The Future is mean, ugly...and rather dull.

Rating: 4/10 (21 May 2006)

Well, I guess I must have totally missed the point again... I did not see a Sci-Fi masterpiece with astonishingly progressive visual effects and a flawlessly adapted screenplay, but an over-ambitious and difficult to digest drama epic with a lack of action. But hey, "Blade Runner" is ranked pretty high in the IMDb top 250 and all the professional reviews are singing praise, so my humble opinion is probably something you shouldn't bother to read. Although, for the record, the only version I've seen is the original theatrical version and  supposedly  only the 1992 director's cut version is a genuine masterpiece. Unquestionably terrific is Ridley Scott's portrayal of our world by the year 2019, when the cities look exactly like predicted in Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" with immense 300-storey skyscrapers and pure decay down below on the streets. The future is ugly and petrifying and it looks like nobody can smile anymore. In this sad and unappealing universe, Rick Deckard is an early retired "Blade Runner" whose duty was to eliminate android fugitives, called Replicants, that escaped from extraterrestrial colonies. Deckard is called back because four of the most dangerous Replicants are on an earthly mission to increase their miserable life-span of only four years. The film's biggest disappointment  other than the tiresome voice over by Ford and the dreadful jazzy soundtrack  are the characterizations of these android Replicants. Supposedly they're relentless villains that already made over 30 casualties on their way over to earth, yet when they're face to face with their enemies  humans  they don't look the least bit menacing or dangerous at all! Neither do they evoke feeling of understanding or sympathy, they just behave like philosophical talkers; especially the "leader" Roy Batty. The love-story sequences between Ford and robotic beauty Sean Young feel like pure melodramatic padding whereas sublime actors in intriguing supportive roles (M. Emmet Walsh, Edward James Olmos) are criminally underused. The film may be rich on themes and symbolism, but the lack of excitement is saddening and the ending is unforgivably weak.