I took a different perspective on ID. I viewed the Rand Quaid character as the hero, and his courageous self-sacrifice as the decisive factor. The hacking would have been to no avail without a human to fly the plane and deliver the death blow.
A good point on Quaid...
The unlikely hero is a very appealing idea. Americans embrace it, but one could argue we borrowed the concept from the "good book".
Blade Runner is a classic. IMO, the most intriguing and influencing character is Rutger Hauer's. Awesome cinema.