Blade Runner
Starring:
Harrison
Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos
Running
time: 117 minutes
Year:
1982
Directed
By: Ridley
Scott
Written
By: Hampton
Fancher & David Webb Peoples
Blade
Runner is a film I had grown up hearing so much about, but
one that I had never actually watched. It is a film that is often called the
most inspirational and I hear it changed sci-fi movies for the better. Due to
this I thought it was about time to sit down and watch it.
Harrison Ford plays Deckard, a cop in Los Angeles in
2019. LA is now entirely futuristic, which back in 1982 you may have presumed
it would be but today you will see how away from the mark it is. It is home to
giant billboards advertising anything and everything. A dark, gloomy, and wet
atmosphere heavily influenced by the Japanese, and above all flying cars. To be
fair some of it was right on the money. Deckard is a cop known as a blade runner.
A blade runner is a certain unit that hunts down replicants (artificial humans)
that were created for off-world work. Every now and again replicants go missing
and blade runners must stop them and retire them. Deckard is brought out of his
own retirement to hunt down six replicants who have escaped and are on Earth
searching for their maker in order to prolong their life. Due to replicants
growing emotion over time, each has a life span of four years, however when
these replicants realise this they head to meet their creator and keep
themselves alive. Deckard must stop them before they get too far, unfortunately
for him he meets one of these replicants and falls in love with her. Does he
retire her?
All of that is generally the back story and what you
need to know to understand the basis of the film. Really the film is about
Deckard hunting the replicants and falling in love. For those of you that have
seen it you will understand what I am about to say, it isn't really about any
of that. It is full of philosophical issues that will have you thinking after
the film has finished. When this film was first released it wasn't well received
and people have taken to it after numerous viewings and discussion. Believe me
you must have to watch it more than once because I've seen it once and it is
really dull. That may cause unrest with people but I have to say I didn't think
much to it. I understand the philosophical views hidden deep but I don't see
how that makes it a good movie. There is no real story. The themes could have
still been explored with more going on but it was just a lot of sitting around
and not doing much. It really wasn't what I was expecting. For starters the
villain doesn't really show up till over an hour in, so far into it that I
forgot there was even a bad guy. The love scenes didn't work as the characters
weren't believable, I understand after reading discussions why that might be,
but that isn't good for the average movie goer that wants to leave the cinema
happy and finished with it. Not everyone likes to research into the movie. I
can really see why it has taken time to be a cult film as it has given people
time to put forward their theories which people will then relate to it on
another viewing. I'm sorry but I don't get it.
I can however understand why it has influenced so
much. The visuals alone are stunning, and the fact it was made twenty years ago
is not noticeable. If it was released in cinemas tomorrow you would not have
known it was made two decades ago. The production design completely outshines
any story within this film. I can also see the influence within the
philosophical themes and how they have opened up many questions. Are replicants
human if they believe they are? In the film they are implanted with memories to
make them believe they are real, but are they real if their memories aren't
actually theirs? I get that these questions are well explored, and I do like to
see this in a film, but I was not hooked on the story. It never really drew me
in and I was waiting for the action to kick off and it never did. It was so
disappointing. It does have brilliant things about it but the entire outcome of
the film is completely dull. Hopefully over time I may come to like it and
understand it more. Maybe I don't like it because I don't get it and maybe that
is the problem. I'm sure people will completely disagree with this but
something more had to grab my attention and it didn't.
The look of the film is the top draw of this movie.
It looks absolutely fascinating, and I would say to watch it just to see how
good it is. The acting is generally ok but nothing great. To be fair the
characters were so dull that they had little to work with, although some are
replicants so that could make sense. The love story is really forced and I
never believed it. However there can be an explanation for all of this.....
This could be a spoiler, but then again after watching it you'll realise it is
not. Six replicants escape, we only ever meet five! Have a watch and you might
understand why the movie is why it is.
2
/ 5
Tolli
Next film to review: HELLRAISER
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