Star Wars: 20 Worst Franchise Moments (So Far)
5. Anakin's Endless Whining
Film: Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Attack of the Clones seems to be the most derided of the prequels these days and that's not entirely fair. The script is horrific, but the world-building, action sequences, and certain character moments are surprisingly awesome and it is an improvement over The Phantom Menace. It isn't quite the worst Star Wars film, but given how insufferable Anakin it's no wonder so many people find AOTC hard to get through.
While Mark Hamill (prior to The Last Jedi), Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best and poor Natalie Portman come close, Hayden Christensen takes the prize for the worst performance in the Star Wars franchise. Christensen's hollow, wooden and charisma-free performance does drag the film down and it's frankly ludicrous that such an irritating character could turn into one of cinema's greatest villains.
In terms of picking out the low-points of the character, Anakin ranting about how Obi-Wan won't let him move beyond the rank of Padawan and him discussing how he massacred the Sand People linger in the memory. In particular, his exclamations of "It's not fair" and "I hate them!" are excruciating to watch.