From blockbusters to contemplative dramas, hilarious comedies, and even fantasy adventures, romantic storylines feature prominently in a wide variety of films. At best, they bring new dynamics to the story, give viewers more reason to care about the characters, and can even be intertwined with a larger narrative with exciting results.
However, not all romantic plots manage to achieve the desired effect. In fact, some movies would be better if they never had their main love stories. From the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Middle-earth and even a distant galaxy, the romantic plots used in these films actually detracted from the overall quality of the film.
1 Rey and Kylo Ren - Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Sunrise (2019)
Star Wars: Skywalker. Sunrise was a film that was markedly affected by the polarizing reaction to Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Unlike the fan service, it had a lot of dirty ideas that only made the sequel trilogy more rambling and incomprehensible, with the romance between Rey tucked into the side (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is one of the sharpest elements of the film.
Although their unlikely connection through force made some sense in The Last Jedi, any hope that the couple would fall in love was fading away by the time the credits rolled. His reappearance in Rise of Skywalker was, at best, a clumsy and harsh nod to famous kisses from the saga’s past.
2 Kili and Tauriel - The Hobbit trilogy (2012-2014)
Given the success of romantic plots in Lord of the Ringsit wasn’t a bad idea to reuse the plot throughout. hobbit. After all, turning a relatively short children’s novel into an epic three-part trilogy would require a significant boost in some narrative elements.
However, creating a love triangle between a dwarf and two elves proved to be the wrong direction for the trilogy, as Kili (Aiden Turner) and Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) a tumultuous love story never clicked. Including Legolas (Orlando Bloom) as an antagonist within him only made him all the more egregious, especially considering that neither he nor Tauriel appeared in the book.
3 Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff - Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Despite being considered the most controversial in the MCU Avengers cross films, Avengers: Age of Ultron actually did a lot of things right as a superhero ensemble film. Unfortunately, one thing that didn’t work out was a sudden and unexpected romantic subplot between Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Natasha Romanova (Scarlett Johansson).
Among Ultron (James Spader) the attack on the world, the introduction of the Maximoff siblings, and all the character work devoted to other heroes, the novel never found time to flourish. While it has been mentioned in later MCU films, their relationship has struggled to impress fans and was one of the few MCU romances to fail.
4 Claire Dealing and Owen Grady - Jurassic World (2015)
Considering their former relationship spanned one seemingly pathetic date, it’s unlikely Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen (Chris Pratt) had a romantic history to justify the cheeky tale of ex-lovers that jurassic world tried so hard to push. While a clear homage to romance in Jurassic Parkthe relationship just didn’t work out, like between Alan Grant (Sam Neil) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern).
Whether it was a matter of chemistry between the actors, an autocratic focus on their relationship, or simply the fact that their story made them unconvincing as evil exes, all we can say for sure is that their romance often distracted viewers more than it immersed them. their.
5 Indiana Jones and Willie Scott - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
While rightly remembered as a classic blockbuster adventure, In Search of the Lost Ark also boasts an underrated romantic plot between Indiana (Harrison Ford) and Marion (Karen Allen). The quality of their couple made it even more edgy when Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) was a romantic interest in the prequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
The relationship between Indy and Willy, overly eager to get into a fight, has a lot of prickly quips, but no emotional weight to suggest they’ll be romantically interested in each other. As a damsel in distress with an annoying personality, Willy was not only a bad romantic match for Indy, but also the most annoying aspect of the film.
6 Ron Weasley, Lavender Brown and Hermione Granger - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Mostly a Warner Brothers adaptation Harry Potter the novels were nothing short of breathtaking, bringing their magical fantasy escapism to the screen with mesmerizing surprise. One of the few big mistakes the franchise made was creating a love triangle between Ron (Rupert Grint), lavender brown (Jessie Cave) and Hermione (Emma Watson) such central attention in Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince.
There were times when it even overshadowed the mystery of who the Half-Blood Prince was and the growing ambitions of the Death Eaters. While the love triangle was well crafted, it just took up too much screen time, especially since Harry was already heavily romantically involved (Daniel Radcliffe) and Jeannie (Bonnie Wright) a blossoming love story.
7 Mary and Vincent Corleone - The Godfather: Part III (1990)
Although it was a difficult order, The Godfather Part 3 failed to live up to the legend of his predecessors. Among the many things that went wrong in the movie was the relationship between Michael (Al Pacino) daughter Mary (Sofia Coppola) and his illegitimate son Vincent (Andy Garcia).
While their romance made sense in the context of the story and fit in with the show’s strong theme of family, it just didn’t evoke an emotional response from viewers as it should have. The characters’ decision to end up just being friends only makes the subplot - and the movie - even more frustrating.
8 Susan Pevensie and Prince Caspian, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)
A successful sequel that brought viewers back to the family adventures of Narnia. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian was in many ways equal to its entertainment predecessor. However, one aspect that the film did not realize was the romance between the titular Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) and Susan Pevensie (Anna Popplewell).
Deviation from K.S. Lewisnovels, their romantic plot left many fans, including Lewis’s own stepson, disappointed. In the books, the couple barely knew each other, and by the end of the story, Susan has to return to Earth anyway, making their brief romance and parting kiss not only distracting, but rather pointless.
9 Sam Witwicky and Carly - Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
While the relationship between Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and Michaela (Megan Fox) in the first two transformers the movie was unnecessary, it could be seen as something of a nod to the 80s action movies that the franchise drew inspiration from. What can not be said about Sam’s relationship with Carly (Rosie Huntington Whitley) V Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
Considering there wasn’t much Fox could do in the previous installment, her departure from the franchise presented an opportunity to scrap the pointless romance plot and put more emphasis on the action. That didn’t happen, and the insistence on including an unnecessary love story only made the otherwise convoluted sequel almost unwatchable.
10 Hancock & Mary - “Hancock” (2008)
Although it was a little before its time, Hancock was supposed to be a big hit as a smart, sassy parody of a superhero drama. It follows a rogue but good-hearted hero with an annoying personality whose prickly image is maintained by Ray (Jason Bateman), a public relations specialist whom he saves from an oncoming train.
Coincidentally, Ray’s wife happened to be Hancock’s (Will Smith) ex-wife, a powerful being who lived next to Hancock for 3,000 years. This turned out to be too ridiculous and dramatic for a film that actually worked well as a comedy without this romantic plot.
Source: Collider
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