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Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Blade Runner is one of the best science fiction films. A movie that was before its time but can and needs to be appreciated today. The story is excellent, the visual effects are out of this world, and the acting is outstanding with some of the actors. Maybe not all the actors but some hold their weight beyond.
Before there was the Fifth Element starring Bruce Willis, Blade Runner was the first that showed this type of movie. Without all the aliens, the Fifth Element took a ton of ideas and inspiration from this film. The flying cars, many people talking different languages, and other aspects can be attributed to this film. Blade Runner is a film that has a dystopian feel to it. It has many themes and elements that will make you think in today’s world. The crazy thing is that the film was set in 2019 Los Angeles. A freakin’ year too late. Come on, science and technology! I need you to catch up.
Directed by Ridley Scott. During a text crawl after the opening credits, explains the near future. In the early parts of the twenty-first century, the Tyrell Corporation has revolutionized the world. During what was called the Nexus phase, it developed robots called “replicants.” Replicants were supposed to aid society. One of the noticeable features is that Replicants look and act human. Like all technology, a superhuman generation of Nexus 6 replicants that were used for dangerous off-Earth endeavors began a mutiny on an off-Earth colony, replicants became illegal on Earth. Police officers called blade runners were tasked with the job of hunting down and destroying the replicants that have made their way back to Earth.
Taking place in Los Angeles in November of 2019, damn one year too late in the real world, which is CRAZY. Rick Deckard (Ford) is a former blade runner, who is “called out of retirement” to hunt down four known replicants by the names of Roy Batty (Hauer), Leon Kowalski (James), Pris (Hannah) and Zhora Salome (Cassidy). Deckard’s former boss has Deckard watch a video of a former blade runner named Holden administering the Voight-Kampff test (a test designed to distinguish replicants from humans based on their emotional response to questions). The test doesn’t go a plan as Leon shoots Holden on the second question. Now it is up to Deckard to track down and terminate the replicants. Things become harder for Deckard when he is called by Tyrell personally and meets his replicant assistant named Rachel (Young).
Let’s start off with the obvious. Blade Runner is one of the most visually stunning films around. The special effects are top-notch. Just WOW! The film made Los Angeles look so miserable with that orange glow that seemed to be everywhere. Actually, the special effects were really great every time anyone went to Tyrell Corporations. The special effects were outstanding in this film.
As for the overall story, it explored many themes that will make you think today. First, the way the story is told with the pursuit of four rogue androids is a really nice touch. I would say that I was expecting more in a chase from a few of the androids because it seemed a little to easy to find them. I mean, one was dressed and hanging with a snake outfit. Hell, one just walked up to Deckard after he killed his android companion. I was expecting more, and too much time seemed to be around Deckard and Rachel. I really didn’t care about their relationship.
The central theme that Blade Runner explores is what does it mean to be human and humanity. One way that is used to discover the replicants is by administrating a psychological test that asks several questions intended to provoke emotion. I don’t know about you, but I would probably fail that test. Yet, it is actually really tough to tell who is a replicant as they blend in so nicely to society. The primary thing that is shown is that replicants are human. They show concern for each other rather than the humans who seemed to only care about themselves. The main reason that shows they are human is that they just want to extend their lives. That is a pretty human reason for me.
Another theme that the film explores is the environment and globalization. Forgive my language, but Los Angeles looks like absolute SHIT in this film. It looks like pollution has run rampant, and everything looks like shit. I don’t know if it is global warming or what, but it doesn’t look like a great place to stay. While watching the film, you learn that real animals are extremely rare. How do we know this? When Deckard and Tyrell are talking, he sees an artificial owl and states that it must be expensive. I guess my turtle is worth a lot of money now.
In the area of globalization, LA has seemed to merge into one big ass melting pot. The first thing you notice is the dialect that police officer Gaff speaks. When he started talking, I thought he was speaking some Jabba the Hutt type language. How the hell did Deckard understand him? There also seems to be a ton of room in LA, which makes me laugh because LA has no space. Deckard makes a comment about his building, stating, “No housing shortage around here…plenty of room for everybody.”
What is fascinating about this film is the use and symbolism of eyes. The film starts off with an extreme closeup of the eyes. Also, the pupil’s glow in the replicants’ eyes. One minute they seem fine, and the next, they just start glowing, giving them that evil look. They look so cool when they do that.
The cast does their thing in this film. What more can I say about Harrison Ford? I mean, he is Harrison Ford, and he was awesome in this strange role. He wasn’t quite Han Solo and Indiana Jones, but he was a little mixture of both. Ford can make any role his own and do an outstanding job at it.
Now I will say that Sean Young was a little off to me at first until I really understood what she was doing. At first, I found her incredibly dull. The woman never seemed to smile. Then I thought, that is her role. She is an android and has almost has no emotions. I don’t think it was until the end that she smiled.
The one that needs to be praised is Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty. Hauer played Batty as a person who is extremely intelligent and strong but only has one wish. That wish is to extend his own life and the lives of his companions. Even though he is supposed to have no emotions, he clearly does when he seems to have a thrill of beating the s**t out of Deckard. The one scene that tells it all and probably the best monologue in the film was his Tears in rain monologue. It is honestly probably one of the best soliloquies ever in cinema. Just the way he describes what he has seen and the delivery of each statement was terrific. Pure genius on the part of Hauer.
Blade Runner is one of the best sci-fi films that has ever been made. The special effects are one of a kind, and the actual story is terrific. The themes and questions that are explored help explain the story and give it substance. The central idea of what is human is the primary source of the whole film. Harrison Ford does his thing as usual, and Rutger Hauer makes a great villain. Watch Blade Runner and be amazed.
