Blade Runner (1982) — I: Ridley’s Magnum Opus
*SPOILERS*
Before we can continue the ongoing Villeneuve series it makes sense to talk about one of the coolest Sci-fi movies ever made. Definitely because this franchise is excellent. And more immediately because continuing our Villeneuve series requires it since his next film was an extension of this universe.
Blade Runner is a neo-noir film about one particular member of an eponymous category of specialized detectives following leads on four escaped replicants (androids) in order to hunt and kill them. In doing so it becomes a vehicle for one of the most effective and interesting inquiries into the nature of selfhood and Abrahamic divinity put to film. Likewise in my opinion this is by far Ridley Scott’s greatest work.
Noir
Film Noir is a genre I’ve summarized elsewhere and really works here, emerging as a narrative strength for Ridley. Normally I’d have gripes about Ridley’s tendency to portray flat 1-dimensional, plot-driven characters to avoid their “ getting lost in the proscenium.” However being that Film Noir was designed to tell stories surrounding characters that can’t stop themselves as they descend single-mindedly into the depths of uncovery until they’ve laid bare some dark truth, his characters being driven by the plot actually feels appropriate here. It even reinforces the core questions in the film of individuals being slave to their own programming. In addition to this, we simply don’t get the typical uninteresting characters that Ridley often favors. Instead we get the complex, rich and fascinating character of Roy Batty as his position as a foil enriches the character of Deckard. Here we’ve got Ridley using character dynamics to flesh out interesting, nuanced characters.
Typically noir films involve a protagonist uncovering some dark conspiracy that exposes some power structure — a corporation, the government, or maybe even love itself. Ridley however takes this approach and services it toward a protagonist who uncovers a conspiracy of divinity, humanity, and selfhood. Instead of a private eye discovering that the local water company is conspiring with its competition to set prices you discover that Roomba’s are sapient. You know, except they’re replicants. The conspiracy here isn’t a political one — it’s an existential one.
Likewise one of my favorite things about this movie is that the arc of the noir detective, Deckard, is written in parallel with the force of nature he’s tracking, the rogue replicant named Roy. So much so that the story spends most of the film actually tracking Roy the way it would a protagonist and setting up character beats for Deckard, where Deckard only really actualizes as the main character in the falling action when all that set up starts paying off. I think this approach is genius; it adds dimensions to the trope of a noir detective, from being a mere plot mover whose downfall comes as a result of external forces, to being someone who learns things he has to internalize in a way that shapes his sense of self forever and elevates the antagonist to a position of existential catalyst. After all a hero is only as interesting as his villain.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Blade Runner Essay —
I: Ridley’s Opus Magnum
II: Perfection and Unworthiness
Blade Runner 2049 Essay —
