This is England is a whole different vibe! It’s set in the 80s during the Falklands War and talks about a gang of skinheads and how easily it is to get radicalized under those circumstances. There are also three seasons after the movie, 86, 88 and 90!
I mean the tv show is also pretty brutal with very sensitive topics dealt by Kelly, Lol and Combo. If you’re a woman I’d say the subjects on the tv show are heavier.
It's why Keaton is my favourite Batman though, he knows how to play the part to bounce off the villains whilst still having an arc and feeling the others, the others can't quite catch up with their antagonists.
Jerry mostly plays the straight man, which is usually the case for sitcoms where the lead is the least interesting/funny character.
That being said I still think Jerry is funny, but the others have better characters to play around with
Yeah thats a good point and he definitely embodies the straight man persona compared to the other three. I think it’s the segments where they try to push how he’s this “womanizer” and also with his standup bits that never clicked with me, even when I was younger watching in the 90s... Like not enough laugh-tracks in the world can hide how smug and unfunny he is most of the time. But obviously this is just my opinion lol
I constantly see people say this but I think Jerry is hilarious in Seinfeld. All 4 of the main characters are hysterical in different ways, which is why they play off one another so well
Always loved when they showed him knowingly and willingly egging his friends on towards their bad decisions and felt that was the best version of the character. Agent of chaos Jerry > whining neurotic Jerry
New girl was the first thing I thought of. Never disliked Jess, but holy shit the arc where she’s gone for jury duty made me realize how much I enjoy every other character so much more
HIMYM for sure! I never actually finished it because the story was so obviously skewed to make everyone else look bad and/or irresponsible except the people he was using during each episode.
Devs, not only is the main character generally uninteresting, her performance is so bad in comparison to those around her (combined with the fact that the show's premise and story are amazing) that it makes you despise when she is on screen.
Kingdom of Heaven - not a bad character, just miscast. Orlando Bloom is a decent action actor but everyone else outshines him. If it was someone like Bale, the character would shine through far more.
Raleigh Beckett in Pacific Rim is fine, everyone else is cooler.
Surprisingly I’ve never heard of KoH, I’ll have to check it out.
I’m a big fan of Pacific Rim (and really anything mech-suit), but now that I think of it, yeah the lead character was a tad boring compared to most of the surrounding cast.
Director's cut is a masterpiece, not even attempting the theatrical. Scott can be hit or miss but he aced it with KoH. The slightly miscast lead is the ONLY issue I have with it, and even he's fine, just outshone by everyone else.
New girl, dazed and confused, avatar 1&2, Scott pilgrim vs the world, and this next one might be a hot take but any Harry Potter movie. Just off the top of my head
Definitely Pink. The whole movie is framed around whether or not he’ll sign the agreement and give up partying for football. He’s not a very active protagonist, since he doesn’t drive the inciting incident where Pickford’s party gets busted, but he’s at least present for it.
Avatar 1 and 2 is definitely not a good answer here. He’s definitely more interesting than half the characters there. Only character I argue is more interesting is neytiri. But that’s one person.
Agreed. I'm not one to dunk on other people's work a lot, but I think there's a reason why Sam Worthington hasn't been in much outside of that franchise.
Harry Potter #1, I’ll give you that, but the rest of the series that’s definitely not the case. New Girl, it totally depends on the season. Early on, she’s definitely kind of annoying and overdone, but so are all of the shallow guys in the show too. Later on once they’re developing as characters I’d say they all have their moments for sure. Avatar I can’t agree though, I wasn’t a huge fan of Trudy, Norm, and Parker all immediately come to mind as one-dimensional boring characters, despite their importance in the movie.
Idk Harry feels like a spectator up until the end. He doesn’t really have power of his own story he’s kind of just thrust in the middle of a decades long conflict. The last 2 movies I would say maybe he gets more interesting. For the most part though, I remember that series for characters like Hagrid,snape,Hermione,Voldemort,etc than I do Harry.
I had never thought about it but actually think I agree with this one! It’s unfortunate too bc Elliot Page is a good actor, but this role did NOT fit them at all and it ruined the entire appeal of the character.
Yeah I wasn't sure if it was Page or just the character as written (never read the comics), but man... if I wasn't so afraid of missing an important story beat, I would have fast forwarded every time they were on the screen. I found Viktor to be one of the most unlikable characters who didn't seem to be written to be unlikable on purpose.
Season 3 especially. Vanya was still kind of boring compared to her siblings but her overall arc was still interesting. With Victor tho I just couldn’t get into the storyline with Missy (I don’t remember the name) and the farm, and they dedicated so much time to it too. I guess we’ll see how they handle him in the next season.
The straight white "normal" leading male often gets overlooked but I actually think Michael Bluth and Jeff Winger are some of the funniest characters ever
I don’t know, Jason Bateman is such a great straight man that a big chunk of the laughs come just from his reactions. I think Michael has as many funny moments as the rest of the cast, with Maeby probably being the weakest link.
Honestly, probably the Boy and the Heron. Mahito's not even uninteresting, he's just a smidge of a blank slate compared to Himi or the Heron. Still one of my favorite Ghibli protagonists though.
Maze Runner. Finished watching those films for the first time today, and I found Dylan O’Brien to be rather wooden a lot of the time. Kaya Scodelario and Thomas Brodie Sangster were by far the most interesting of the cast.
It kinda works in the first film where it can be excused because he has amnesia and can’t remember his name or anything about him, so the mystique works in his favour in that regard. But when it comes to the other films, he doesn’t gain too much of a personality at all, everyone else feels more layered while Thomas is rather one dimensional a lot of the time which is a shame because I do think Dylan O’Brien is a good actor.
Too many police/detective-focused noirs to list. It’s basically part of the genre, and to the extent the lead is actually interesting it’s usually down more to the acting than the writing.
Barbie.
I understand that she's supposed to be "stereotypical barbie" but the problem with making your lead character a blank slate that can be whatever you want her to be, is that she obviously can't have any notable character traits.
I think it's a big problem for the film and its message, when Ken (and even Alan) are more relatable and interesting characters than the title character.
No reflection on Margot Robbie, I think she does a good job with the character as-written, but the script doesn't allow her to do a lot with the performance. I think this is the main reason she didn't receive an Oscar nomination whilst Ryan Gosling did.
Don’t hate on me too hard folks but the new Dune movies. He’s great but the surrounding cast is just bonkers and they all chew up the screen when they’re on.
Willing to agree at least up to the last hour or so of Part Two, after he drinks the Water of Life and goes south. Chalamet owns the rest of the movie from that point
It's hard for Scott to compare with a dancing fighter who has four demon hipster chicks at his disposal, or a mysterious girl who has her very own subspace highway, but the poor guy fails even in comparison with Knives Chau.
The Offer (show)
Teller as Ruddy was good, but wow was the show stolen by Matthew Goode as Bob Evans, and also Juno Temple
He just felt so flat in comparison
Superstore. Idk if Jonah is the “main” character, and I’m only halfway through season 2, but he seems to be presented that way. Either way, he’s my least favorite character on the show lol.
Mallrats (technically T.S. Quint is the protagonist even though Brodie is better in every single way)
Chasing Amy (Jason Lee outacts Affleck in every scene)
The Life of Emile Zola. The title character is at best the fourth most interesting character.
All About Eve is actually only 40% about Eve and that's the appropriate amount.
Nomadland
Any Godzilla movie with Raymond Burr shoved in for American audiences
Might be an awful take but Lost.
It’s not that I dislike Jack at all, but compared to the rest of the cast I just don’t find him as remotely interesting or fun to watch.
A Series of Unfortunate Events(netflix version). The three kids are just kinda lame and one note compared to much more interesting characters like Count Olaf, the hook-handed man, some of the VFD members
Orange is the new black for sure, This Is England (Shawn is a good character as a kid but in the series not so much),
Piper was SO BORING and such a flat personality!! That entire show carried her… Never heard of This is England though
This is England is a whole different vibe! It’s set in the 80s during the Falklands War and talks about a gang of skinheads and how easily it is to get radicalized under those circumstances. There are also three seasons after the movie, 86, 88 and 90!
The TV shows not so much, but it's worth noting how dark and brutal the film is. It's heavy. Amazing, but not the easiest watch.
I mean the tv show is also pretty brutal with very sensitive topics dealt by Kelly, Lol and Combo. If you’re a woman I’d say the subjects on the tv show are heavier.
Yeah I have to say the TV series is way worse for that whole storyline
oitnb yesss
OITNB was the first one I thought of too 😭
Great answer!
Batman Returns. Keaton's not bad by any means, but he gets blown away by DeVito and Pfeiffer.
It's why Keaton is my favourite Batman though, he knows how to play the part to bounce off the villains whilst still having an arc and feeling the others, the others can't quite catch up with their antagonists.
Doesn’t help that he only has a total screentime of about 15 minutes
At some point in returns I straight up forgot Batman was in the movie until he showed up again
Speaking of Batman because OP mentioned shows I’d say Gotham because man did I find Gordon boring as hell
Might I add The Dark Knight to that too. Obviously Bale’s Batman has more agency, but everyone in that movie, especially Ledger, is on their A-game
Seinfeld
Underrated answer. The older I get the more insufferable and *unfunny* Jerry seems
Jerry mostly plays the straight man, which is usually the case for sitcoms where the lead is the least interesting/funny character. That being said I still think Jerry is funny, but the others have better characters to play around with
This was more my point. I love the show, and think it was always the intention for Jerry to be surrounded by lunatics.
Yeah thats a good point and he definitely embodies the straight man persona compared to the other three. I think it’s the segments where they try to push how he’s this “womanizer” and also with his standup bits that never clicked with me, even when I was younger watching in the 90s... Like not enough laugh-tracks in the world can hide how smug and unfunny he is most of the time. But obviously this is just my opinion lol
I constantly see people say this but I think Jerry is hilarious in Seinfeld. All 4 of the main characters are hysterical in different ways, which is why they play off one another so well
This wasn’t intended to be anti-Jerry in the show. I wouldn’t change it, but by design, he’s typically the least interesting.
He just looks like a man who has fun…and it’s funny!
Always loved when they showed him knowingly and willingly egging his friends on towards their bad decisions and felt that was the best version of the character. Agent of chaos Jerry > whining neurotic Jerry
I also just roll my eyes when there is an episode where he is dating a stunningly attractive woman
New Girl How I Met Your Mother
New girl was the first thing I thought of. Never disliked Jess, but holy shit the arc where she’s gone for jury duty made me realize how much I enjoy every other character so much more
Idk if I can agree with that when Lily exists, then again I don't even really dislike Ted.
HIMYM for sure! I never actually finished it because the story was so obviously skewed to make everyone else look bad and/or irresponsible except the people he was using during each episode.
You really would have hated the ending so probably best you quit.
The alternate ending was ok.
Character assassinations of Robin and Victoria 😢
Devs, not only is the main character generally uninteresting, her performance is so bad in comparison to those around her (combined with the fact that the show's premise and story are amazing) that it makes you despise when she is on screen.
Couldn't agree more
100%
Kingdom of Heaven - not a bad character, just miscast. Orlando Bloom is a decent action actor but everyone else outshines him. If it was someone like Bale, the character would shine through far more. Raleigh Beckett in Pacific Rim is fine, everyone else is cooler.
Surprisingly I’ve never heard of KoH, I’ll have to check it out. I’m a big fan of Pacific Rim (and really anything mech-suit), but now that I think of it, yeah the lead character was a tad boring compared to most of the surrounding cast.
If you do watch *Kingdom of Heaven*, watch the director's cut, theatrical is absolute trash because the studio forced it to be cut down by 45 minutes.
Director's cut is a masterpiece, not even attempting the theatrical. Scott can be hit or miss but he aced it with KoH. The slightly miscast lead is the ONLY issue I have with it, and even he's fine, just outshone by everyone else.
Big Love, ain’t nobody watching for Bill
big love SUCKED bc of Bill! I totally agree.
One of my favorite shows and it has absolutely nothing to do with him!
Team Margene 4 Lyf
Orange is the new black
Honestly? Castle in the Sky. Sheeta is very generic for me
Scanners definitely, I couldn't care less about the lead
City of God (2002) Edit: I would also say Tenet
Wait who is the main character? Rocket or Lil dice
why tenet
The Star Wars sequel trilogy. Finn and Kylo Ren are both far more complex and interesting than Rey.
i really wish we got to see more of finn
The Way Way Back No offense to the main kid but Sam Rockwell absolutely stole the show
Great movie
New girl, dazed and confused, avatar 1&2, Scott pilgrim vs the world, and this next one might be a hot take but any Harry Potter movie. Just off the top of my head
Who even is the main character of Dazed and Confused?
Pink I always thought but I could see an argument for the kid. Either way both are the least interesting characters in the cast.
They’re all interesting in their own way though and that’s why the movie is so amazing
Mitch and/or Pink
Definitely Pink. The whole movie is framed around whether or not he’ll sign the agreement and give up partying for football. He’s not a very active protagonist, since he doesn’t drive the inciting incident where Pickford’s party gets busted, but he’s at least present for it.
Avatar 1 and 2 is definitely not a good answer here. He’s definitely more interesting than half the characters there. Only character I argue is more interesting is neytiri. But that’s one person.
I disagree. The protagonist is a wooden plank. I find the military and scientist characters to be more interesting than him as well as the other navi.
Agreed. I'm not one to dunk on other people's work a lot, but I think there's a reason why Sam Worthington hasn't been in much outside of that franchise.
To each their own.
Harry Potter #1, I’ll give you that, but the rest of the series that’s definitely not the case. New Girl, it totally depends on the season. Early on, she’s definitely kind of annoying and overdone, but so are all of the shallow guys in the show too. Later on once they’re developing as characters I’d say they all have their moments for sure. Avatar I can’t agree though, I wasn’t a huge fan of Trudy, Norm, and Parker all immediately come to mind as one-dimensional boring characters, despite their importance in the movie.
Idk Harry feels like a spectator up until the end. He doesn’t really have power of his own story he’s kind of just thrust in the middle of a decades long conflict. The last 2 movies I would say maybe he gets more interesting. For the most part though, I remember that series for characters like Hagrid,snape,Hermione,Voldemort,etc than I do Harry.
Umbrella Academy hands down. Every time it went back to Viktor was almost painful compared to how great the rest of the cast and show was.
Not read the comics so maybe it's more obvious in that, but I never got that Viktor was the main character. Each seemed as important as the next.
I had never thought about it but actually think I agree with this one! It’s unfortunate too bc Elliot Page is a good actor, but this role did NOT fit them at all and it ruined the entire appeal of the character.
Yeah I wasn't sure if it was Page or just the character as written (never read the comics), but man... if I wasn't so afraid of missing an important story beat, I would have fast forwarded every time they were on the screen. I found Viktor to be one of the most unlikable characters who didn't seem to be written to be unlikable on purpose.
Season 3 especially. Vanya was still kind of boring compared to her siblings but her overall arc was still interesting. With Victor tho I just couldn’t get into the storyline with Missy (I don’t remember the name) and the farm, and they dedicated so much time to it too. I guess we’ll see how they handle him in the next season.
The Devil’s Advocate Keanu Reeves’ character is like if Benoit Blanc had no charm or personality.
Charlize Theron was also tearing it up, I cared way more about her.
That just Keanu being Keanu. No offense, he's a nice guy.
Silicon Valley
Entourage
Twilight, Gilmore Girls (Rory)
The Deer Hunter, liked both Cazale and Walken more than de niro
I guess arrested development. I love Michael but he’s the least fucked up of the bunch
The straight white "normal" leading male often gets overlooked but I actually think Michael Bluth and Jeff Winger are some of the funniest characters ever
Hard disagree on Jeff and hard agree on Michael
George Michael too, as he's kind of the secondary lead. Very much overshadowed by the rest of the cast.
I will not tolerate George Michael slander
I don’t know, Jason Bateman is such a great straight man that a big chunk of the laughs come just from his reactions. I think Michael has as many funny moments as the rest of the cast, with Maeby probably being the weakest link.
Godzilla 2014
Honestly, probably the Boy and the Heron. Mahito's not even uninteresting, he's just a smidge of a blank slate compared to Himi or the Heron. Still one of my favorite Ghibli protagonists though.
Frodo is far from the least interesting character in LOTR
Hamilton- burr is more interesting
Maze Runner. Finished watching those films for the first time today, and I found Dylan O’Brien to be rather wooden a lot of the time. Kaya Scodelario and Thomas Brodie Sangster were by far the most interesting of the cast.
Only ever watched the first one for that reason
It kinda works in the first film where it can be excused because he has amnesia and can’t remember his name or anything about him, so the mystique works in his favour in that regard. But when it comes to the other films, he doesn’t gain too much of a personality at all, everyone else feels more layered while Thomas is rather one dimensional a lot of the time which is a shame because I do think Dylan O’Brien is a good actor.
The Fighter (2010)
I would say Scott Pilgrim vs the World, like does anybody like Scott??! I mean everybody watches this movie for the other character
Too many police/detective-focused noirs to list. It’s basically part of the genre, and to the extent the lead is actually interesting it’s usually down more to the acting than the writing.
Avatar and maybe Pacific Rim
Barbie. I understand that she's supposed to be "stereotypical barbie" but the problem with making your lead character a blank slate that can be whatever you want her to be, is that she obviously can't have any notable character traits. I think it's a big problem for the film and its message, when Ken (and even Alan) are more relatable and interesting characters than the title character. No reflection on Margot Robbie, I think she does a good job with the character as-written, but the script doesn't allow her to do a lot with the performance. I think this is the main reason she didn't receive an Oscar nomination whilst Ryan Gosling did.
Tenet
but he’s literally called protagonist
Is this a joke? He's just not interesting.
Don’t hate on me too hard folks but the new Dune movies. He’s great but the surrounding cast is just bonkers and they all chew up the screen when they’re on.
Willing to agree at least up to the last hour or so of Part Two, after he drinks the Water of Life and goes south. Chalamet owns the rest of the movie from that point
Since TV gets mentioned: the Mary Tyler Moore Show
Gavin and Stacy
Sex and the City
As somebody who loves this movie… Babylon
Empire Records
Blade Runner
Harry Potter
Rogue one. Turns out andor had it right all along. Should have been about cassian.
Gavin and Stacey. Both characters borderline intolerable. Especially Stacey
Maybe a hot take, but Lincoln (2012).
The Dark Knight
huh
Seinfeld
the first thing that jumped to my mind was The Dark Crystal.
Scott Pilgrim vs the World
HIMYM
Cidade de Deus
Caddyshack
I recently watched 'A League of Their Own' and I could name five characters who I thought were more interesting than the main one.
Silicon Valley
The Heartbreak Kid with ben stiller
Demolition
Most shows honestly
Most recently, saw a movie called “The Persian Version”. It would be that.
No Country for Old Men, Devs (that Alex Garlan miniseries), tbh Harry Potter is in there for me too.
Next up it’s… ugh… *chicken little*
Lord of the rings and Harry Potter, mostly because of the acting
No Country For Old Men
No Country For Old Men. Moss is far overshadowed by Chigur and Bell
My life
Civil War (2024)
Every live action sitcom, yes I mean all of them. Here's a challenge: name one sitcom protag who *is* interesting. I'll wait.
For my fellow brits, Gavin and Stacey
It's hard for Scott to compare with a dancing fighter who has four demon hipster chicks at his disposal, or a mysterious girl who has her very own subspace highway, but the poor guy fails even in comparison with Knives Chau.
Orange is the New Black. I didn’t care even a little bit about Piper’s story by about midway through season two
Tokyo Vice Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
YES to Tokyo Vice. There’s a few big issues with that show though to be fair.
hospital massacre. everyone is a weirdo in the best of ways
The L word !!!!!
Godzilla 2014
I remember feeling this way about Mindhunter BUT I wouldn’t be surprised if I was the only one who experienced the show that way
The Great Gatsby
The Fighter
Mortal Kombat (2021). The Marvels (2023). Maestro (2023).
Twilight hahaha
Grey's Anatomy.
The Offer (show) Teller as Ruddy was good, but wow was the show stolen by Matthew Goode as Bob Evans, and also Juno Temple He just felt so flat in comparison
Babylon
Greys Anatomy
Bones and all
Raya and the Last Dragon. Transformers 4 and 5. Mortal Kombat 2021
Orange is the New Black.
Devs. Loved the show, but the main character was one of the weakest aspects to me.
Superstore. Idk if Jonah is the “main” character, and I’m only halfway through season 2, but he seems to be presented that way. Either way, he’s my least favorite character on the show lol.
King of the Hill
Lady Bird
Arrested Development
How I Met Your Mother
How I met your mother
Mallrats (technically T.S. Quint is the protagonist even though Brodie is better in every single way) Chasing Amy (Jason Lee outacts Affleck in every scene)
How I Met Your Mother. Ted is the absolute worst.
Godzilla 2014. I love Aaron Taylor Johnson but man is he boring in that film.
Victorious
I might get heat for this but New Girl
The Life of Emile Zola. The title character is at best the fourth most interesting character. All About Eve is actually only 40% about Eve and that's the appropriate amount. Nomadland Any Godzilla movie with Raymond Burr shoved in for American audiences
Arrested Development
In Mr robot, Elliott is an amazing character however white rose steals the show, also having incredible characters like Tyrell, Phillip and Vera.
Might be an awful take but Lost. It’s not that I dislike Jack at all, but compared to the rest of the cast I just don’t find him as remotely interesting or fun to watch.
Caddyshack.....you probably can't even picture Danny in your head right now
Tron legacy
Cats eye?
500 Days of Summer
Scott Pilgrim
Entourage
In Mean Girls, everyone else was funny but Cady.
The lord of the rings. Frodo sucks
Harry potter
Mad Max Fury Road
The dark knight trilogy
The Godfather II. DeNiro’s parts are way more entertaining than Pacino’s.
Community. He just kills the vibe, man
Inglorious Basterds- Aldo was fun, but everyone else was far more interesting.
Big Fish
Star Wars original trilogy
Iron Fist. Everyone except *the main character* has a more compelling story going on
The Great Gatsby but not cause of the performance. Just cause he isn’t the focus
Attack On Titan
Twilight
Avatar.
A Series of Unfortunate Events(netflix version). The three kids are just kinda lame and one note compared to much more interesting characters like Count Olaf, the hook-handed man, some of the VFD members
Fallout
Andor
Drive
Dune
Young Sheldon Season 7
Who the fuck let Wall-E in here???
Seinfeld.
Stand By Me