A flawed masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (17 October 2019)

Part Neo-noir detective story, part cyberpunk science fiction and visually one of the most striking films ever made. There is an extraordinary world here to get lost in. Set in a dark, rainy, overpopulated dystopian Los Angeles, Blade Runner is a slow-burning picture about man's fruitless dream of achieving immortality and what it means to be human. I wish the film had a better thought-out story, instead of the somewhat contrived and sparsely plotted one we ended up getting. And I wish that the characters were better developed. Rutger Hauer's Batty was the best character in the film. Harrison Ford did a fine job as Deckard but he was not well written. Sean Young, Edward James Olmos and Daryl Hannah all played interesting characters but were underdeveloped. With all of its flaws, I still very much enjoyed the film. When a movie has this much detail in its world building and has such an intoxicating atmosphere, the lack of a strong plot and well developed characters does not hurt it very much. If you have not seen the film, just forget about the negatives and immerse yourself in one of the most unique and fascinating worlds ever created in film. And be sure you watch it on the biggest screen possible.