I've decided for the time being I'm going to proceed with publishing my Throwback Thursday Reviews as scheduled, but I will still work on getting my delayed reviews out there. I've just found myself very busy lately and decided the best course of action would be to take it one step at a time and slowly catch up, because trying to write reviews for eight different films at once is overwhelming to say the least. For those wondering what's happened to my reviews for newer releases, just go read my Fall 2017 Important Update where I explain everything. I will assuage my reader's concerns though by letting them know I've completed writing reviews for It (2017), mother!, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and The LEGO Ninjago Movie. They're all currently sitting in draft and I plan on releasing each one when the respective film drops on Blu-ray (Again, I explain this in the aforementioned update). Anyways, this week I'm reviewing The Final Cut of Blade Runner as Blade Runner 2049 hits theaters tonight. For those who don't know, Blade Runner is infamously known for having five different versions of the film that have been released theatrically. I so happen to be reviewing The Final Cut because that version is the most easily obtainable, but perhaps later I'll dedicate time to watching and reviewing the alternative versions. This review will also include some slight spoilers to discuss a popular theory.
'Blade Runner: The Final Cut' Review
Nominated For: Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration.
Blade Runner depicts a futuristic reality where replicants, synthetic beings with enhanced physical capabilities, are genetically engineered to be nearly indistinguishable from humans and sent to work in Earth's off-world colonies. After the Nexus-6 models (stronger, faster, supreme replicants) revolt, replicants are declared illegal on Earth and a special police task force known as "Blade Runners" are tasked with locating and retiring any replicants found on Earth. Once a group of ruthless and resourceful replicants hijack a ship and make their way to 2019 Los Angeles, the Blade Runners are forced to recall the accomplished operative Rick Deckard from retirement to help hunt the rogue replicants down.
Blade Runner is a neo-noir science-fiction film directed by Ridley Scott that features a screenplay written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, based on the novel “Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick. Blade Runner has a particularly peculiar past as the film has risen to be regarded as a cult classic in spite of its initial intrepid reception and especially troubled production. There have been five major versions of the film, but it's the film's first release (the U.S. theatrical cut) that is widely regarded as the inferior incarnation due to studio meddling and unnecessary voice over narration. Even director Ridley Scott has adamantly voiced his displeasure with various versions of Blade Runner, and stands by The Final Cut as his definitive cut of the film.
Blade Runner was Ridley Scott's follow-up to Alien, and it's clear that he invested himself to fabricating a fictional world just as expansive and interesting as the one surrounding his horrific sci-fi classic. Scott's direction assists the film in maintaining the elements of a classic noir amidst a futuristic backdrop, holding everything together seamlessly. One area in which The Final Cut of Blade Runner truly triumphs though is in showing-rather-than-telling the audience everything that happens. There's thematic significance to practically every neon-infused frame, and the slightest details prove to be instrumental in analyzing the film. It's a slow burn, but I became even more entranced with the events every second I continued watching and I've only pondered it over more and more since completing my first viewing. Blade Runner is ultimately so fascinating because the screenplay contains endless ambiguity and poses questions about the essence and intricacies of life, similarly to many movies about artificial intelligence today. The fact that these ideas are relevant today is mind-boggling considering the film predicted a future two years out.
Blade Runner is thirty five years old as of 2017, yet the effects hold up marvelously. Jordan Cronenwoeth's crisp cinematography perfectly captures the scenic design's neon florescent glow, and the unconventional editing choices made by Terry Rawlings and Marsha Nakashima grab the viewer's attention. Underneath all of the visually apparent accomplishments of Blade Runner, Vangelis' synthesized score sounds nothing short of spectacularly grandiose. The underlying electronic music pulsates like the plasma universally found in neon signs, a perfect parallel to the onscreen environment of this dystopian future. The technical techniques utilized in Blade Runner are timeless to say the least.
It's always strange to watch a film you've never seen when you've encountered numerous internet discussions about it over the years. In the case of Blade Runner, there was talk of unicorns and replicants. I didn't know what any of it meant at the time, but I kept it in mind when I watching the film so I could try and unravel the maddening mysteries. The one contentious debate that dictated my viewing most was keeping my eyes peeled for any clues suggesting Deckard was/wasn't a replicant. I watched Deckard like a hawk the entire time just to see where this idea originated, and for the record, I totally think Deckard's a replicant due to all the evidence stacked against him in The Final Cut.
Sean Young's alluring replicant Rachael functions as the film's femme fatale, yet Rachael sets herself apart due to her inherent innocence. As Rachael's identity unravels, Young communicates subtle changes in personality and continually subverts the viewer's expectation for Rachael. You'd expect her to fall more in line with replicant behavior upon learning the truth about herself, but the character actually becomes more humane as the story unfolds. It's an effective twist on the audience's assumption that's well-founded in the screenplay and implemented incredibly thanks to Young.
Scattered throughout the cast, Edward James Olmos, M. Emmet Walsh, William Sanderson, and Joe Turkel are able to make their discrete mark as the enigmatic Eduardo Gaff, the hard-nosed Blade Runner boss Harry Bryant, the jittery J.F. Sebastian, and the insightful corporate head Eldon Tyrell. Olmos' Gaff leaves the largest impression because of the way his character factors into the proceedings with origami creations and dubious dialogue. When accounting for his words and actions, you'll see subtle suggestions that Deckard may be a replicant, so just keep that in mind if you're going to give Blade Runner a watch before seeing Blade Runner 2049.
However, it's Rutger Hauer's Roy Batty that runs away as the film's stand-out performance. Hauer lends such menace and conviction to Roy Batty that the replicant wound up being one of the most unnerving antagonists I've seen on film in quite some time. Batty's motivations are also entirely understandable, to the point that most audience members would probably behave the same way if they were in his shoes. Underneath Hauer, Daryl Hannah, Brion James, and Joanna Cassidy each imbue the respective replicants in Barry's entourage with a distinct disposition of being an adept acrobat, a foolhardy soldier, and a lethal temptress as Pris, Leon, and Zhora.
It may have taken me twenty years to finally sit down and watch it, but it's now abundantly clear why Blade Runner is held in such high regard. Thanks to a brilliant blend of classic film noir and sci-fi, dedicated direction, and timeless special effects, it's easy to see why Blade Runner is one of the most influential science-fiction films ever created.
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