Director: Ridley Scott
Release Date: 1982
Running Time: 1hr 57 minutes
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 15
Synopsis:
A blade runner must pursue and terminate six replicants who stole a ship in space, and have returned to Earth to find their creator.
Loosely based on the 1968 science fiction novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K Dick, director Ridley Scott delivers quite possibly one of the most influential science fiction movies ever made. Set in post apocalyptic Los Angeles in the year 2019, the Tyrell Corporation advanced the robot evolution by designing replicants that worked on off world colonies. It didn't take long however, for them to become far more advanced than humans, so they were declared illegal and terminated by special police squads known as Blade Runners. Four however remain alive and have returned to Earth in the hope they will find their creator. Is it plausible that "Alien" and "Blade Runner" as set in the same universe? Ridley Scott's "Alien" is set further into the future, however is Ash on board the Nostromo ship thought to be a replicant? Have they come from a post apocalyptic world? Unlike most film adaptations, the film is far more entertaining than the book. Although no one can put the author's imagination down for conjuring up creative technologies (some of which are actually used today), it just didn't have the same thrill factor that the movie did. The novel in fact, at times is incredibly boring and lacks serious imagination.
Harrison Ford was still a newcomer when the film hit cinemas. Having only just had the success of "Star Wars" and "Apocalypse Now" behind him. Ford stars as Blade Runner Rick Deckard, a lonely bounty hunter who is sent on an assignment to track down the last of the four replicants. It is in this time that Deckard begins to question his own existence as a human. Deckard is called into see Rachel (Young), someone whom they believe to be a Nexus 6 model. Both Ford and Young deliver excellent performances, both of whom begin to question their own existence, the more we're introduced to their characters. The beauty of "Blade Runner" is that it will have you constantly asking questions, one minute you'll be convinced you've worked the story out, the next minute you'll be wondering if you had it right to begin with. Is he really the bad guy? Is he a human or a replicant? To say the storyline is violent is probably a bit of an exaggeration. It does however, have it's moments, some of which are surprisingly gory. The more the story continues, the more intense the characters and the plot gets. We're introduced to characters Pris (Hannah), J.F Sebastian (Sanderson) and Roy Batty (Hauer). Each of their characters are incredibly complex and beautifully executed. I'll leave you to work out who's a replicant and who's human.
Realistically if anything were to happen to Earth, "Blade Runner" is possibly the closest we would get in it being very similar. Robots that are designed to act and look like humans, our technology today is already going down this route, particularly amongst warfare. Although it's never mentioned in the film, in the novel, the characters communicated through electronic animals. It doesn't take long to realise what they are in fact describing is an Amazon Alexa, a piece of technology that is very popular today. There's no doubt that director Ridley Scott and author Philip K. Dick had very vivid imaginations when it came to describing 2019. In the year 2019, it is very rare to see a real animal, all animals were wiped out in the devastation of the war. In the book and in the movie it is seen as something that heightens one's social status. The soundtrack has that wonderful 80's feel to it, superbly scored by Vangelis. The score is not only wonderfully futuristic but brilliantly mysterious too. Dark and cold it's post apocalyptic without being over the top. Now at the height of cult films, "Blade Runner" is a film everyone should see at least once. Once a flop, now a masterpiece!
5/5
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