The next generation of noir

Rating: 9/10 (9 June 2012)

IMDb Top 250: 115
Note: This is a review of The Final Cut.
Don't be deceived by Harrison Ford's face and the bright neon signs: you will find no happiness in Blade Runner. Unapologetically draining, Blade Runner sees LA, 2019 as a packed slum of flying cars, advertisements and an especially Asian influx of culture. There is a hanging mood of decay, of uncaring, and it creates an empty feeling. Blade Runner is extraordinarily atmospheric. Also there's robots, and the robots- replicants- are a problem.
Thus, the blade runners were created, police force (executioners) who retire (kill) illegal replicants on Earth. Deckard is one such hunter, played by Harrison Ford in his least macho and most vulnerable major role. He returns from (is forced out of) retirement to find and terminate 4 replicants, and this task composes the plot of the film.
Despite the future setting, Blade Runner is an old school noir at heart, with a flawed protagonist,important setting, and menacing villains. It's the next generation of noir, both in the film and real life.
Both in content and aesthetically, Blade Runner is ahead of the curve. The cheese of certain 80's sci-fi is non existent here, and I'm not sure if that relates to the DVD I have or if the film is just extra gorgeous. There's a certain aura of primitive technology with films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Terminator that just isn't in this film. The cinematography and art design is magnificent, as well as Vangelis' electronic score.
This serious film is filled with serious characters. Leading is the aforementioned Deckard, a victim of his city: he is constantly in a state of melancholy, and often found with a drink in his hand. He hasn't found what to do with himself, and it's so absorbing to see Ford in a weakened state. His prey, the replicants are also intriguing in their own ways: Batty, Pris and Leon. The all bring something different, a different angle. I won't even get into Batty's final, mission stating speech.
One of the best things about sci-fi is that it can work with material that no other genre can. Blade Runner is outrageously packed with symbols and metaphors, such as eyes and origami. The film is filled with themes and open to many interpretations. I believe that all sci-fi can be applied to the present or past, and saw this situation as a parallel to post- Civil War America and found the ultimate message being that all life is precious, and that when we die things indescribable die with us. You can't live in fear. Oh, okay... Batty's speech... it's a show stopper, short but expansive in interpretation. Easily the most important scene in the film.
Blade Runner is a giant in the genre, an incredibly important and influential film. It may be slow, but patience and an open mind is well rewarded. This film won't be lost to time like tears in the rain. 8.9/10