Review of Blade Runner (1982) by Nitpicker . — 01 Mar 2018

Harrison Ford is a cop who has to stop a group of robots run amuck.

Pros.

- Every Rutger Hauer scene is great.

- Very stylish & visually appealing.

- The special effects still hold up.

- Interesting ideas.

Cons.

- Harrison Ford gives a dull bland performance.

- Very uneventful until Rutger Hauer shows up.

- I didn't care about any of these characters.

- Brutally slow pacing.

- It's suprisingly boring.

- Thin plot.

It's a loose adaptation of the novel by Philip K. Dick published in 1968, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Reviews were mixed in 1982. Roger Ebert praised the visuals but found the human story cliched and a little thin. Sheila Benson from the Los Angeles Times called it "Blade Crawler" due to the slow pacing. Other critics thought the movie was "misunderstood". It then grew a cult following over time. The Library of Congress selected it for preservation in 1993 for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

I can definitely see why this movie was an inspiration for other movies, TV, anime, and video games. It has a very appealing style, but that's where it ends. The movie's reputation rests solely on its film/neo/tech-noir. It's much ado about nothing when you peel its skin off.