12 Movies That Were Ruined By One Dumb Decision

4. Jar Jar Binks - Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

There's nothing wrong with a bit of comic relief in Star Wars; the supporting cast of the originals provide plenty of laughs through the trilogy. Having a major supporting character totally dedicated to comic relief, however, seems a little out of place - C-3PO's asides never detracted from the story at large.

Of course, surrounded by yes-men, George Lucas didn't realise he was sending his saga towards destruction. In behind-the-scenes footage he can be seen uttering "Jar Jar is the key to all this" and, while his intention is a bit faulty, the facts of that line are spot on; the film's success really did hinge on the bumbling Gungan. Remove Jar Jar, who appears in most of the film's major scenes, with focus directly on him eating up a disproportionate amount of the run-time (particularly in the third act) and you have a leaner film that feels more like Star Wars.

There're obviously a lot of complaints the prequel's detractors have and not all of them stem from Jar Jar, but as evidenced from the high levels of backlash, he's central to many criticisms and shows how Lucas completely missed the point of what he was doing with The Phantom Menace.