6. Bruce Wayne/Batman and Rachel Dawes - Batman Begins
The lack of spark between Christian Bale and Katie Holmes is blatantly embarrassing in the first of Christopher Nolan's trilogy. It was no surprise that Holmes was absent and replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Dark Knight, as the movie's relentless emotion never seems to make it to Holmes' face. She's completely devoid of anything when on screen with Bale. Yes, Christian Bale is an overwhelming screen presence and can overshadow actors in a way similar to many of the greats, but Holmes is so absent, it's as if being faced with the prospect of marrying Tom Cruise can drain you of the energy to muster the simplest of facial expressions. The scenes between Bruce and Rachel should be simmering with emotion - love, restraint, pain - but there's nothing, not even something so bad it's worth detailing, there is just nothing there. Everything feels so forced, the romance is a sharp contradiction to the persona Bruce Wayne is striving for, and whilst it's intentions are admirable, the attempted romance does a lot of harm to the movie. The relationship between Bruce and Rachel is much better examined in The Dark Knight, with Maggie Gyllenhaal in for Holmes, and an interesting twist to their dynamic. Maggie Gyllenhaal may not be perfect, and Nolan's arc for the character in The Dark Knight has some glaring flaws, but none of them made your skin crawl with discomfort.