As demonstrated by Top Gun: Maverick, a good movie with a great protagonist will always keep audiences coming back for more. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is cool, talented, and just enough of a rebel. While he may not be the most complex protagonist, Mitchell serves well as a character that audiences can get behind.
This can be a difficult balance to find in movies. More interesting characters can be engaging, but if their problems become too much, they can begin to drag on audiences. This only worsens when that character loudly complains about those problems, resulting in a downright annoying character. Films that were otherwise beloved by audiences could fall into this trap, putting a bad taste in their mouths all over the whiny protagonist. Fans on Ranker voted on which hero was the most annoying and determined the films that were ruined by their incessant complaining.
Star Wars: A New Hope - Luke Skywalker
While Luke Skywalker definitely improved over the original Star Wars trilogy, A New Hope was made more annoying by his complaining. The future Jedi frequently stated that it "just isn't fair" that he had to live such a boring life, and even after he left home, the whining continued.
Thankfully, Star Wars had enough going for it that Luke's teenage frustrations didn't completely ruin the experience, but if he hadn't matured before the next installments, that might not have been the case.
Edge of Tomorrow - Major William Cage
While in Tom Cruise's best movies he usually plays the brave hero, Major William Cage is an exception. Even when the world is under attack from aliens, the Edge of Tomorrow protagonist went to any means possible to escape the fight, despite being an upstanding military man.
While his cowardice was annoying, Cage's complaining went on long after he realized that, after dying, he would repeatedly return to life the next day. It must have been frustrating when no one believed him, but it became a little exhausting for audiences to hear him whine about it.
The Lord Of The Rings - Frodo Baggins
The Lord of the Rings had been a beloved novel for decades before Peter Jackson's screen adaptation, and the protagonist Frodo received the same amount of love. However, when the films were released, audiences began to lose patience with Frodo's mood, which seemed to differ significantly from the books.
Of course, the protagonist had to demonstrate to audiences how the One Ring was affecting him, but as he started nagging after poor Sam and endlessly whining about his journey, it all became a bit too much. What's more, it made viewers somewhat lose sympathy for Frodo's sacrifice.
The Shining - Wendy Torrance
It can't be held against Wendy Torrance that she would have a lot to complain about after her husband tried to murder her and her son. However, audiences, especially those who had read the original The Shining novel, found that there was little to the Stanley Kubrick movie's version of Wendy Torrance's character other than screaming dumbly.
Author Stephen King himself criticized the movie character (via Indie Wire), stating that he had not written Wendy in such a misogynistic way. While the film itself still performed well, the all-terror-and-no-action character is regarded as a major downside.
American Pie - Jim Levenstein
Jim Levenstein certainly provided plenty of comedy to American Pie, and seeing the lengths he would take to lose his virginity before college kept audiences entertained (and slightly disgusted). However, Jim's discouragement resulted in a lot of whining about having no one to end his innocence with.
As time goes on, the whiny protagonist leads audiences to lose sympathy for him completely. At a certain point, the desperation stopped being funny. Even once he had decided that he no longer cared, he complained loudly about his friends' efforts. It just really wasn't a great look for the character.
Transformers: Dark Of The Moon - Sam Witwicky
At first, the protagonist of Michael Bay's Transformers movies was likable as the geeky underdog. Audiences had little problem cheering for him as he earned the love of the beautiful girl and landed Bumblebee, the most recognizable movie car of all time. However, by Dark of the Moon, fans were done with Sam Witwicky.
Despite all that had happened to him and the efforts of his trusty car to always keep him safe, Sam had a lot to whine about, often entering into a full-out rage. He even goes as far as to yell at sweet Bumblebee, who certainly didn't deserve Sam's sudden teen-like angst.
Bridesmaids - Annie Walker
Sometimes, being a single Maid of Honor at a friend's wedding can be an infamously miserable experience. For this reason, many movie audiences could relate to Kristen Wigg's character, Annie, in Bridesmaids. Combine this with feeling like the least successful of the bridal party, and there is an easy recipe for disaster (and entertainment).
However, Annie's jealousy and subsequent behavior crossed the boundary of relatable into entirely unlikable. The events surrounding Annie added to the comedy, but her attitude made Bridemaids a difficult movie to rewatch.
The Next Karate Kid - Julie Pierce
Daniel-san did his fair share of complaining in the original The Karate Kid movie. Still, as he grew under the instruction of Mr. Miyagi, he learned to take responsibility for himself and developed into a great character. This was the expectation for the 1994 sequel The Next Karate Kid, but the major character Julie Pierce proved that Miyagi could not work miracles.
Julie was an example of classic teen angst, full of statements like "stay out of my life" and "don't tell me what to do." Her personality made Mr. Miyagi seem even more like a patient saint, but it secured Julie as the worst-ever karate kid.
Star Wars: Attack Of The Clones - Anakin Skywalker
After years of seeing Darth Vader as the baddest villain in town, fans were shocked to see how his character was presented in the prequel trilogy. Phantom Menace introduced him as a cocky young kid, but his character really got weird after Attack of the Clones, where Anakin Skywalker was little more than a whiny teen.
The future baddie complained about anything from the strict control of his teacher to the gritty texture of sand, and it wasn't long before audiences were tired of it. There was a lot of potential for Darth Vader's back story to be a huge success, but the annoying character quickly ruined the experience.
Twilight - Bella Swan
It's clear that teenage protagonists are more likely to drive audiences batty, as they are often presented as entitled and impossible to please. While fans of the Twilight series loved arguing over whether Edward or Jacob was the better love interest, many could agree that Bella Swan was pretty much the worst.
Even before the protagonist got wound up in the problems of vampires and werewolves, she had far too much to complain about. Her father made every effort to make her happy in her new home, but she was annoyingly ungrateful for all of his efforts. It only got worse in New Moon, when Bella's behavior after Edward's departure was just difficult to witness.