Review of Blade Runner (1982) by Mitchell B — 18 Jun 2017

Blade Runner is a sci-fi masterpiece. It has almost everything in a good sci-fi flick; breathtaking effects, a deep and philosophical story, good characters, amazing atmosphere, and a good cast. Harrison Ford brings his A-game with this one. This is probably one of my favorite performances of his. In my opinion this is Ridley Scott's 2nd best film behind Gladiator. However, regardless of how good it is, this is not a film I would watch all the time. Admittedly, when I first saw this movie I hated it. I gave the film another chance though and I grew to love it. The reason I didn't like it at first was because I wasn't in the right mindset for it. I was expecting a film like Star Wars which this is definitely not. You really have to be in the right mindset to view this. Blade Runner is not the movie you just pop in for a casual viewing to kill time or if you want to have a fun time. It's dark, atmospheric, philosophical, and has a downbeat tone throughout. This is most likely why Blade Runner didn't do well in the theatre. This film came out the same year as E.T. Everyone wanted fun sci-fi which this film clearly isn't. Fortunately, over the years, it has become a cult classic which it deserves to be.

The film takes place in Las Angeles in the dystopian future of 2019. We follow a retired cop named Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) who is called back to the force temporarily. Several human-like androids called replicants have gone rogue and it is Deckard's job to bring them down.

As I said, the film looks brilliant. I think the special effects are on-par with the Star Wars trilogy. Yes, it's not the most colorful looking film or very fun to look at, but that's the point. The film is going for a very realistic dystopian future with overpopulation, pollution, and very cultural. The acting is great particularly from Ford. The only characters worth mentioning are Deckard or the main replicants, Batty (Rutger Hauer). The story is told from their different prospectives. From following both of them we see both of their views on what it means to be human which is one of the main themes of the movie.

There are things that can be seen as flaws with the film. When I first saw the movie there were many things I didn't like about it until I tied to see things differently. Firstly the film moves at a fairly slow pace or, at least, it felt that way. This is a trait you see in most Ridley Scott films. The atmosphere and overall feel of the film is a little too good if that makes sense. If you are the slightest bit sleepy this film can easily put you to sleep. I just about fell asleep on my first viewing. I'd watch the director's cut or the final cut of the film if possible. In the theatrical cut you have Harrison Ford give narrations throughout the movie and it just made the film even more of a snore fest. The film is trying to build atmosphere and enthrall you into the world it's created, but some people will probably have issue with it. It's not bad but I do think people will think the film is too padded-out.

Another thing is the action scenes. The action in this film is not like Star Wars or Indiana Jones. Deckard is actually not a very good fighter. He gets his ass handed to him quite frequently by the replicants. This did really bother me on first viewing. However, I don't feel that way now. I think that the way they did the actions scenes made them feel more real. Besides, if they were to have Star Wars or Indiana Jones type action in this then it would conflict with the tone of the rest of the film.

Overall, Blade Runner is a classic movie that should be seen at least once. Just go in with the mindset that this is not like Star Wars, E.T., War of The Worlds, or any of those sci-fi films and you'll be fine. It's sad that it didn't get much recognition when it was first released, but at least it is getting the treatment it deserves now.