Are these unchanging Hollywood pairings losing their freshness?

Is it just us, or has Hollywood been dishing out a serious case of deja vu?

You would think that out of the myriad of actors available, you'd get a variety of combinations on the big screen.

So why are we seeing the same pairings again and again - and we're not even talking about sequels here.

While familiarity between co-stars can be advantageous and makes the director's work that much easier, when will such partnerships lose their freshness?

For instance, Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson reunite as siblings in Avengers: Age Of Ultron after playing husband and wife in last year's Godzilla.

We look at cinema's other hook-ups and check out if their chemistry justifies their repeat couplings.

AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON & ELIZABETH OLSEN

In the Joss Whedon-directed Avengers: Age Of Ultron, now showing in cinemas, she's Wanda "Scarlet Witch" Maximoff and he's her twin brother Pietro aka Quicksilver.

The 26-year-old US actress and 24-year-old Brit actor were last seen playing a married couple in 2014's Godzilla.

They were offered their Avengers roles after they finished shooting the Gareth Edwards-directed monster flick, and reportedly sounded each other out before saying yes to Whedon.

Olsen told Bang Showbiz: "It was awesome working with (Aaron) a second time. I love him and his wife (director Sam Taylor-Johnson), and spent lots of time with them when we were shooting in London."

Taylor-Johnson told Reuters that it "helped a lot to have a partner in crime" as it was "overwhelming and daunting stepping onto that set" as newcomers to the superhero franchise.

The pair clearly have great chemistry off-screen, as evidenced by the various video interviews they did together for Age Of Ultron and during the Godzilla publicity tour last year.

LOW-POWERED COUPLE?

Sadly, they don't quite sizzle on the big screen both times.

For Godzilla, one can blame the script for keeping them physically apart - they were only together at the beginning and end of the movie - and the epic titular monster for stealing their thunder.

Olsen and Taylor-Johnson are inseparable in Age Of Ultron, and Whedon's script not only plays up the action but also offers much characterisation.

On their own, they are great. Together, now that's a different story.

Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver may be important players who bring the superheroes down, yet their performances feel perfunctory.

Sparks just don't fly between them.

BRADLEY COOPER & JENNIFER LAWRENCE

This dynamic duo certainly know a thing or two about on-screen chemistry.

Having co-starred in three movies, Cooper, 40, has become Lawrence's "working husband", the 24-year-old joked to Us magazine about having to see Cooper often because of their frequent collaborations.

Their on-screen adventures are credited to director David O Russell, who first put them together in 2012's Silver Linings Playbook. They played mismatched lovers in the movie, which saw Lawrence winning her first Best Actress Oscar and Cooper earning his first Best Actor Oscar nomination.

They didn't have much screen time together in their follow-up collaboration American Hustle (2013), also by Russell, but their reunion was another critical success, garnering both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominations.

Serena, which opened earlier this year, was their latest. But there was no charm in their third outing even though director Susanne Bier went one further and cast them as husband and wife. The period epic was dragged down by plodding execution despite its leads' winning chemistry.

Both are currently working on their fourth collaboration Joy, again with Russell. The drama is scheduled for a year-end release and tells the true story of Miracle Mop creator Joy Mangano (Lawrence), a single mother of three who became one of America's most successful entrepreneurs. Cooper plays an executive at the Home Shopping Network who helps Joy give her product a great boost.

THE MORE THE MERRIER?

You bet! Four, five, six... however many films it takes, especially if Russell's at the helm.

Lawrence brings out the best in Cooper and he knows it too, telling Us magazine that he learns much from Lawrence and "she's the best there is".

They are currently the perfect match made in Hollywood heaven.

ANSEL ELGORT & SHAILENE WOODLEY & MILES TELLER

It's not quite a threesome, but what a strange partnership these three young stars have.

Elgort, 21, went from being Woodley's brother in Divergent to her lover in The Fault In Our Stars (both released in 2014), while Teller, 28, went from sharing Woodley's bed in The Spectacular Now (2013) to her antagonist in Divergent.

Talk about moving in a small world!

"There's something really beautiful about working with someone and working with them again and again and again, because the more you get to know somebody on a personal level, the more free you feel artistically," Woodley, 23, told The Hollywood Reporter last year about Elgort.

Teller once told Forbes that it was a lot of fun to "be in love with Shailene and then to be an a****** to her".

It helps that Teller and Woodley are best buds ever since they met on the set of The Spectacular Now.

Their closeness was on display at the recent MTV Movie Awards, where Teller delivered a gushing speech about his pal before presenting her the Trailblazer Award.

PICK ONE ONLY?

What Teller has with Woodley is miles ahead of what she shares with Elgort, though the latter pair were very convincing as star-crossed lovers in Fault, making us cry buckets.

But Teller and Woodley's verbal fights are as fun as their actual fisticuffs.

We can't wait to see what other insults they'll throw at each other in the next Divergent sequels, Allegiant: Part 1 & 2.

Woodley herself also made her choice, telling W magazine that she'd love for her and Teller to be a famous screen couple like Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.

TOM HARDY & NOOMI RAPACE

They shared romantic tension as a would-be couple in last year's crime drama The Drop, and reunited to play long-time marrieds in the recent thriller Child 44.

According to Rapace, The Drop was a project they wanted to do together. She told The Independent that she met the 37-year-old British actor a while back and they were "looking for something to work on".

The 35-year-old Swedish actress added: "What was really great was that we know each other really well, and we really trust each other, so we don't need to be polite, we don't need to start from zero.

"We could just melt into the next one."

REPEAT VIEWING?

They fit like a glove both times. Given their amazing acting chops, they can practically do anything and prove to be a strong team. So bring on more Hardy and Rapace please.

Their chemistry is so real that there were rumours that they hooked up after filming The Drop And Child 44, but they have denied any romantic involvement.

For the record, Hardy is married to actress Charlotte Riley and has an eight-year-old son with an ex-girlfriend, while mother-of-one Rapace is divorced

This article was first published on April 29, 2015.
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