Protagonist

Character Role Analysis

Rick Deckard, Roy Batty

Rick Deckard is obviously the movie's intended protagonist. He's the man we follow, and his quest to kill all the escaped replicants provides the movie with its structure. Importantly, Deckard changes between the film's beginning and end: we see him go from a conflicted killer of replicants to the committed boyfriend of a replicant. In a way, he's not a hero, since the replicants he's killing (while murderous) aren't really bad guys. At least, they're not any worse than the evil Tyrell Corporation. But he's not exactly an anti-hero, either, since he gains in awareness and improves as a person before the movie's end.

You could also argue that Roy Blatty is the protagonist. He's not on screen quite as much as Deckard, but he might have an even more compelling quest. After all, Deckard just has to kill a bunch of replicants—but Roy is a replicant, and he's struggling to save his and the other replicants' lives, extending their lifespans beyond their four-year limit. He's the one who confronts the movie's most villainous character, Dr. Tyrell, and he's the one who kills him. Roy changes, too: initially, he's the kind of replicant who murders everyone on a space shuttle before flying it to earth. By the end, he's practically an enlightened human being, mercifully sparing the life of his own enemy, Deckard.