Dark, Disturbing, Depressing...One of Sci-Fi's Best

Rating: Null/10 (19 September 2001)

Blade Runner is probably director Ridley Scott's most engaging, artistic, thought-provoking film. It is the future and world is in ruins. Not by war, but by the extreme separation of classes and exploration of "outer colonies". This film version is based on the Philip K. Dick novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep". I think this one of the very few instances, that the movie has outdone the book. Los Angeles in 2019 is a dreary, rain-riddled ghetto where the poor workers live and breath the oppression of the police and big corporations. This fact is deeply emphasized in the novel, but the screen version clearly paints a disturbing picture of hopelesness, fear and low-class slavery to those too weak to fend for themselves. This is a society that immorally creates androids to explore dangerous colonies, and worse - implants emotions and memories into their synthetic minds. Harrison Ford gives a great performance as Deckard, a man reluctantly drawn back into action as a Blade Runner: a special police unit designated to terminate or "retire" stray humanoid robots called "replicants". When an angry band of replicants seek revenge on their greedy creators, its Deckard who must seek and destroy. The film touches on though-provoking aspects of human morality, and poses the question: Should man be allowed to create robots with real emotions. The consequences of playing god turn out to be desasterous when Deckard realizes the murderous nature of his profession. This is a complicated film that has a twisted emotional climax when Deckard comes face to face with the most lethal of his robotic targets. One of the best science fiction films of all time. Final Rating = 8.1/10