In the year 2019, a group of Replicants led by Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) escape to Earth the planet they were on to find their creator. It’s up to a Blade Runner (Harrison Ford) to hunt them down.
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, Daryl Hannah
MPAA Rating: R for language, sexuality/nudity and drug content
Fun Fact: Rutger Hauer’s favorite role was in this film
It’s interesting to see the future setting in Blade Runner being that the events in the film are supposed to happen in the next few years. While as a society we are not at that point in being a futuristic society, it’s always fun to think about what the future would look like in science-fiction films. I own the director’s cut of the film and as the long-anticipated sequel is due, I thought it would be a good idea to get ready and watch the film.
Based off the novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep, written by Philip K. Dick, Blade Runner shows us a dystopic futuristic society that splits it into two. You have the humans and the replicants. The replicants look like humans, but humanity treats them like second class citizens. It has a Spartacus like story to it when the group of replicants escape from their planet that they were held as slaves. Rutger Hauer leads these group of replicants with a tremendous performance as Roy Batty. While he wasn’t on screen much but, when he is he steals the show. He’s cold, murderous, and his goal in the end is one thing and one thing only: he wants to live. Batty will do anything to extend his life and if he doesn’t get what he wants, someone is going to pay. On the other side you have Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard in one of his best performances in his career. Ford is on the screen for almost the whole movie and his character has lots to do. He must be that Sherlock Holmes type detective and be ready to retire the replicants when needed. Since the film debut, the question is if Deckard is a human or is he a replicant. The beauty of this characterization and debate is that the viewer makes the decision. Throughout the film and especially after Deckard meets Sean Young’s character Rachel, he starts to question what is humanity.
While there are questions for the viewer there is another thing that makes the film stand out and that’s the visuals. Director Ridley Scott really captures a futuristic society that holds up today. The scenes are full of people going about their everyday lives and you feel like you are a part of it. You can see the dystopia of Los Angeles and how the everyday life seems to be bleak and grim. This grim and bleak society brings out the film noir element that is ever present in the film. Blade Runner has the classic detective story from the classic days of Hollywood. The films mood and set up is accompanied by amazing music written and composed by Vangelis. The music has it’s settle and quiet moments and you will be invested in the whole scene. I now want to find the soundtrack to this because the music is that great. These are reasons why I love film.
The film is does have a few flaws that can make the film for some not that enjoyable. To some the film might be too slow to be invested. It is a slower film but, I was invested enough with what was going on that I really didn’t find it that slow. In fact, I thought it was well paced with its setup that the payoffs came off when it needed to be but, I can see where people might not enjoy it because it’s a slower moving film. The so-called romance between Deckard and Rachel was the biggest flaw in the film. It just came off as forced and didn’t have much time for development. While Ford is on screen for most of the film doing the mission that Deckard is assigned to, Rachel who is played by Young, just shows up at certain points and they only interact at short bits and pieces. It’s a minor flaw and it could’ve been written differently to make it have more sense.
Overall, Blade Runner is a reason why I love film. It has great performances from Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer and you can tell why Hauer thinks this is his favorite role. Hauer looks like he had fun working on this. While that’s a reason to check it out but, it’s a complete package of a film. It has amazing visuals that hold up today and has that distinct film noir style accompanied by music that fits in every scene. If you love science-fiction or just love film in general, please check out Blade Runner.
Verdict: Hit
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