Attack Ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion

Rating: 10/10 (20 May 2011)

It must be quietly disconcerting for Ridley Scott that he directed his greatest film in the early 80's with the knowledge that try as he does, he will always find it difficult to improve upon. I watched this masterpiece of a film first time out and loved it from the start - in fact, it's not only my favourite sci-fi film but one of my favourites of all time.
Whilst everyone is entitled to an opinion, I do find it laughable that some members of the IMDb community can give this classic a 1 star rating. Many conclude that the film does not live up to the expectations of the book. This of course is a nonsensical argument – the mental images derived from a book cannot be realistically compared to the reality of pictures on the silver screen. Everybody's interpretation is different. In other cases, the deep meaning and natural intelligence of Bladerunner appear to be too much for some. May I suggest these people look under the sections for Steve Seagal and Chuck Norris!
These inane comments cannot detract from what is a groundbreaking piece of cinema. In a post apocalyptic Los Angeles where acid rain drenches the city from the gloomy sky above and people who can afford it search for the salvation of off world colonies, we enter the world of the Bladerunner – a specialist law enforcer tasked with the termination of human replicants who have turned 'rogue'.
Not an easy task when considering that the human clones in question are difficult to distinguish from the real article. And in Rick Deckard's case (Harrison Ford), the task is to prove all the more difficult as the 'skinjobs' in question start to develop their own feelings and emotions for the first time.
Bladerunner is a landmark film because unlike many sci-fi epics, it has stood the test of time. Made only 5 years after the original Star Wars film, the movie has aged incredibly well and looks as fresh and modern now as it did in 1982. More remarkably the film was made before the onset of computer aided graphics, which provides a fitting testament to how well this film is made. Star Wars: A New Hope looks dated – Bladerunner does not.
The bleakness of the sets, the quirky dialogue and even quirkier film score by Vangellis, all add together to make a first rate sci-fi thriller which gets better the more times you watch it. Rutger Hauer provides the stand out performance as Roy Batty, the leader of the malfunctioning group, who is a ruthless killer by trade but famously shows compassion for the first time just before he dies as his emotions evolve.
The film delves into a number of thought provoking topics including one which has troubled humanity since the beginning of time – how long have we got? Do you want to know or would you rather not? And in our world where genetic modification is raising questions in the medical sector, Bladerunner also poses this same question but some 20 years earlier. Regardless of whether you watch the original or Directors Cut version, this movie stands out as filmmaking of the highest calibre with a realism that everyone can identify with. Watch it in BlueRay for the experience this film deserves.
Time to Die? In Bladerunner's case I think not. It'll still look good in 2111.