Its obscure plot is its greatest strength, and its greatest weakness.

Rating: Null/10 (5 February 2010)

9.2
I have a sort of love/hate relationship with Blade Runner. On one hand, I love the atmosphere, costumes, scenery and mood of the entire film. On the other hand, I hate it for its falling short of greatness (in my opinion), and obscure plot.
This is the second time I've seen this movie. The first time, I nearly fell asleep. However, I generally enjoyed it, but didn't capture much of the plot. The first time I saw the director's cut. The second time was the final cut. This time around, I found myself thinking halfway into the movie, "Wait... what the hell is going on here? I don't know where this movie started, and how far I'm into it. Is this a good thing?" I think the reason for my confusion is that Blade Runner is a very sophisticated film. The entire time, I had this feeling that there is much more going on in scenes than there seems to be. This is Blade Runner's greatest strength, and at the same time, it's greatest weakness.
It's no wonder either, considering that the theatrical release was dumbed down, for fear that audiences wouldn't respond to it well. Narration was added, and certain scenes were taken out (which contradicts the point of the entire film). Also, a happier ending was used. I haven't seen the theatrical release, but from what I hear, it's not the original vision. If you're going to see it, you might as well see the post release versions. In terms of storytelling, the final cut is not too different from the director's cut.
If you go into this film not knowing anything, and come out apathetic towards the plot, chances are you didn't like it too much. But if you go into it aware of the questions it poses (there aren't really any answers), or you come out of it with many questions, chances are you enjoyed it. The film doesn't do much to pose the questions, even the big question, regarding the main character. There is so much going on in the scenes, but like the film's choice of dark environments, it's very difficult to see.
It's hard to discuss Blade Runner and avoid spoilers. There are elements like atmosphere and tone that are much easier to discuss. And this is an area where the film has no problems. The 1982 film's vision of the future is impressive, to say the least. It is easy to see that many works of fiction were inspired by Blade Runner. The neo-metropolitan cityscape, the grim street life and polluted air paint a grim picture. But it's so pretty. I wasn't particularly a fan of the type of atmosphere. I like my pictures with clear, blue skies. Or at least grey skies. But Blade Runner's biggest strength is its success in its setting going from the collective imagination of the people who created the film, to the end result that we see. This is the only area of the film that is outstanding.
This is a film where audiences will be very divided. I can see a lot of people saying that it is a bore. They might say that it has no plot, or a dull execution of it. They might say that it moves too slow, or that they expected more emotional satisfaction. "Where is the humanity in this film?", they might ask. The film is asking you, "what is humanity?" If you care to see what is going on deeper in the scenes, you will end up with a very interesting film, whose bigger questions remain unanswered even today. Either way, however deep you choose to look into the plot and scenes, you must admit, atmospherically, visually, and in terms of tone, this film is a classic.