This movies worth is completely dependent on the viewer

Rating: 8/10 (1 October 2014)

Blade Runner Review
The film Blade Runner, produced in 1982 and directed by Ridley Scott depicts the story of two unlikely lovers in a futuristic world ravaged by human activity ("Blade Runner." –RottenTomatoes). This movie is definitely worth watching as long as the viewer is willing to be fully engaged in the movie throughout its duration. Blade Runner is a suspenseful film containing several plot twists and important minor details. Likewise, this movie is known for being a point of discussion in the field of philosophy for a reason, it raises very large questions about humanity and what it takes to love. The story of Blade Runner is that of a human being tracking down and killing humanoids, while falling in love with one. However, it isn't until the very closing of the movie until the viewer learns that Deckard, the main character; supposedly human, is in fact a replicant himself. This raises questions for the viewer like, "do replicants, humanoids, have souls," "why can't a human love a replicant, who is, for almost every aspect, human" and "why is it suddenly okay for a replicant to love a replicant if supposedly replicants can't love?" Likewise this movie forces the viewer to try to define love and its relationship, or lack thereof, with having a soul. I believe that Professor David Reeve answers some of these questions rather well; "if replicant love is or can become real love however, the question of who has a soul may not matter all that much" (Reeve, David). The humanoids are not referred to as having souls because they weren't born like normal human beings. Professor Reeve notes the importance of having a childhood to having the ability to love and respond to circumstances with the correct response. It is our mothers that teach us to love and our childhood that teaches us how to respond to new events. It is less common for adults to experience new events, so generally adults have the ability to respond accordingly. This is why it is some important that Rachel had memories, even if they weren't hers. Rachel metaphorically did know what it was like to be loved unconditionally by her fictitious mother so much so that she strongly believed she was human. However again, can a non-human know love, and do these memories give her a soul? These are questions that the viewer is required to answer throughout the movie, and then again with Deckard. The writers of this film did an outstanding job of forcing the viewer to question such deep questions about humanity and what it means to love.
Again, I would recommend this movie to anyone willing and capable of critically analyzing a movie, but for those who watch movies just to relax, I would not. This rather suspenseful movie requires a deeper level of thinking in order to understand the full context. Blade Runner set the stage for many sci-fi movies and this is perhaps the reason it performed so poorly in movie theaters ("Blade Runner." –RottenTomatoes). While this film contains several deep underlying concepts its cinematography is only decent. Perhaps at the time the movie was filmed it could have been state-of-the-art, but it has certainly been surpassed. The special effects in this movie are on par with B perhaps even C-list movies, but the acting is tolerable. In addition Blade Runner is not a happy go lucky feel good movie, its dismal settings and suspenseful scenes leave the viewer on edge. While these characteristics may be favored in horror films, I was not prepared for them. This movie should not be viewed by children either, but that is for the reasons of nudity and a particularly disturbing scene that involves borderline rape. The viewing of Blade Runner requires a certain level of maturity in order to enjoy and understand.
My recommendation of Blade Runner is split on the basis of entertainment and content. For the everyday movie goer who just wants to sit back and watch a story happen in front of them I would not recommend this movie because of its lacking cinematography and acting. On the other hand however, I highly recommend this film to mature intellectuals. This movie's content, especially the role of Rachel, encourages the philosophical query of love and humanity in a manner that most people would blatantly ignore. If the producers of Blade Runner were trying to target their movie at a target consumer group including older intellectuals, I would agree that they succeeded at doing so and would recommend this movie to them.
Works Cited Blade Runner. Dir. Ridley Scott. Prod. Ridley Scott and
HamptonFrancher. By Hampton Francher and David Webb Peoples. Perf.
Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. Warner Bros., 1982.DVD
"Blade Runner." –RottenTomatoes. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014. Reeve, David. "Blade Runner." Clemson University. Clemson, SC. 26
September 2014.