Humane Robots

Rating: 7/10 (26 January 2015)

***User-reviewer jaywolfenstien ("A frame to die for", jaywolfenstien from USA, 2 February 2008) has a good commentary.***
"Blade Runner (1982, Ridley Scott) Final Cut", a dystopian sci-fi, is enjoyable. Adhering to the now ubiquitous visual plan of contemporary fantasy/horror cinema, we see a lot of colorized smoke along with moody and/or pulsating lighting. It is described as neo- film noir; and two noir characteristics are washed out streets and freely burning tobacco. While the story is uneven it has an unusually beautiful principal cast. Just as there are multiple versions of "Blade Runner", it seems that everyone has their own opinion about where it belongs when ranking all-time science fiction.
It is set 37 years from the film's release (2019), in a Los Angeles that is majority Asian. This Los Angeles also possesses a formidable skyline with many tall, imposing buildings featuring grim architecture. The Tyrell Corporation, a totalitarian central command structure in complete control over the human population, is manufacturing replicants. Replicants are robots intended to labor under dangerous conditions on other planets. They are engineered with physical powers superior to humans. They also have consciousness. To keep them down, the latest firmware grants them only a four year lifetime. If replicants ever set foot on Earth it is up to a Blade Runner (i.e., a contract assassin affiliated with the LAPD) to "retire" them ASAP, typically by use of a loud, high- caliber handgun. As the story begins there are four replicants who have stolen a space ship and escaped to Earth. Gloomy and weary Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is hired to retire them.
A Blade Runner can distinguish a replicant from a human by means of a test (named Voight-Kampff) that is delivered orally. The questions are hypothetical and from what we know, always contain triggers that recall the Milgram experiment. (BTW, there has never been a psychological experiment more important than Milgram. Every school on Earth should teach it. But I digress.) At the urging of Mr. Tyrell (the hands-on CEO of the mighty empire) Deckard gives the test to Tyrell's assistant Rachael (Sean Young). Although she believes she is human, Deckard concludes that she is a machine with implanted memories. Normally, this is cause for Deckard to use his gun. However, he hesitates to retire Rachael. The relationship between the pair is vital to the story. It also drives speculation and debate among "Blade Runner" fans over whether Deckard is actually a replicant himself. The Final Cut version of the film does not conclusively inform us one way or the other.
The replicants all seem intentionally more interesting than Deckard. So do Decker's work colleagues Gaff (Edward James Olmos) and Bryant (M. Emmet Walsh). While Deckard has a dogged persistence that is admirable, as he retires one replicant after another, it is usually the machine which wins the heart of the viewer. While trying not to spoil things, three of the targeted replicants make things easy for Deckard by breaking off a physical attack that would take advantage of their insurmountable strength. One replicant responds to the threat posed by itchy-trigger-fingered Deckard by demonstrating a killer set of fast-moving handstands. This is fun to observe but not effective in battle against an armed hunter. Generally, it seems that the replicants are the ones offering some humanity to the atmosphere while the brutal Tyler Corporation is suppressing it. Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), the leader of the four mutinous replicants, is occasionally very appealing (even though we also see him kill a human by crushing the victim's skull). Roy is most empathetic when he clamors despairingly for a longer life. As this is in clear contrast to Deckard's misanthropy, the replicant leader garners interest at the expense of the protagonist.
An issue I have with "Blade Runner" is Ridley Scott's dull direction. I am not fond of how modern sci-fi/horror films look. There is no single image that seems to stand out and/or inspire a second glance. It is tempting to say it appears as if were filmed through a Coke bottle. Blade Runner also has innumerable close-ups and cutting back and forth between characters. Scott's imagery just is not distinctive to where "Blade Runner" can be regarded as an elite science fiction film.
Still, there may be nothing more appealing to many cinema-goers than watching a contract killer removing elements of society who are inconvenient to power. If you don't mind occasional eruptions of extreme violence, the beautiful cast and the prospect of experiencing a world (slightly) more authoritarian than ours today makes this a fun diversion. Yet, I don't recommend bringing kids to it. (Not unless you want them to grow up as contract killers. But why not? All that matters is getting paid.)