Often in films we are given characters that the writers make out to be ‘cool’. They are often given a typical ‘cool’ career (cop, ninja) and we are left expecting them to evolve into a tough hero or villain. Sometimes, they never do. Here are three examples of characters who turned out to be fairly disappointing. If you feel I’ve missed out a character, post a comment below. Warning! There are spoilers below.

3. SABINE MOREAU, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL

Léa Seydoux as Sabine Moreau

Sabine is introduced to the audience pretty early on in the film. She kills an IMF agent in the introduction, without flinching, and arguably, sparks off the chain of events that make the film’s plot. We rarely see her during the crescendo, but every time her name is mentioned, even Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, seems wary, as if they are dealing with an assassin that can match even his skills. Later on in the film, when they have to go undercover as her client, the team are on the verge of pulling out, out of fear that her keen detective skills will catch them out.

She doesn’t. In fact, when she is caught out and ends up fighting Jane Carter (not even Ethan Hunt), she turns into a helpless victim. OK, maybe not helpless, but as she fights back, she has fear in her face, rather than her cold mask of death seen in the intro. Eventually, she is distracted and kicked out of a window. Her fight is cut short and everyone that was expecting a major fight kind of raised their eyebrows, thinking: ‘is that it?’

2. JOHN BLAKE – THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

Seeing as Batman spends a fair chunk of the film out of action, Christopher Nolan needed a new hero, who could shoulder a lot of the action. Cue Tim Blake, a hard-nosed cop, turned Detective, who figures out Batman’s identity and is one of the first to get behind Commissioner Gordon’s fear of Bane.

Does Blake live up to expectations?

However, what else does he do? He often figures out Bane’s next move too late, is saved by Batman or Gordon more times than a 80’s Bond Girl, and spends the film’s climax, where he should get a chance to really show his skills, herding children into a school bus. Go through the film once again and you will realise than Blake is all talk, and not too much action. Which is OK, for a secondary character of the film. We don’t expect Alfred of Lucius Fox to be a hardened fighter in the trilogy, do we? However, when Bruce Wayne decides to give Tim Blake the Batsuit, we can’t help, but feel that Blake’s not exactly the best guy for the job.

1. JAMES BOND – SKYFALL 

OK, now you think that I’ve gone too far. This is Bond, James Bond after all, the coolest action hero going. In the form of hulking and ruthless Daniel Craig, surely Bond didn’t disappoint in his latest film?

Well, let’s break it down. In the opening sequence, he gets shot and fails to stop the bad guys from getting their hands on the list of every MI6 undercover agent. On top of that, he goes rogue. When he finally decides to resurface, he fails his physical tests. On his first mission, he sleeps with a key witness and ends up being captured by the villain. When MI6 rescue him, he lets that villain escape. But at least, he ruined the villain’s plot, which was get revenge on his old boss by killing M… Oh wait, that didn’t go too well either.

Better luck next time, 007.