I Don't Like It; I Watch It Anyway

Rating: 7/10 (18 April 2002)

I've seen Blade Runner many, many times. It may hold the record for Most Times I Have Seen a Movie I Don't Actually Like. Like most people, I admire the look of the film. I don't know that I appreciate the look as much as others; while I admit it was very influential on the look of subsequent movies, its style-over-substance nature has also been influential, and I don't think that's a good thing. And, again like most people, I am intrigued by the subject matter (what is human?).
That's about it for the things I like. As for what I don't like, well, first off, I'm one of those Philip K. Dick fans. There is a lot more going on in the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? than shows up in the movie (and yes, I know that's the standard complaint of book lovers, but it's true here). The most important missing element in the movie is "Mercerism," a semi-religion that is v.important in the book's philosophy. In any event, I don't think Blade Runner does a good job of getting at much essential Dickworld. For me, the best example of that world on film remains the scene in Total Recall when the bad guys try to convince Arnold in the hotel room that he is actually sitting back home in a chair enjoying a virtual, rather than real, experience.
As for the non-Dickian aspects of the movie, well, if you've heard from the legions of Blade Runner fans what a classic it is, you'll likely be surprised on first viewing to find out that it's kinda boring. Apparently to help make the point that the emotional lives of humans and replicants are too similar to tell apart, director Ridley Scott instructs the actors playing humans (or supposed humans) to underplay, to make them seem more mechanical, then lets King of the Replicants Rutger Hauer overact oddly, as if he was a leftover from Kubrick's Clockwork Orange (another so-called classic with crappy acting from everyone not named Malcolm McDowell). I guess Hauer's bogus emoting is supposed to make him seem more human than the humans, but this is only true if humans are scenery-chewers.
Ultimately, it's hard to care about any of the characters in the film. I suppose that could be one of the "points" it's trying to make; I suspect it's more what happens when you cast dull-as-nails Sean Young in a leading role. Again, I'm aware that this distancing-from-humanity feel could be on purpose. That doesn't make it any more enjoyable. The movie gets everything right except the people. As usual, Pauline Kael hit it on the head: "It hasn't been thought out in human terms. If anybody comes around with a test to detect humanoids, maybe Ridley Scott and his associates should hide."