Set in the early twenty-first century, the Tyrell Corporation, during what was called the Nexus phase, developed robots that were supposed to aid society. These were called “replicants”, and they were designed to look and act like humans. When four replicants commit murder and steal a ship in space, they return to Earth in hopes of finding their creator. A Blade Runner, known only as Deckard (Harrison Ford), is tasked with pursuing, and terminating all four. An iconic and thought-provoking Sci-Fi that spawned a recently released sequel. It’s worth noting that Blade Runner is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: Hampton Fancher, David Webb Peoples, Phillip K. Dick
Starring: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Brion James, Daryl Hannah, Joanna Cassidy

Directed by Ridley Scott in what he describes as probably his most personal and complete movie, Blade Runner is the first instalment of a two-part series based on the dystopian science fiction novel titled ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’ written by Phillip K. Dick and released a little over forty-five years ago in 1968. The book serves as a solid foundation for the flick, while many aspects also filter over and are used in the film’s sequel, Blade Runner 2049 (2017) – which will be reviewed in the coming weeks.  

From an atmospheric and sheer visual standpoint, Blade Runner seemed to be ahead of its time for such a picture. The dark, gloomy and urban streets of Los Angeles set within the flick, are a total contrast to the streets of Los Angeles that we recognise today. The filmmakers also did a great job of creating a real sense of claustrophobia by establishing extremely densely populated, neon lit streets, with seemingly never-ending rainfall. The special effects may not be too noteworthy as a first-time viewer but understandably they would have been a focus point back in 1982, when Blade Runner was originally released to viewers.

Despite the production’s positives, however, there are some minor negatives too. The pacing seemed a little slow, frustratingly slow at times, with various scenes lingering for much longer than necessary. Some of the few and far between action sequences also seemed a little underwhelming, with the majority coming towards the later stages of the flick.

In terms of the cast, Harrison Ford adopted the role of Deckard, commanding center stage for the majority of the one-hundred and seventeen-minute runtime, while support reigned in from various angles, primarily from Rutger Hauer who portrayed the character Batty, and Sean Young, who picked up the responsibility for the character Rachael. Elsewhere, Brion James, Daryl Hannah and Joanna Cassidy portrayed Leon, Pris and Zhora, three of the well-publicised replicants on display.

Overall, it’s easy to understand why Blade Runner is often regarded as an iconic Sci-Fi feature with some subtle sub-plots injected throughout. There are certainly flaws, but I firmly believe the positives outweigh the negatives on this one. As previously noted, the sequel, Blade Runner 2049 (2017) was released recently and will be reviewed in the coming weeks. Blade Runner is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

“Quite an experience to live in fear, isn’t it? That’s what it is to be a slave.”

Batty – Blade Runner