Can Hollywood Leave Well Enough Alone? The Best Cut Was The First Cut

Rating: 1/10 (2 November 2007)

I have seen both the original cut and the final cut on the big screen. The first Blade Runner left me feeling elated, entertained and full of inspiration. This tired retread left me feeling disgusted and flat.
Why disgusted? In the first Blade Runner we witness the snapping of an important man's neck. The one scene in the whole movie that I could have done without, but it didn't ruin the movie for me! At least it was an instant death. This time in the film, for some godforsaken reason, the director had the replicant's kill by pushing people's eyeballs into their brains. It's horrifically shown once and implied twice. Now what possibly does that add to the movie? Is society becoming so sick that Hollywood thinks that's entertainment? Are we so desensitized that gruesome violence no longer revolts? All it did was turn the bad guys (replicants) into monsters. One is left without an once of sympathy for them unlike in the original Blade Runner.
Why flat? Well the speech at the end of the film by the dying replicant leader now rings quite hollow. Who gives a hoot what wonders he's seen. Just hurry up and die so you don't kill anymore decent people. While those replicant designers were short sighted and a certainly terribly naive, does that warrant a death sentence? The replicants are like spoiled children: If I don't get my way, I'm gonna throw a tantrum! In this case if you don't "fix me" I'm gonna push your eyeballs back into your brain! The other reason it left me flat was the "boy meets girl ending" is so trite! At least the original Blade Runner had what I would consider a passionate ending by a being that does not torture its victims.
Too bad Hollywood doesn't pay its writers better, instead of forcing them to go on strike. Maybe then we would have some really daring sci-fi film making instead of this tripe