Protagonist

Character Role Analysis

Popeye Doyle

Popeye isn't a standard-issue hero. He's actually a total dirtbag.

But that doesn't mean he's not a pretty standard protagonist. Seeing how hard he fights to follow his hunch and stay on the case, it seems like we're being asked to reward all that hard work by caring about whether this "good guy" gets the "bad guys" in end.

Of course, our good guy isn't such a good guy—and our bad guys can be pretty charming—so it's up to you what team you'll decide to back. As one critic wrote, Popeye "doesn't even call for backup when he's chasing a gunman through Brooklyn and endangering lord knows how many lives; as the movie roars to its conclusion, he's still chasing Charnier when he should obviously be dealing with some of the carnage he just caused."

These are the actions of a psycho… or at least a guy who's totally full of himself. But that doesn't mean that he's not our main man. He is—whether we like it or not.