When the protagonist doesn't seem particularly compelling, I say to myself, why is this character acting this way? What's frustrating me about this character? And if there's an opportunity to call out the character on their boring-ness, by all means do it (or have another character do it). You could have something easily fixable just by forcing your protagonist into a choice, or making your protagonist responsible for something that happens. Whether or not the decisions are wrong or right, the protagonist has to participate. They have to make decisions that drive the story.

Good point, Susan. I've read far too many scripts where the Protagonist, while perhaps central to the story, has a passive involvement, the writer using other characters to drive the narrative. That is not to say a Protagonist can't be passive and work. In some ways, that's the whole point of the movie Being There. But in most mainstream movies where a Protagonist's journey involves a personal metamorphosis, in order for that to mean anything, they have to pursue that goal with passion and vigor. So then the issue may come down to the fact the writer simply hasn't dug deep enough into the P and discovered what is at the source of their Disunity, what do they want, what do they need, those most fundamental questions that need to be answered to understand the core essence of this critical character.

Interesting is a deceptive word. Luke Skywalker is imo the least interesting character in Star Wars. Obi Wan, Han Solo, Leia, and Vader are all vastly more interesting to me. It is however, Luke's journey. The story is about his growth. The internal journey is his and no one else's. Compare that to a film like MALLRATS. (I know, weird comparison, right?) I bring it up because it illustrates a side character actually carrying the movie. Jason Lee is NOT the protagonist of this film. He's the plucky side kick. The protagonist is actually -- the other guy. Yes, he's that memorable. The entire plot revolves around going to the mall to cheer up Jason Lee's best friend who just got dumped. Jason Lee on the other hand has ALL the best scenes in the movie. From banging Shannon Doherty in the elevator, to the stink palm, to even being the funniest guy and saving the day on the Dating Game show (these last ones, really should have belonged to the protagonist). MALLRATS is an example of what can happen if your protagonist doesn't have enough depth -- and the plot / scenes aren't built around his journey and instead focus on a secondary character. The new STAR TREK deals with a similar issue. It's side characters are very colorful -- Scotty, Ohura, Bones, Sulu. It also has two characters that heavily compete for protagonist. Spock and James T. Kirk. But they are also competing with each other in the movie. It's not two friends trying to reconcile being dumped by going to the mall and having wacky antics. It's two strong characters with a personal interest in succeeding going toe to toe with one another. The plot itself encapsulates the dilemma. Compare this to the original Star Trek, where it's clear the story centers around James T. Kirk. I find one of the most interesting "Who's the Protagonist" movies to be PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN. It's really Will's desire to save Elizabeth that drives the story. But isn't he really the most uninteresting character? I mean, by far, right? There's an argument that it's Elizabeth, which I could see. However, even though she is debunking the damsel in distress character-type -- she is still fulfilling the role by being the goal for Will to "save" (even though she can save herself). So the choice to propel the story isn't hers. And Johnny Depp steals every single scene he's in -- the curse, pirates, and boat are all elements from his backstory (including the title of the film). He also actively chooses to try and get his ship back, which is a parallel goal to rescuing Elizabeth -- PLUS his actions resolve the plot in the end in truly heroic fashion (complete with a sacrifice) AND he bests the villain. So who is the protagonist? I think they all share in it -- and I think there is a bit of an "appearances can be deceiving" theme running throughout the film that allows the film to play loose with who the hero actually is. Whoever your protagonist is, it is clear that the story/plot should be constructed to test their resolve -- which is generally why they tend to have the best scenes. I think Pirates is an example of equally testing the resolve of 3 characters and skillful play with genre expectation. MALLRATS on the other hand has a protagonist that is nothing more than a plot device.