Movie Series Review #3: Blade Runner
If enslaved synthetic humans became sentient…
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.” -Roy Batty
Introduction
The dynamic duo of Blade Runner films explore a future of humanity where robots are used to construct and maintain off-world colonies without pay or dental insurance. This becomes an issue when a model of those robots is released which have attained a near-human level of artificial intelligence. These “replicants” realize that the work they are being forced to do is synonymous with slave labor, and a rebellion is sparked between these artificial beings, and the company that created them. A jumble of “Blade Runners”, including Indiana Jones, are dispatched to “retire” these rogue replicants as to squelch the uprising and continue the use of replicants as a means of building up our civilization across the solar system. All the while, the line between artificial intelligence and sentient life becomes increasingly blurred as Indie learns more about the twisted world around him.
When Blade Runner hit theaters in 1982, it was a widely misunderstood film. The dystopian sci-fi barely broke even at the box office, and critical reviews were heavily mixed regarding its plot and themes. Many, expecting the thrill and action of Ridley Scott’s previous hit Alien, were disappointed by the more confusing and cerebral aesthetic of Blade Runner. But like a good wine, or a Kraft Single, the quality and impact of Blade Runner grew with time. It developed a strong cult following by the mid 90’s; enough so that its influence could be observed in other TV shows, movies, and even video games. By the 2000’s, the film was largely recognized as one of the greatest sci-fi masterpieces ever to hit the big screen. Finally in 2017 the long overdue sequel of Blade Runner, titled Blade Runner 2049, made itself exist… Anyways, here is my take on a small series that proved 4 decades of dedicated fandom can transform a misunderstood film from replicant to replican!
Blade Runner (1982)
Score: 93/100
Opening scene: It’s 2019. You have no idea what’s going on. And then, flying cars. Floating ads. Scary reflective eyeballs. Replicants? Humans? Who knows. After a brisk two hours, the movie comes to an end. You still don’t know what’s going on. And that’s okay. Because it’s Blade Runner!
Blade Runner drops its audience into a future Los Angeles dystopia overrun by consumerism, tyranny, and human waste. This aesthetic is established quickly in the opening scenes, with depictions of massive, colorful ads dominating a dank, hazy cityscape, and crowded streets filled with people in drab clothing. In the shadow of this eye-opening introduction, Blade Runner unwittingly establishes an entirely new sub-genre of dystopian science fiction. Such a unique aesthetic could not been achieved without the stunning contributions of director Ridley Scott, who brings this setting to life with incredibly realistic models, set designs, and special effects (did you see those glowing EYEBALLS?!?! So cool). The cinematography for this film is so unique that you can’t even tell you’re watching a movie nearly 4 decades old; something I am constantly reminded of when watching movies like The Phantom Menace which are half Blade Runner’s age.
The acting on all fronts is amazing, but Rutger Hauer’s performance as Roy Batty is simply inspiring. He spits out his words like I spit out Kraft Singles, and you can actually feel the anger and frustration in his monologues. His character’s motives and mannerisms bear a stark resemblance to an antagonist from another 1982 classic, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. I think this may be one of the main reasons this movie resonates so heavily with me is because of the similarities between Roy and Khan as characters, and what they hope to accomplish as antagonists. Similarities aside, Hauer delivers a powerful performance as Roy. Still confused why Indiana Jones is in this movie despite the lack of large, rolling boulders, but he plays a convincing roll as well.
At its close, Blade Runner leaves a lot of frayed strings untended. What happens to the Tyrell Corporation after Tyrell’s death? Who is actually human and who is a replicant? Do Kraft Singles still exist in this timeline? Normally, such strings would be fuses for my aggravation. With Blade Runner however, the audience is made to understand that these questions are not the product of poor plotting or lack of detail, but are instead the very point of the movie itself. In tandem with the film’s unique themes of humanity, consumerism, and religion, these unanswered questions open up an entirely new awareness to the audience; a predicted future possibility decades ahead of its time. Despite these intriguing questions, Blade Runner’s theatrical ending is dragged down by one little discrepancy… Why does Rachel go with Indiana Jones in the final scene when she’s clearly not comfortable with him? This may have been an attempt to humanize her character by showing that she can make non-calculated choices, but still, this ending scene makes no logical sense. Also, where do they go lol?
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Score: 77/100
This long overdue sequel to the original title has plenty to admire, but essentially one stark fact remains true; Blade Runner 2049 purposefully rides in the wake of the original’s success, and in turn, its greatness is lost… like tears in rain. The wonderful thing about the original film was that the filmmakers created this entirely new world and thrust it upon the audience amidst all of these other plot elements going on around them. There’s so much happening that the audience need to use all of their senses and imagination to piece it all together to form a coherent picture. In contrast, the plot of this sequel plays out like a PS2 video game: main character is presented with a question — main character goes on a mission to find the answer — main character finds a solution, and is presented with exactly one new question. That’s not to say that the questions asked in the film aren’t intriguing, or that the plot is dull, but with a theatrical run time of nearly 3 hours, one would think that the film would seek to accomplish goals far beyond its predecessor. Instead, the plot of BR2049 is just about as linear and square as Ryan Gosling’s head (not as square as a Kraft Single, but square enough to be distracting).
Another general disappointment was the lack of risk the film takes with the Blade Runner universe. Since an aesthetic is established so well in the original title, BR2049 decides it doesn’t need to do much work in that arena to meet its goals, and thus, it doesn’t. Besides the addition of holographic characters, the setting of BR2049 pretty much follows Blade Runner’s setting to the letter. Because the audience is already familiar with this setting, the entire basis of the film then rests on the plot. This could have been a fantastic opportunity for the filmmakers to explore new corners of the Blade Runner universe, and they do to a limited extent. But like a Kraft Single left on the counter, the film’s ability to branch out and take new risks is merely lukewarm.
Despite its linearity and reliance on the aesthetic of the original film, BR2049 does still boast some fantastic cinematography, nail-biting suspense, chilling action and violence, and fantastic directing. As a standalone film (not at all taking into consideration the existence of the original), it is a compelling and unique piece. There’s also a ton of really cool nods to the original film as well, including bits and pieces taken from the original script, like the intro scene on the protein farm. Though the audience can tell just by looking at the cast that certain questions and elements from Blade Runner are revealed without care, the film does open up some new jars of what exactly it means to be human, and how believing something and being something are two entirely different things. All things considered, I would still recommend this movie to both fans of the original as well as newcomers. Just be forewarned that this sequel to the 1982 masterpiece is more of an expansion pack than an entirely new version.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading, and please feel free to drop your own opinions in the comments! Special thanks to Thomas R. Barton, JD for this series request.
This article is in no way affiliated with Kraft or the Kraft Single. Any appearance of such an affiliation is purely interpretive.
