Every fictional film ever made has a major focus on a handful of main characters, usually a male and female lead. Then you have secondary characters that are part of the group or are friends of the main characters. Side characters generally aren’t the most important characters in a story, since the main story tends to follow one or two people. That’s not to say that some side characters aren’t important, they can be. In certain cases they can be far more important than they initially seem to be. For this list, I’m going to discuss some of the best and worst side characters that I’ve seen in film. They’re all memorable, just not always for the right reasons. Sometimes a character can be extremely annoying or a character’s presence can sometimes outshine the lead. It happens more often than you’d think. So, let’s get this party started!
Worst-Jar Jar Binks: Star Wars Prequels
I feel I have to apologize to my readers, especially the ones that grew up with the original Star Wars Trilogy. Jar Jar Binks, as a character, is one of the most annoying creations that George Lucas ever thought up. Believe it or not, I actually don’t hate the Gungans here, just Jar Jar Binks. He’s clumsy, stupid, and quite frankly irritating. I was waiting for more than one opportunity for the bad guys to turn him into a crispy critter. Before somebody starts, I’m not blaming the actor for this. Ahmed Best did the best he could with what he was given, and as such, it’s actually a decent performance. It’s just that the character is horrendously written with some of the worst dialogue. If Binks was supposed to be comic relief, he failed at that, like he fails at everything in the movie.
Best – Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo: Tombstone
Tombstone is absolutely Wyatt Earp’s story, through and through, but these two particular characters, played to perfection by Michael Biehn and Val Kilmer, steal the show. This scene in particular sets up the tension between Holliday and Ringo. Both are experienced gun-fighters, but the film takes the liberty of making Johnny Ringo an educated man and speaking Latin. Historically speaking, that was never the case, so this confrontation never actually happened, but it’s still bad-ass. The scene is intense because when you translate what’s being said, those are threats on multiple levels. While Ringo shows off his gun-slinging skills, Holliday pretty much mocks him by doing the same with his cup. Tombstone is an amazing Western, and this scene cements that in so many ways.
Worst – Mutt Williams: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
I have a confession to make, I don’t hate any of the Indiana Jones movies. Sure, Crystal Skull was pretty weak in a lot of areas, but it still managed to be a lot of fun. Sadly, Shia LeBouf’s character of Mutt Williams was not one of my favorites. Mutt is Indy’s son, but there’s nothing really there that indicates that, and LeBouf’s performance is almost embarrassing. The character is completely one-dimensional and totally lacks the charisma and personality of Indiana Jones. Crystal Skull is easily the weakest and I think Mutt is the weakest link in terms of characters.
Best – Brownies – Willow
Willow was one of the most underrated fantasy films of the 80s. I grew up with this. Everything about it was awesome. You had sword fights, magic, cart chases, and more. What the film had was a lot of charm. The characters were memorable and the humor was on point. It was a very well-written film. While I definitely loved Val Kilmer as Madmartigan, it was Kevin Pollack and Rick Overton as Rool and Franjean. These two pint-sized miscreants served as the film’s comic relief and boy did they deliver. They stole every scene that they were in. For a film that got as dark as Willow did, the comic relief was a welcome respite from some of what was going on.
Worst – Admiral Marcus – Star Trek Into Darkness
There were a lot of things that went wrong with J.J. Abrams’ stab at the Star Trek franchise, the least of which was the poorly kept secret of Benedict Cumberbatch being Khan Noonien Singh. You know, the villain from the original Star Trek II. While I don’t think Khan was the problem, making Admiral Marcus, the head of Starfleet, a main villain. I credit Peter Weller for an awesome performance, but making him such an obvious villain with such a cliche plan was a bad move. It’s not unusual for a film to have more than one villain, but when you have a genetically engineered super-soldier and an arrogant high-ranking military officer in the same film doesn’t quite work. At least, not for me.
Best – Brother Gilbert – Dragonheart
Dragonheart is one of those films that despite the phenomenal cast, gets overlooked quite a bit in the fantasy genre. Yeah, you’ve got Dennis Quaid playing a grizzled knight and Sean Connery as the voice of a dragon, but the one person that steals the show for me is the late Pete Postlethwaite as Brother Gilbert. It’s one of those quirky roles that most people tend not to mention in film. Postlethwaite was perfectly cast here. He plays a humble poet/monk who just happens to be a natural at archery. I really like this character because he’s not just a good guy, but he’s also not irritating and is legitimately funny at times. Brother Gilbert is just so underrated as a character.
Worst: Prince Tarn – Red Sonja
Red Sonja for me is a very guilty pleasure. There’s a lot of things wrong with this movie, from the casting of Brigitte Nielson as Sonja to the incredibly weak visual effects in the film. This was originally supposed to be a third Conan film, but because of how the second film turned out, Conan 3 didn’t happen. It’s a cheesy, but fun diversion for about 90 minutes. But when Prince Tarn enters the picture, it’s headache-inducing. I’m not blaming Ernie Reyes, Jr, because he was obviously just a kid at the time. The character was poorly written to be a spoiled little brat who would have to be baby-sat by Red Sonja. Tarn was ultimately a distraction, and not a good one at that, which took away from what Sonja was trying to do, which was get revenge for the murder of her family.
Worst and Best – Wade Wilson – Xmen Origins: Wolverine
I believe it’s statistically and scientifically proven that Xmen Origins: Wolverine is the worst X-men movie ever made. Yes, it’s even worse than Dark Phoenix. It’s poorly written with some really terrible visual effects, and a story that is as nonsensical as it is redundant. Aside from Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber, the best thing this film has going for it is Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson. This opening sequence with Wilson is pretty spectacular with Wilson delivering his requisite one-liners: “Okay, people are dead!” It was pretty cool. It’s just a shame that what the writers did with the character towards the end of the film ruined whatever good will they had with the opening act. Don’t believe me? Here, check it out for yourself:
Pretty awful, isn’t it? Thankfully, Ryan Reynolds was really wanting to do a Deadpool film, so he kept fighting for it for years. Thankfully, in 2016, not only did we get a proper Deadpool film, it was also one of the best X-men movies ever made. It didn’t take itself seriously and was wonderfully violent. So, in a way, if it wasn’t for X-men Origins: Wolverine, we probably would never have gotten Deadpool. It’s interesting to think about that.
There were a lot of side characters out there. A lot of whom can be fairly interesting, but can also be extremely irritating. I’m going to end it here, because if I keep going, I’ll end up with a 25,000 word post that nobody would want to read. These are just a few that stood out to me. What do you think? What are some interesting or annoying side characters that keep you watching? Let me know.