7 Most Unfairly Hated Movie Characters of All Time, Ranked

It takes more than a great movie premise to pull in an audience. If the viewer doesn’t care about the characters, nothing else matters. There have been many iconic heroes and villains over the decades, but there are also those characters fans hate, and not for the right reasons. Some films have been criticized for creating protagonists who were supposed to be cheered, but were instead so annoying that the viewer turned against them. These seven, however, don’t deserve the hate. Rather than disliking them, it’s time to see them for the complicated and realistic characters they are.

7

Jenny Curran in ‘Forrest Gump’ (1994)

Image via Paramount Pictures

Forrest Gump was one of the biggest movies of 1994, winning multiple Oscars. Based on Winston Groom‘s novel of the same name, the story follows Gump (Tom Hanks), a mentally disabled man who rises above his limitations to live an extraordinary life. He’s even given a love story with Jenny Curran (Robin Wright), who begins as Forrest’s childhood friend, then appears and disappears from his life over the next several decades.

Many fans don’t like Jenny because of how she treats Forrest. Sure, she’s kind to him when others aren’t, but she’s also abandoning him and outright rejecting him over and over. This makes her easy to dislike until you take a deeper look at who she is. Jenny lived a hard life as a kid, which included sexual abuse. She is suffering from that pain and finds it hard to open herself up to love. It doesn’t excuse the fact that she didn’t tell Forrest he was the father of her child for so long, but Jenny eventually grew and found love with her soulmate in the last days of her life.

6

Karen Nelson in ‘Halloween’ (2018)

Image via Universal Pictures

In 2018, the Halloween franchise returned with David Gordon Green directing the eleventh film. After the disastrous Rob Zombie entries, the new movie started on the right track by bringing back Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). Here, Laurie is a broken woman traumatized by a terrifying past. For four decades, she has been waiting for Michael Myers to return, and her PTSD was taken out on her own child, Karen (Judy Greer).

The 2018 Halloween shows a complicated relationship between Laurie and Karen, and many fans can’t stand Karen’s portrayal. She’s seen as whiny, her dialogue flat. All she does is complain, with an aura of detachment, about how her mom treated her growing up, and how she can’t let go. Why wouldn’t Karen act this way, though? She didn’t get to have a normal childhood because of Laurie’s obsession and was even taken away by the state. All Karen has ever wanted was a normal life with a mom who focused on her. In the end, she fights against the Shape, showing how much she was listening to her mother all of those years.

5

Cho Chang in ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ (2007)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

In the Harry Potter books and films, Cho Chang (Katie Leung) first appears as a fellow student at Hogwarts whom Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) has a crush on. Sadly, for Harry, he waits too long to act, and Cho becomes the girlfriend of Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson). Then, in a shocking moment, Cedric is killed. Some time later, Cho and Harry become a couple. They’re not meant to be, though, and fans couldn’t wait for Harry to get away from her.

Moviegoers and readers alike were frustrated with Cho’s character in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. They were bothered that all she did was whine and cry about the past, while being jealous about Harry’s friendship with Hermione Granger (Emma Watson). Did fans expect perfection from the character? Her boyfriend was murdered! Why would she not be grieving, especially as a scared and confused teenager? Acting all happy, as if nothing happened, would have been nonsensical. Her jealousy over Hermione shows how afraid she is to lose someone else she cares about.

4

Summer Finn in ‘500 Days of Summer’ (2009)

Image via Fox Searchlight Pictures

500 Days of Summer is one of the most realistic and heartbreaking romances. In the movie, Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) meets Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) and falls madly in love. There’s just one major problem: Summer doesn’t look at love the same way that Tom does. While he’s a hopeless romantic, Summer is guarded, having come from parents who divorced. It leads to a struggle between opposing goals.

500 Days of Summer does not have a happily ever after. Summer breaks up with Tom, and those craving a sweet ending were not thrilled. They took their anger out on Summer, but it’s a hate she doesn’t deserve. She told Tom how she felt about relationships and how she didn’t want to be a girlfriend, yet he continued to pursue her anyway. Over and over, she shared her honest feelings, only to be ignored because Tom was falling in love with the idea of Summer, not the real, complicated, and independent woman. His heartbreak is all his fault and no one else’s.

3

Rose Tico in ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi’ (2017)

Image via Disney

To say that fans hated the latest Star Wars trilogy is an understatement. Some of that hate isn’t unfounded, as Episodes VII through IX are a step down creatively. Still, one character got so much undeserved derision that it hurt the actress playing her. In Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, we’re introduced to Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), a woman mourning her murdered sister who works with Finn (John Boyega) to help in the fight against the First Order.

In the era of social media, Kelly Marie Tran received a tremendous amount of ugliness on Twitter. They thought there was zero chemistry between her and Finn and found Rose and the preachy dialogue she was given unrealistic. Worse was the hate the actress received for being a strong Asian woman. It led to her penning a piece for The New York Times where she wrote about the online harassment and her refusal to be marginalized by keyboard warriors.

2

Jar Jar Binks in ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)

Image via Lucasfilm

In 1999, after a 16-year absence, George Lucas returned to the franchise that had made him a household name with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The film follows the childhood of the future Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), who is helped by Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). It was also the introduction of one of the most divisive characters in movie history, Jar-Jar Binks (Ahmed Best).

Binks is a goofy Gungan who helps the heroes. He’s there as comedic relief, and Star Wars fans couldn’t stand him. His character was seen as over-the-top and his voice infuriating, and he took up too much time when we wanted to see the bigger stars. Although those are valid arguments, Jar Jar is still a hero and a sidekick who deserves some moments to shine. Is he annoying? Sure. But he’s also supposed to be. No one likes him, yet he keeps trying and fighting anyway.

1

Wendy Torrance in ‘The Shining’ (1980)

Image via Warner Bros.

Stanley Kubrick‘s adaptation of Stephen King‘s The Shining is considered to be one of the greatest horror movies ever made. Kubrick’s direction is celebrated, as is the acting talent of Jack Nicholson, who plays Jack Torrance, a winter caretaker at the Overlook Hotel slowly being driven mad by the building’s ghosts. As he turns murderous, it’s up to his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), to protect their gifted young son, Danny (Danny Lloyd).

While The Shining was being celebrated, Duvall’s performance was mocked. She even won a Razzie as the worst actress of the year. Some didn’t like her version of Wendy, who whines and cries often. Duvall didn’t deserve the grief she received. Wendy is not meant to be a badass final girl. She’s showing the trauma she’s going through. How is this physically weak woman supposed to act when the love of her life is trying to kill her and her child? Wouldn’t you be terrified and find it hard to move, too? Duvall perfectly sold the trauma as Wendy overcame and fought back. In the end, the Razzies rescinded their “award” and recognized how great the performance was.