| Overall Grade: |
A- |
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| Story: |
A |
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| Acting: |
A |
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| Direction: |
A |
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| Visuals: |
A+ |
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A Genuine Stroke of Futuristic Thriller Genius
by Adam (movies profile)
May 26, 2008
21
of
27 people found this review helpful
Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" is simply one of the most spectacular films ever made. There is entertainment, romance, and glory in almost every little scrap. The film is only 119 minutes, so it is not exactly long, but it contains a lot of the right ingredients for a true experience when watching a sci-fi/action film. It is also one of the most thought-provoking films I've ever seen in a long time.
The movie is based off a story by Philip K. Dick called DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? Obviously this film is titled differently because the book's title kinda sounds warm and fuzzy, which the film is most certaintly not. Taking place in 2020, it shows Los Angeles in way that makes it looks as if the city is decaying. Though it has no doubt improved in technology (cars are flying now and there are huge digital billboards with Japanese women drinking Coca-Cola and eating chocolate), the whole place also seems dark and dreary. Not very many people enjoy what they do for a living.
Even the police don't like their careers, especially Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), who has just quit his job. But then his old boss Bryant (M. Emmet Walsh) rounds Deckard up by force and gives him another assignment without Deckard's approval. Deckard has to retire (the new synonym for "kill") five Humanoids. Humanoids are human-like robots that are now illegal and must not exist any longer. Even though they only have a four-year life span, the ones that Deckard must kill are dangerous and want to become human. If they do so, they could become an instant threat to the city. Capturing the city's mood is beautiful techno music by Vangelis, the Oscar-winning composer for "Chariots of Fire".
Deckard does pay a visit to the evil organization that manufactures Humanoids, an organization run by a sinister man named Tyrell (Joe Turkel). Tyrell introduces Deckard to Rachael (Sean Young), whom later Deckard finds out is actually a Humanoid. But Rachael is not dangerous, so now it seems that Deckard only has to kill four Humanoids.
The Humanoids that Deckard must kill are: Roy (Rutger Hauer), Priss (Daryhl Hannah), Leon (Brion James) and Zhora (Joanna Cassidy). Everyone of these Humanoids does something different during their plans. Zhora disguises as an exotic snake dancer, Roy and Leon interrogate a Chinese man named Chew (James Hong) in order to find out about Tyrell's organization, and Priss discovers a toy designer named J.F. Sebastian (William Sanderson), who is kind but eventually becomes Priss' puppet in order for the Humanoids to find Tyrell and kill him for creating them in the first place. This may also be their way of finding out how to become humans.
As Deckard searches for everyone of these Humanoids with a firm gun in his hand, he meets up with Rachael again, and this time he falls in love with her. As a Humanoid living her last of the four years she has left, though, there is a chance that this will not go easy.
"Blade Runner" is a gold mine for quotes. The most memorable one is when Edward James Olmos, who plays a freaky police detective named Gaff, says to Deckard at the films end, "It's too bad she won't live! But then again, who does?" My favorite quote in the film, however, happens during the best scene in the film: Deckard's showdown with Roy. As Deckard hangs from a skyscraper looking helplessly at the dark ally down below, Roy looks at him from above and says, "Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave". Rutger Hauer probably gives the film's best performance for his role as Roy. He is not only a fearful villain, but he has inner demons inside him that he would love to shake loose, but as a Humanoid he knows that cannot be an option.
The movie was not easy to make. Harrison Ford did not get along with Ridley Scott and he was said to dislike Sean Young. The special effects and production design are wonderful, but they went at a costly price. Eventually, "Blade Runner" was a failure at the box office, grossing only $27.6 million. It is not the only memorable evil machine movie to do so. Believe it or not, "The Terminator" was also a flop, as it grossed only $38.4 million. So which one of those two movies is better? "The Terminator" may have more action and thrills, but "Blade Runner" is an easier movie to watch because of its easy-to-understand story and more likeable characters.
I saw the Director's Cut of "Blade Runner" and have not been able to find the original version to see what changes have been made. I know already that the original had voiceover narration by Harrison Ford (which was ripped away from the Director's Cut), and that the Director's Cut shows more of the romance between Deckard and Rachael. There is a scene where Deckard has a dream about a unicorn, which is a confusing suggestion that Deckard might even be a Humanoid. That is never answered in the movie, though. I would love to see the original version, though this Director's Cut is probably better.
"Blade Runner" is a very enjoyable movie that has only one flaw that keeps it from quite becoming great. I was disappointed with the way Leon was killed off. The scene that would depict his death did not last very long. If not it had been a longer scene, then I wish Deckard could have had at least one more Humanoid to kill. Edward James Olmos' character was not a villain, but if he had been, he would have made an awesome one. If you have not ever heard of Olmos before, he is today the main actor on the Sc-Fi Channel show "Battlestar Gallactica" (which I don't even watch, by the way).
Ridley Scott knows how to make a good sci-fi film, which isn't just proven with "Blade Runner", but also because of his previous film, "Alien". Scott is a fine director who will hopefully win an Oscar one day. Harrison Ford deserves one, also. "Blade Runner" did not recieve any Oscars, but it remains today as one of the most extraordinary pieces ever captured on film.
By Adam Zanzie (icebox482000) |
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