Review of Blade Runner (1982) by Mayank A — 07 Oct 2017

Saw the much-hyped movie from 1982 for the first time, I watched the latest version edited in 2007 called the Final Cut (Yups there are seven versions of the same movie, although only three are widely available). This is a Detective Sci-Fi movie about a future where synthetic humans known as replicants were produced for off-world colonies and banned in Earth itself, these are so advance that there is no difference between them or the originals besides the life experiences and there physical enhanced body and strength. The story is set in the futuristic LA where a cop is trying to track down a group of these replicants and retire them (kill them).

The starting visuals were stunning, sets the tone for the whole movie, the world making is a projection of futuristic society where glamorous high rises and decaying street dwellings go hand in hand, a clear difference is there for the powerful and the little people. The LA society is a multi-cultural, Chinese heavy, Cyberpunk reality. The visuals are great even now after 35 years of its release.

The storyline is complex, the storytelling slow paced, the climax stunning. The ending battle leaves you wondering what was it all about? The tears in rain monologue, in the end, is among the best speeches I have heard and the fight sequence one of the craziest scene shots ever. The character of Roy Batty, the leader of the replicants reminded me of the Joker from Batman.

The movie ends with an open ending leaving us all confused and open to our own interpretation on a big question. No wonder its regarded as one of the all-time best science fiction movies.