Mediocre Movie with a Great Third Act

Rating: 7/10 (24 April 2015)

My opinion of a film usually relies heavily on the conclusion of the film. My favorite movie, Pulp Fiction, has a stunning and nearly mind-blowing ending. The same goes for other films I love such as Psycho, Memento, The Prestige, and It's a Wonderful Life. But when I read Blade Runner I read it as a boring movie with a great ending which gives the film great meaning. I haven't seen the theatrical version, but I have seen clips of it, and I think the voice-overs by Deckard take away from the film even more. While the noir film usually relies on narration, this film is fine with this aspect taken away, leaving Deckard's thoughts more ambiguous to us as an audience.
I have to admit I think the concept of the film is intriguing. We learn with the help of text at the film's opening that replicants have been created as slaves, but since they are intelligent they have turned on their creators. The title of the film refers to those who are meant to "retire" these replicants.
The mise-en-scene of the film has a Gothic quality to it which really leaves me with an unpleasant taste in my mouth. It fits into the noir aspect of the film since it is so dark, but it also has a really creepy quality to it which the film does not need. In scenes revolving around Sebastian, the man creates these "friends" for himself, these living puppets in a sense, which underscores the motif in the film of playing God, or creating life. The replicant Pris seems to blend in with these creations since she looks otherworldly, with white makeup covering her face, black around the eyes, hair almost as light as her makeup. It's like she is from the circus, which does not belong in a movie revolving around city life.
Perhaps the mise-en-scene will grow on me over time; I hated it on first viewing, but I realize it adds to the dark tone of the movie and is fitting. In a final fight between the Blade Runner and Roy, Roy shows compassion and helps Deckard to live since he is about to die, but we have no idea when Roy is meant to die, just that his life is running out due to a four year lifespan. While he gives a brilliant monologue, Roy dies with no preparation for the audience. We might have viewed Roy with more empathy if we knew he was going to die in a matter of minutes, but it is still a powerful death.
The movie has a brilliant ending in which an origami unicorn is placed in Deckard's place. It is said that replicants have built-in memories, and earlier in the film he dreams of a unicorn. The cop knowing about the unicorn suggests that Deckard is perhaps a replicant himself, which is a brilliant ending which gives the film a whole new meaning.