Blade Runner

Title: Blade Runner (Directors Cut)
Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: Sci Fi, Thriller, Film-Noir
Starring: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer

I don’t believe it’s possible to really call yourself a sci-fi fan without having watched this. With effects well before its time, painting a picture of a futuristic dystopia – a direct contrast to the ‘shiny’ future featured in so many films within this genre before it – from the dark and dingy alleys to the advertisements lighting up the city, amidst a swarming chaos of people and burning fires that so effectively capture the mood of what is essentially a film-noir, so effectively proving what can be accomplished in the absence of CGI.

Loosely based upon the Phillip K. Dick novel ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’ It follows the story of Deckard (Ford), a blade runner who is many ways above the law, despite being inescapably tied to it (his reluctance becoming ever more apparent as the film unfolds). Required to hunt down and ‘retire’ replicants – artificially made life forms with their own consciousness – fitted with a 4 year lifespan. The replicants in turn aren’t inherently sadistic, treated as slaves they want nothing more but to increase their lifespan.

Harrison Ford once again does his routine style of acting, well suited to the character at hand but lending little beyond what is prevalent in many of his other roles, instead it is the poetic character of Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) that steals the show, clearly severely troubled and determined in finding a cure, we follow his trials and tribulations in his quest fully aware of the man sent to stop his destructive path. It is perhaps unfortunate that the love interest (played by Sean Young), whilst critical to the film felt unrealistic, and difficult to emotionally identify with, constituting (one of only two) major flaws (the other being the easily ignored but synth-heavy mediocre soundtrack).

Those amongst you looking for a simple action film will be sorely disappointed, as much of the film subtly sets the stage for independent thought. The almost god-like powerful status of the Tyrell Corporation (creaters of the replicants) questioning the ethical dilemma’s surrounding the creation of life, the issue of how we all face our mortality, as well as what it truly means to be human; these are all questions that are presented with an air of ambiguity – no conclusion is reached, and nothing is spoon fed in a condescending manner.

The ‘Star Wars Trilogy’ needed touching up 20 years onwards to fully flesh out, Alien by today’s standards looks heavily dated, and yet more than 25 years on the landscapes presented here feel more rich and vivid than most attempts at a modern equivalent. The ripples of this monumental films influence can still be felt today in the form of the likes of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and ‘I, Robot,’ with enough subtlety to not only warrant repeated viewings, but requires it in order to appreciate the multiple layers presented, improving with each viewing. This is the archetypical Sci-Fi Thriller, the one every film in the genre should be aspiring to match, and one that if you have yet to see ought to urgently rectify that mistake.