Of course not. Even worse, he later buys their dream house in a desperate, obsessive act to steal her from her fiance. That, friends, is called a pattern. Ryan Gosling’s charm can only excuse so much.

#13: Paul Blart

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“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” (2009)

To protect and serve; that’s the motto of law enforcement. For Paul Blart, though, it’s more like, to eat and self-serve. See, despite his best intentions, the only thing Paul truly protects is his own interests. His normal day on the job includes gouging on food, stalking women on security cameras, and occasionally, even putting himself in the middle of a life-or-death mall heist. Instead of endearing, Paul’s bumbling antics come off as eye-rolling at best, and grossly incompetent at worst. Although, maybe that’s just how mall cops in movies are. Ronnie Barnhardt from “Observe and Report” isn’t any better, and trust us, that’s a low bar to meet.

#12: Jim Preston

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“Passengers” (2016)

After waking up from his spaceship’s cryostasis ninety years early, Jim Preston realizes he has to live out the rest of his life in isolation. Unless, of course, he wakes someone up to spend it with. Naturally, he picks the pretty girl. Even putting aside his creepy behavior towards her sleeping body, Jim resigning Aurora to his same tragic fate is just plain unforgivable. Especially since he lies and blames her awakening on a malfunction. Jim is pretty much as selfish as you can get, and his romance with Aurora isn’t love, it’s textbook stockholm syndrome. As long as he’s at the helm, we recommend you pass on “Passengers.”

#11: The Nerds

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“Revenge of the Nerds” (1984)

Watching underdogs grow a spine and overthrow their oppressions is a tale as old as time. Sadly, the finer details of this one haven’t aged very well. Like, say, when they dress up as one of their enemies and sleep with his unknowing girlfriend. As if that’s not bad enough, they also took nude photos of the girl, and sold them inside pies to win a fundraiser. Oh, and it was for charity, too. Yeah, and these guys have the gall to say the jocks are the evil ones. Even though the titular nerds are framed as the heroes of this story, several of their exploits are straight up villainy.

#10: Briony Tallis

“Atonement” (2007)

By the time she was thirteen years old, Briony Tallis had already ruined a man’s life. Her infatuation with her sister’s boyfriend, Robbie, gets messy when her cousin is attacked by an unseen assailant. Subconsciously blinded by jealousy, Briony points the finger at Robbie, condemning him for a crime he didn’t commit. All the while, letting the real culprit off the hook. At the very least, Briony comes to her senses and apologizes to Robbie and her sister… not. As it turns out, Briony’s penance is a fictitious scene from her latest novel. So, not only does she never own up to her mistake, she’s actively profiting off it, too. That’s not atonement; that’s just disgraceful.


#9: Robin

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“Batman Forever” (1995)

This sidekick needs a kick in the rear. That, or his spandex privileges revoked. Either one works. Dick Grayson lost his family to Two-Face’s villainous schemes, but that doesn’t excuse him using Robin’s name to pursue a personal vendetta. Particularly since it breaks Batman’s no-kill rule. When he’s told no, Robin steals the Batmobile and goes after Two-Face on his own. With behavior like that, he’s more like a bratty teenager than a crime-fighting vigilante. While Robin does eventually come around, none of this shoehorned redemption arc feels particularly earned. If anything, Robin’s temper tantrum makes you wonder what Batman saw in him in the first place.

#8: Mark

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“Love Actually” (2003)

Don’t let the name fool you; this is more like “schoolyard crush, actually.” It all starts with Mark. Like all good pals, he’s in love with his best friend’s wife, Juliet. Except, his quote-unquote romantic gestures include giving her the cold shoulder and turning their wedding video into a closeup of Juliet’s face. Then, on Christmas Eve of all days, Mark shows up on her doorstep with cue cards to confess his love. After she kisses him, Mark resigns himself to just being friends, anyways. He couldn’t have realized that before macking on his best friend’s wife? She may be named Juliet, but Mark is no Romeo, that’s for sure.

#7: Sam Witwicky

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“Transformers” (2007)

In this 2007 action film, the robots in disguise took their nickname way too literally. Arguably, they aren’t even the main characters. No, that honor belongs to Shia LaBeouf’s Sam Witwicky, who takes the awkward teen trope to new, cringe-worthy heights. Sam isn’t a bad person or anything; it’s just that no one showed up to a movie called “Transformers” wanting to watch a nerd get the girl. It doesn’t help that, more often than not, the movie reduces Sam to comedic relief rather than any sort of fully-fleshed out character. As a result, fans made it very clear they expected more “Transformers” in their “Transformers” movies.


#6: P. T. Barnum

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“The Greatest Showman” (2017)

Showcasing revisionist history at its finest, this crowd-pleasing musical took some serious artistic liberties with its main character. Namely, that the real P.T. Barnum wasn’t exactly friendly to the people he employed. But, even judged on its own merits, Hugh Jackman’s take on the character is far from innocent. Just like in the history books, he exploited so-called freaks to line his own pockets. He doesn’t welcome differences; he takes advantage of them. To prove it, Barnum later chooses a singer’s tour over his namesake circus, abandoning his “family” faster than you can say “showman.” In the words of Jenny Lind herself, nothing will ever be enough for P.T. Barnum.


#5: Wilhelmina "Willie" Scott

“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984)

If you’ve seen Raiders of the Lost Ark, you know that Indy works better alone. But, for some head-scratching reason, the sequel decided he needed a partner. Not just any partner, though, a singer with absolutely no experience in high-stakes adventures. Also known as Willie Scott. She spends half her screen time complaining, and the other half screaming about every tiny obstacle. Even worse, distributor Paramount Pictures never learned their lesson. “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” tried to introduce yet another unwanted side character. This time, in the form of Indy’s new protege, Mutt Williams. Neither Willie nor Mutt have appeared beyond their initial film, and that’s probably for the best.

#4: Bella Swan

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“The Twilight Saga” (2008-12)

Let’s make one thing clear; Kristen Stewart is a great actress. However, her work in the “Twilight” films don’t necessarily reflect that. It’s partly the script, partly the story, and partly the fact that Bella Swan is almost universally defined by her relationship to Edward and Jacob. Whenever she isn’t around one of her love interests, she’s talking about them. Or, in some cases, putting herself in mortal danger just to get their attention. Bella’s actions nearly lead to an all-out war, and even then, she looks bored through it all. In a way, that sums up Bella Swan perfectly: she isn’t irredeemably evil. She’s just uninteresting. Which, honestly, might be even worse.

#3: Guru Maurice Pitka

“The Love Guru” (2008)

This guy claims to be the number two guru in the world. But, based on the havoc he wreaks in just 90 minutes, we’d say his rank is a lot lower - and we do mean a lot. Guru Pitka’s love advice usually ends up doing more harm than good. Although, that’s hardly surprising considering most of it comes from offensive jokes and powerpoint slides. Guru Pitka isn’t wise, funny, or interesting. He’s a self-absorbed gold digger that wears out his welcome, fast. Like, “within the first ten minutes” fast. Since Mike Myers starred, wrote, and produced this maligned misfire, he has no one to blame but himself.

#2: Evan Hansen

“Dear Evan Hansen” (2021)

Meet Evan. He’s your average high school kid; shy, nervous, and quietly pining after the pretty girl in class, Zoe. One day, he decides to ask her out the way every normal kid does: by pretending he was best friends with her recently deceased brother. Really. Somehow, it gets worse. In order to keep up his ruse, Evan forges emails, manipulates Zoe, and even befriends her grieving parents. No amount of crying or bursting into song can ever justify such an inhumane act. And yet, the film tries its darndest to present Evan as some kind of misunderstood antihero. In reality, Evan Hansen isn’t just a villain. He’s a monster.

#1: Jill Sadelstein

“Jack & Jill” (2011)


Quick heads up; if you see Jill on your screen, you may as well just turn off the TV. Your ears will thank us. Played by Adam Sandler in drag, Jill is every single grating, female stereotype crammed into a single headache of a character. And, somehow, that’s still underselling just how annoying she is. It’s not in a funny way, either. It’s just plain bad. Although, perhaps the most unrealistic part is that she has a whole romantic subplot with Al Pacino of all people. How he stands her is beyond us. “Jack and Jill” is often considered one of the worst films ever made, and considering its female lead, we understand why.


Which movie heroes do you detest with all your being? Let us know in the comments below!

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