Blade Runner

I wasn't able to watch the screening of Blade Runner on campus but luckily, I was able to download a copy of the Final Cut quite easily.  The only differences it had with the Director’s Cut were just revisions on some of the aesthetic, audio-syncing, and continuity problems/aspects encountered in previous versions. Also, some lines were altered. It’s surprising actually how many versions this film has.

Moving forward, I was pretty excited to watch the film since I’m a big fan of ‘80s films plus it stars Harrison Ford and is directed by Ridley Scott. Enough said.

The film is set in what is apparently the year 2019 in a Los Angeles that looks all dark and congested, like the look/feel that films like Pacific Rim and the recent remake of Total Recall went with. It portrays the sort of underbelly of society which shows that it hasn't really changed that much other than the fact that there are flying cars around them.

It starts off like most films by establishing the conceptual foundations needed to understand all the things that are about to happen in the film. But as Decker, a blade runner tasked to “retire” Replicants on sight, gives chase to the four escaped Replicants (artificial humanoids with a limited lifespan created for entertainment and off-world labor), that’s when things become dragging, and a bit confusing. The remainder of the film was just Decker tracking down these Replicants on the loose. Apparently, in the Director’s Cut and Final Cut, Decker’s explanatory voice-overs were cut out of the film which had me thinking, would the inclusion of those have helped the film to make more sense? Regardless, the film basically continued as this bizarre Replicant hunting trip. Like when Decker finally engaged with the female Replicant, Pris, their fight scene could have made much more sense if Pris hadn’t decided to do flips towards Decker from all the way across the room to continue the fight. That stunt gave Decker a pretty big opening to take her down and down she went. It was ridiculous, honestly.

Keeping in mind that this came out in between the 2^nd and 3^rd Star Wars films, it could have done much better. Still, the technologies used in this film, both actual and hypothetical, are commendable to say the least.