Cast
Harrison Ford/Rick Deckard
Rutger Hauer/Roy Batty
Sean Young/Rachael
Edward James Olmos/Gaff
M. Emmet Walsch/Bryant
Darryl Hannah/Pris
Directed By Ridley Scott
Written by Hampton Fancher and David Webb Peoples
Harrison Ford in Blade Runner (1982)
Decade defying, spine-tingling, groundbreaking; dark. These words describe a true legend in the Hollywood world. When Blade Runner came out back in 1982, it was greatly misunderstood, racking in an unimpressive 32 million at the box office. But just like wine, it improved with age. More and more people began to look back at this movie and go, 'wow that is a damn good movie!' Scott's Blade Runner became a cult classic; one not easily forgotten. In my honest opinion, this is Harrison Ford's best performance in any movie he has ever brought to the big screen. This is the review of Blade Runner: The Final Cut. Now, The Final Cut is way, way better than the theatrical version. So if you get a chance, watch both and compare the two.
The movie opens up brilliantly with a dark and heart-pounding score by Vangelis. It displays the opening credits before jumping to an introduction paragraph (something that was common with 1980's movies). It explains how early in the 21st Century, a company known as THE TYRELL CORPORATION began to specialize in crafting androids, 'replicants' of humans. All is well at first, and this greedy empire starts to push things farther by creating the Nexus 6 Replicant. These robots are have a higher stamina, more endurance, and 'superior in strength' to any older Replicant models or Humans. It seemed as if mankind had found a turning point in history.
Unfortunately these Replicants developed human emotion and intelligence, and became a huge threat. They were originally designed on off-world colonies as labor units. The threat started when these droids started murdering humans, thus declaring their existence on earth illegal. If caught, they would be immediately terminated. Thus Blade Runner units, people who specialized in hunting and killing Replicants, were created. This is all explained in the introduction paragraph and as it rolls upward, the best line in movie history appears after it explains the job description of a Blade Runner,
'This was not called execution.
It was called Retirement'
The movie takes place in Los Angeles 2019. Now back in the early 80s, they thought we would have hover crafts and towering structures by now. (I wish that were true) But it shows how a futuristic LA would look, dark, rainy, and over crowded. The special effects are still stunning today, and it provokes the question, 'This was made in'82?' Anyway, in the Tyrell Corporation Headquarters, one of the Blade Runners is examining several workers after a Nexus 6 group was reported missing on an off world colony. He runs a test on a new employee named Leon Kowalski using a machine that closely monitor's one's eyes, mainly pupil fluctuation while he asks questions that provoke an emotional response. Right off the bat we know there's something not entirely right with Leon, the way he stars at the man across from him, the way he moves around, and even his attitude.
The questions this Runner asks do get on Leon's nerves. Questions like, 'You see a turtle, and you flip it onto its back. Its squirming; legs moving around and it can't get itself back on its legs. Not without your help. But you're not helping.' Leon shouts at his interviewer, to whom tells him to calm down. Leon settles his emotions and leans back in his chair. But before the Blade Runner can ask another question, two shots are fired; the bullets hit him, sending him through the wall behind. The perpetrator-Leon, a Replicant.
Futuristic LA (Blade Runner, 1982)
With more glorious screen shots of futuristic LA dancing across the screen, and with the constant rain adding to the effect, the plot takes us to Rick Deckard, a retired Blade Runner. As he's eating at a Chinese restaurant on a street corner, two police detectives stop him and ask Deckard to come with them to the station. Deckard simply shrugs and tells them 'he's eating'. One of the detectives, Gaff is his name, is speaking a language that none of us but Deckard understands, and he says one word that catches the retiree's attention, 'Bryant', his ex-boss. Deckard decides to give it a shot and reluctantly comes with the officers.
a police hovercraft (Blade Runner, 1982)
The police hovercrafts in this movie are extraordinary original and mystifying. As they slowly lift off from the ground they steam off a thick cloud of white smoke and then shoot off into the dim sky. Deckard sits in the passenger seat eating his dinner that he took along while Gaff flies him over the towering and colorful skyscrapers. The special effects team must've worked endless hours crafting such a masterful landscape. Once Deckard reunites with his old boss, he learns of the Replicants that went missing after killing several humans and the police want him back from retirement. Bryant tries to convince Deckard that they cannot catch these androids without him.
'I need ya Deck. I need the ol' Blade Runner'
What we know at this point is that Deckard is a man who wants to be alone; he knows of his past as one of the best Runner's in the business and he seriously wants to leave it behind. But Bryant's states he has 'no choice', and Deckard is back on the job.
They sit down, have a smoke and watch a slideshow projecting detailed descriptions of the missing Replicants.
Leon, (to which Bryant states, 'the only way to hurt him is to kill him')
Roy Batty-combat model, leader of the bunch.
Zhora-Female; trained for a murder squad
Pris-pleasure model
Bryant tells them that these androids were developed for off world labor, but after they grew extremely intelligent, they became a threat. But the Tyrell Corporation put in a fail safe system into their product-four year life span.
Deckard comes off as confused. He asks questions, wondering why the Replicants would want to risk coming back to earth. But Bryant simply says, 'I don't know, buddy. That's what you're here for.' Deckard gives a smirk before giving his first assignment. He was to go over to the Tyrell Corporation and run a test on one of the newer models. Deckard travels over there and once again we're treated with amazing visuals and other glorious shots of LA. The Tyrell Corp building has an interesting design. It has a few towers branched off it and its built to look like a giant pyramid. Once inside, Deckard is greeted by a beautiful young woman named Rachael (Sean Young). They have a short conversation before Tyrell himself walks into the room. With a greedy smile and a clean cut suit, one would think this billionaire would come off as the bad guy. But Tyrell is not the enemy in this flick, nor is he the danger. He's the man who sees Replicants as a money making business rather than a threat. He asks Deckard to run a test on a human-Rachael. Deckard examins Rachael, asking well over 100 questions. Tyrell asks her to leave the room and once she's out the door we hear Deckard say, 'She's a Replicant, isn't she?' Tyrell is impressed. He didn't think a Blade Runner would spot this. Deckard states that it usually takes 20-30 crossed referenced questions before they would be able to spot that the person they're interviewing is an Android. But it took over 100 for Rachael. She's a new design of Replicant, one that does not know they are a robot, but one that develops human emotion instantly and thinks like a human being. Deckard is confused since normally a Replicant knows what it is. He leaves and continues his investigation.
Snapshot of The Tyrell Corporation (Blade Runner, 1982)
Elsewhere, Leon catches up with Roy Batty and they break into a lower sector department of the Tyrell Corporation that specializes in making eyes. We see an old Asian man working on creating artificial eyes in an extremely cold room. Roy and Leon walk in without any problems and disrupt him from his work. This is the first time we get to see the main villain. He is indeed the leader, ordering Leon around, but he also is extremely intelligent. The old man is seen wearing a bushy, high tech coat that keeps him warm in his cold working conditions. Leon strips this clothing off and the worker is left freezing. Batty then proceeds to ask the old man questions about 'bio engineering'. The worker says he doesn't know about such things but he knows right off the bat that the two intruders are Nexus 6 Replicants. He directs them to a man named J.F. Sebastien, the one behind Tyrell bioengineering. He asks for them to give him his coat back, but the movie cuts back to Deckard who's investigation deepens, knocking off each of the four Replicants one by one until he reaches the big prize-Roy.
Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty in Blade Runner (1982)
Much of this movie leans heavily on atmosphere. Meaning that it focus's more on the characters, acting, and the way the characters interact with each other. Blade Runner is in no way an action movie. Grant it there are a few sequences where he fights the Replicants, but its no action flick. I consider it a science fiction/noir movie. There is a lot of character development in this movie, and it's done extremely well. Deckard goes from a loner retiree to a person who falls in love with a robot and learns a life lesson in his near death experience after the brawl with Roy in the end.
Rutger Hauer and Harrison Ford in Blade Runner (1982)
The chemistry between Deckard and Rachael is very clear. Unlike the weak connection we see with Anakin and Padme in Attack of the Clones, there is a high sense that these two are in love. We lose interest or forget that Rachael is not human and we feel for Deckard's change in character. The cinematography adds to the chemistry and so does the music. When you hear the score by Vangelis, you know instantly that its an 80's movie. But the music isn't as cheesy as the Original Terminator's score.
In conclusion, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (based off of Phillip K. Dick's book, 'Do Androids Dream of Sheep?') is a fantastic and brilliant science fiction film. A film with arguably the best character development I've ever seen. Harrison Ford is simply awesome as the troubled retired cop (or as Bryant says, 'little people'). My personal favorite scene comes in the end with Roy's speech moments before he dies. Its chilling, dark, and sad. This isn't a family film obviously, but its the kind that is perfect to watch on a lazy afternoon or one to curl up to with your date. As I said above, its decade-defying, spine-tingling, and magical. Its a classic; a dark masterpiece that should not be over looked. If this movie is ever forgotten or remade in time, that'll be one of the biggest slaps in the face that Hollywood would ever receive. For those who haven't seen this film, I highly recommend it. But please, do not go in expecting it to be a thrilling action picture because that's not what Blade Runner is. The special effects are ten years ahead of its time perhaps, but they serve the story rather than the other way around.
A+
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