What's with...?

Rating: 1/10 (14 November 2006)

There are movies that stand the test of time with the exception of some outdated special effects. Some movies in this category are: the Star Wars trilogy, Poltergeist, and even The Terminator. Then there are movies like Blade Runner, where one leaves the theater, or turns off the DVD player, scratching his head. Movies like Poltergeist and The Terminator work because both stories revolve around ordinary people with ordinary lives to whom the viewers can relate. Star Wars, while not completely relatable, has such an interwoven, tightly knit story in a fantastic world, that viewers can imagine the existence of such world. Even further, viewers know how to adapt to this world to the point where they can play dress up, speak Wookie, and recreate this environment. I've never heard of a Blade Runner convention.
This movie wants so bad to be taken seriously, or does it? The soundtrack alone contradicts itself. The title sequence begins silently with a few heavy pounding beats and shrilling chords, making the viewer believe she is about to experience something along the lines of a war film, or better yet, a thriller. The movie's prologue somewhat adds to that assumption, although it's a little wordy and complicated of a background for the viewer to completely understand. Replicants bad. Humans good. Why? Dunno.
After the serious introduction, the film loses credibility with its choice of bizarre magical fairy notes as though the story was a Read Along and it was asking its viewer to turn the page. Yes, the movie was made in 1982, but so was Poltergeist. And even then I am sure people were associating that sound of chimes with whimsical fairy dust. The sound often implies that something supernatural or magical has or is about to occur. However, it was just odd.
There are other contradictions in the film, mainly the Replicants themselves, which left me with many questions. Why were Replicants created? If they are dangerous and illegal aliens then why is the Tyrell Corporation still producing them? Why are Replicants made in the first place if they are not supposed to exist? What is their beef with humans? What is humanity's beef with Replicants? Roy and Leon can handle sub temperatures like pros but Pris freaks out about a little rain? Am I supposed to feel sorry for Rachael? Why did Roy save Rick? What did Pris's acrobatics have to do with anything? Why didn't Rick retrieve his gun after he dropped it? Was climbing out onto the windowsill and scaling the side of the building really his best option? What's with: the guy with the mustache; the boiling eggs; the singing Japanese/Chinese lady; smoky/misty rooms and the city being foggy; the unicorn and the photos? Finally, how come the Replicants can run through sheets of glass, ram their heads through walls, and drive nails into the palms of their hands, but they fall down dead after one gunshot? The building is called the Bradbury, but if I were Ray, I would not feel flattered. Perhaps I did not catch on to every detail and many of the questions were answered in the movie, but I do not plan to watch this film again to find out.