I remember watching this some 7 years ago and thinking "what's the big deal?" It has been touted as an instant classic and one of those movies guys love universally. After feeling Luke warm about the viewing I decided in my infinite wisdom to give the movie another chance. I must have been wrong, since this is one of the most highly thought of movies of sci-fi times.
I was not wrong.
I can skip the fact that special effects have come much further than any person could have imagined. Even the people who constructed these fabulous worlds of the "future" would have no idea. In fact I miss movies with the character time and development that the older movies have. Blade Runner delivers---some---on this point. Decker is a largely human guy and you identify with him. What you don't know is what dirt they have on him to make him take on this task, but hey, let's let that go. Then there is the "love" he feels for the replicant. Does anyone actually believe this? When did the emotional ties get built so convincingly that you believe they are in love? Add to that Edward James Olmos. A weird oragami foldin', bow tie wearing, useless dude. He knows everything that is going on, yet never does much other than allude to that fact.
Skipping that and on to the vision of the future. Flying cars. OK fine. Paging Mr. Jetson! Maybe in 1982 everyone thought that 2019 was a real long way away. There are just too many non futuristic things to make the idea fluent. Levelor blinds, busted up stucco and drywall in the houses. Heck, everything but the cars and guns was just as it is today. If we can develop alternate fuel sources and make a car fly, why couldn't the human race improve on anything else? What gets at the heart of this criticism is that the movie is just downright boring. The first replicant he shoots dies rather normally, much like a human. But what the heck is up with Pris? What's with the flailing death? She was not a robot after all. The best interaction is with Decker and Roy. More human and intimate than anything else in the movie. I give Rutger Hauer props for his performance. Harrison Ford was OK. May I missed some seriously important info before I sat down to take this all in, but I doubt it. I just don't see how this movie is so good. 6 out of 10.
I was not wrong.
I can skip the fact that special effects have come much further than any person could have imagined. Even the people who constructed these fabulous worlds of the "future" would have no idea. In fact I miss movies with the character time and development that the older movies have. Blade Runner delivers---some---on this point. Decker is a largely human guy and you identify with him. What you don't know is what dirt they have on him to make him take on this task, but hey, let's let that go. Then there is the "love" he feels for the replicant. Does anyone actually believe this? When did the emotional ties get built so convincingly that you believe they are in love? Add to that Edward James Olmos. A weird oragami foldin', bow tie wearing, useless dude. He knows everything that is going on, yet never does much other than allude to that fact.
Skipping that and on to the vision of the future. Flying cars. OK fine. Paging Mr. Jetson! Maybe in 1982 everyone thought that 2019 was a real long way away. There are just too many non futuristic things to make the idea fluent. Levelor blinds, busted up stucco and drywall in the houses. Heck, everything but the cars and guns was just as it is today. If we can develop alternate fuel sources and make a car fly, why couldn't the human race improve on anything else? What gets at the heart of this criticism is that the movie is just downright boring. The first replicant he shoots dies rather normally, much like a human. But what the heck is up with Pris? What's with the flailing death? She was not a robot after all. The best interaction is with Decker and Roy. More human and intimate than anything else in the movie. I give Rutger Hauer props for his performance. Harrison Ford was OK. May I missed some seriously important info before I sat down to take this all in, but I doubt it. I just don't see how this movie is so good. 6 out of 10.