Merry Christmas Eve! Now
I’m sure you would expect me to do a Christmas movie (I’m thinking of you Die Hard), but with the teaser trailer
for the sequel having debuted just a couple days ago, I’m reviewing Blade Runner. For the record, Ridley
Scott is only taking producer duties for Blade
Runner 2049, but with Harrison Ford returning and adding Ryan Goslng to the
cast, it will certainly be interesting. Oh, and Denis Villenueve is directing,
and I was a huge fan of Prisoners—not
to mention he garnered huge praise for his most recent work Arrival.
I gotta make sure I throw this disclaimer in near the
beginning: Blade Runner is not an
action sci-fi flick. Yes, it’s from Alien
director Ridley Scott who would later give us movies such as Gladiator and The Martian. But Blade Runner
is much different. It certainly has sci-fi appeal and influence-- video games
such as Final Fantasy VII and Mass Effect clearly took notes from the
film, and directors such as Christopher Nolan have cited this film as
inspiration, but it also doesn’t fall into the trippier territory of films such
as 2001: A Space Odyssey. Based on
the cleverly titled book Do Androids
Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick (he died before the release of
the film, but praised what he saw which was about the first 20 minutes), this
movie is much more philosophical. Perhaps Blade
Jogger would be a more fitting title—the pacing is very deliberate and not
at all what I was expecting.
The movie stars Harrison Ford who was determined to not
wear a hat because he was just coming from Raiders
of the Lost Ark. The year is 2019 and genetic engineering has advanced so
far as to create androids, or replicants, that are superior in intelligence and
physicality. Their telltale sign is their responses to questions that are
supposed to evoke human emotions. Created to work as slaves, replicants have
rebelled in off-world colonies (remember this is 3 years from now) and are
declared illegal on Earth and are to be terminated (they use the word retired)
if found. This is where Ford comes in when it’s discovered that 6 replicants
have returned to Earth. Obviously, this has all the ingredients to be a
thrilling action flick. But it takes a much different direction. Replicants are
designed with a failsafe that automatically retires them after 4 years. It
produces cool, thinking quotes like, “It’s too bad she won’t live. But then
again, who does?”
Ridley Scott liked the idea of Ford being a replicant,
but Ford has stated that he despised that idea and said that before filming
Scott agreed with him that his character is definitely human. Now I won’t spoil
anything, but I will say that it’s a question toiled with during the film.
Also, if you watch the movie, watch the director’s cut version (which
technically isn’t fully Scott’s cut) because the ending is much much better
than the theatrical cut of the film.
Really, above sci-fi or philosophical or whatever, I’d
describe this film as weird. I’m not sure what you’re expecting from the film
going in, but it’s not what you’re going to get. There isn’t ever a clear tone
established, and this just adds to the difficulty of describing just what the
film is. Even the highly-regarded score switches from slow, dark melodies to
jazzier moments. I will say, however, probably the most consistent element of
the film is the lighting. It’s certainly always on the darker side, but all the
ways the light comes through in every scene is skillfully crafted.
In all honesty I can’t even say I’m much of a fan of this
film. I didn’t care for how it was edited, and some of the sub-plots really
were weird. The movie succeeds in getting you to think, but it also makes you
wonder what you just watched. I’m not sure how many times or how precisely I can
say it, but it’s a strange film. Not strange like drug-fueled Trainspotting, and not confusing like
Stanley Kubrick, but more cerebral like the very ends of the films 28 Days Later and Sunshine. I can’t say you will enjoy this film (possibly because I
can’t say I enjoyed it), but I’m extremely curious about the sequel, and for
that alone it might be worth checking this film out. And in case of rain, make
sure to grab yourself a light-up umbrella. Those things are so cool.
