Blade Runner (1982) Review

Time: 117 Minutes
Age Rating: Violence and offensive language
Cast
Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard
Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty
Sean Young as Rachael
Edward James Olmos as Gaff
Director: Ridley Scott

Deckard (Harrison Ford) is forced by the police Boss (M. Emmet Walsh) to continue his old job as Replicant Hunter. His assignment: eliminate four escaped Replicants from the colonies who have returned to Earth. Before starting the job, Deckard goes to the Tyrell Corporation and he meets Rachel (Sean Young), a Replicant girl he falls in love with.

I remember the first time I saw Blade Runner. It was 5 years ago and after having a lot of expectations for this supposed Sci-Fi classic… I was disappointed. I just found it boring and didn’t know what to think of it. I decided to revisit it recently in preparation for Blade Runner 2049 and I will say that I liked it a lot more than the first time, but I still don’t love it. However, Ridley Scott’s direction is impressive, and there are a number of the performances that I like, and it was definitely ahead of its time.

This movie is under 2 hours long but it has some pacing issues. For those who haven’t seen Blade Runner yet, make no mistake, even though its Harrison Ford in another sci-fi film, it’s nothing like Star Wars. It is generally slower paced, which I’m fine with, its just that at times it really drags and when it does, it really loses my interest. With that said, most of the time I was invested in the story, I was a lot more interested in the story upon a second viewing compared to my first viewing. This movie with its themes, story and setting definitely influenced a lot of later futirsitc/dystopian/sci-fi movies. The 3rd act was the highlight for me. For this version I watched The Final Cut, which from what I can tell is the definitive version of the film. I personally can’t comment on the other versions (four versions exist) as I’ve really only seen this one version. The ending of Blade Runner is a little bit ambiguous, and also depends on the different versions of the film.

Harrison Ford acts well as Deckard, the main character of Blade Runner. A lot of his complexities and characteristics are very subtle and Ford manages to convey that with ease, he’s not an easily read-able character. Sean Young is good as a replicant who Ford’s Deckard comes across. Rutger Hauer plays the ‘villain’ of the film, as the leader of the group of replicants that Deckard is hunting. Honestly, he was the stand out performance, he feels quite human despite not really being human, he almost doesn’t feel like a villain. He really impresses, especially in the third act.

Nobody does Sci-Fi like Ridley Scott. This movie is visually beautiful and there is so much attention to detail. This movie definitely looked great for its time and its still impressive today, there are some things that look dated as expected with a movie from the 80s, but most if it really works. The world feels real and the way that Scott decided to portray it was great. The score by Vangelis also really worked.

Blade Runner is good, with its acting, direction and story, however I can’t guarantee that you’ll like it, especially on the first viewing (I can speak from experience). I do have some issues with the pacing, and it isn’t the type of movie that you just easily watch, you really have to be in the mood to watch it. Even if I do like Blade Runner now, there’s probably a lot with the meanings and interpretations that I’m missing, and I don’t quite love it yet. However, if you are a huge Sci-Fi fan, I think you really should watch it as soon as you can. As for what Blade Runner 2049 will be like, I have no idea but I have faith in director Denis Villeneuve to deliver a solid follow up.

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