Many famous onscreen romances have occurred in Hollywood, including those starring Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind, Jack and Rose in Titanic, Joel Barish, and Clementine Kruczynski in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and many others. However, not all actors are capable of evoking strong emotions and convincing us that they genuinely care about their on-screen companion. And there are a variety of reasons for this: performers may dislike one another in real life, they may not find their partners beautiful enough, or they may simply be lousy actors.
Anna and Alexei (Anna Karenina, 2012)
According to critics, Keira Knightley and Aaron Taylor-performances Johnson’s in the film lacked intensity. Their emotions were meant to be so strong that they would “heat up” everyone around them (including the audience and cast), but this did not happen. For instance, movie critic Peter Howell mentioned a moment from the ball in which Karenina and Vronsky are dancing and the others around them suddenly stop moving.
“I have never seen a worse meeting depicting love at first sight,” one viewer said, adding, “I have never seen a worse meeting depicting love at first sight.” How can he be staring at her so casually? And Keira’s expression is as uninterested as his.”
Daisy and Jay (The Great Gatsby, 2013)
Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan are both elegant and classy. However, this duo does not have a single memorable scene in the film that we would want to watch thousand times over (the way we did with DiCaprio and Kate Winslet).
Trinity and Neo (The Matrix, 1999–2003)
The love tales in the Wachowskis’ films are rather poor, no matter how inventive and intellectual they are. Many admirers have remarked that there is no attachment between Reeves and Moss. On Matrix-themed message boards, there has even been a heated debate. “Am I the only one who didn’t sense any chemistry between Neo and Trinity?” one viewer wondered. When she claimed she loved him, I was taken aback. They didn’t talk to each other, and they didn’t even pretend to be friends.” “They looked more like brother and sister,” one commenter said. “Neo had better chemistry with Morpheus,” says the author.
Mary Jane and Peter (Spider-Man, 2002–2007)
The love story between Parker and Watson is one of the most powerful and beautiful in comics. These two have overcome numerous challenges in order to be together. However, in the Spider-Man trilogy, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst were unable to convey those deep and complicated emotions. Together, the performers appear to be flat. They appear to be good buddies. The only sincere scene is when Peter kisses Mary Jane while hanging upside down, but there are no other memorable moments.
Some fans believe that the Spider-Man film starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone as a romance was far superior. Peter and Gwen Stacy appear to be getting along well. Perhaps their on-screen “chemistry” stemmed from Emma and Andrew’s tight connection at the time of filming.
Owen and Claire (Jurassic World, 2015)
Despite the fact that Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard’s characters did not get along at first, they eventually fell in love and married. However, the filmmakers failed to persuade the audience of this. “That kiss could not have been more uncomfortable and wooden,” one Reddit member observed.
Aquaman and Mera (Aquaman, 2018)
This DC film left a lot of fans disappointed. Forbes magazine’s film critic listed five reasons for his dissatisfaction with the picture. “I wanted some chemistry between Mera and Aquaman, but even the underwater CGI kiss lacked conviction,” says one of them. Viewers also commented that watching Jason Momoa and Amber Heard’s relationship was more boring than watching paint dry.
Carl and Allison (Yes Man, 2008)
Although Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel looked good together, it wasn’t enough for the audience to believe that their characters were actually in love. “When it comes to intimate stare-downs, you just get the sensation that both of them want to leave the room as soon as the camera stops rolling,” one Reddit user remarked.
Katniss and Peeta (The Hunger Games, 2012–2015)
Despite the fact that the film had superb actresses (Jennifer Lawrence alone is exceptional), they failed to display any onscreen chemistry for some reason. “Sorry, but there’s zero love spark between the leads,” the author of one magazine’s essay said of the Peeta-Katniss pairing. Katniss regards him as a lost puppy rather than a possible lover.”
Ron and Hermione (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, 2010)
“Is it just me or did the Harry and Hermione dance sequence have more chemistry than all the Hermione and Ron parts combined?” one Reddit user wondered, as did many other admirers of this enchanting story. Would you agree that Rupert Grint and the actress who portrayed Lavender Brown had a lot more chemistry than Miss Granger?
Daenerys and Jon (Game of Thrones, 2011–2019)
One game of Thrones fan decided to write a long post to illustrate that Jon Snow and Daenerys seem flat together in the latter seasons. He compares Snow’s relationship with The Mother of Dragons to the intensity of the spark between Ygritte and Jon.
Of course, the fact that Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Ygritte (Rose Leslie) fell in love on set played a significant part in this. It’s difficult to ignore the “chemistry” between Harington and Leslie, according to viewers, especially when you know it’s genuine. Simultaneously, the actor felt a brotherly affection for Emilia Clarke. He frowned as they were rehearsing Jon and Daenerys’ first kiss since the concept of kissing his old friend was so foreign to him.
What couples do you think should be included in this list?
Preview photo credit Aquaman / Warner Bros., Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows / Warner Bros., The Matrix / Warner Bros.
