Based on "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"... really?!

Rating: 4/10 (18 July 2011)

It's really annoying how someone can say that this movie is based on the exceptionally good book of Philip K. Dick, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", and yet include so few elements form it - so few i can enumerate them: the names (and only the names) of some characters, the androids, the environment, the Voigt-Kampff test.
Before I continue, i need to say that i understand that a book is different from a movie, even if one is based on the other; but it has to retain the key elements, the plot. Some people complain that the Harry Potter books are better; yes, the books are better, but because of the details, because of the 'filler' you might say, but the key elements are still there.
So, where is the background story? Why are the questions in the Voigt- Kampff test about hurting animals? Where did the androids come from, why were they created? Why are they only available on Mars? Why are androids on Earth, in general, hunted? Why did humans go to Mars, and yet why are there a lot of them still on Earth? These, and a lot, lot more are important parts of the story that aren't explained in depth enough (or aren't present at all) to make the movie interesting.
All of those elements are connected, they don't float around in this futuristic world by their own, like the movie presents itself.
And even if the movie wasn't based on a book, it is still pretty bad. There is no chemistry between the actors, the characters are boring. The plot, the storyline is also boring: some androids (creation) escape slavery to meet their maker, in order to live longer (to make their lives better)... really original, I couldn't think of another movie like that. The only good thing about this movie were the visuals.
What a disappointment.