November 27, 2019 The Time of Blade Runner

Rating: 7/10 (27 November 2019)

Okay what has NOT been said about Ridley Scott's mind blowing look at November of the year 2019 with Harrison Ford's policeman dragged out of retirement and hunting down a group of dangerous androids trying to avoid their own death, so I'll make my review short. As for the date, well, since no day of the month is given, just November 2019, I guess you can
say that the movie takes place today, the 27th of November, at least I prefer it to.
The good -
The special effects. Even today the special effects are astonishing. The sets are eye popping as well. The look of a future L.A. being
so clogged with smog that its always nighttime dark 24/7 - only the tallest buildings can look over the smog and see sunlight - and always raining was a great idea. Even Philip K. Dick, who happened to see some dailies
of Blade Runner before he died said the world that the movie set forth was very close to the one he imagined when he wrote "Do Androids Dream of
Electric Sheep", the novel the movie is based upon. And Vangelis' music adds even more depth.There's also Harrison Ford's performance as Rick Deckard. Ford is well cast. He really gives a depth I don't think anybody else could pull off. In fact everybody's performance is good - especially Rutger Hauer's. He gives one of the the most vile, yet sympathetic villain performance you will ever see.
The bad -
Well the story does kind of bog down a little. Is Deckard really a flesh and blood human, a tired old Blade Runner who hates his job and guzzles booze? Or is he a Replicant himself, recently programmed to think his existence is that of a tired old Blade Runner who hates his job and guzzles booze? The war between Scott and Ford on this subject is legendary and one of the main reasons the two did not get along. Scott said Deckard was a Replicant and left subtle clues
about it. Ford said the opposite and did the same as Scott to get his point across as well. This is what throws the movie off a bit. Is he one of them... yes or no? You'll just have to decide that for yourself... and sometimes that doesn't completely work. Like here.
Another thing I will disagree with is the notion that Ford's narration is pointless, like Scott - and Ford as well - thought (they were forced by Warner Bros to put the narration in after preview audiences got confused on the narration-less storyline). It is why it is not in the Director's Cut. But I feel it adds to Blade Runner, not takes away. And as a result the movie looses some of it's impact without it. The same goes for the original "happy" theatrical ending. It adds, not takes away.
The great -
Rutger Hauer's soliloquy at the end (no spoilers here, we all have heard about it). When I saw Blade Runner back in 1982 (yes I actually saw it in the
movie theater when it was released back then!) the soliloquy was not that well known at the time and it came out of left field for me. It made my
jaw drop! It is brief, poetic, and beautifully spoken by Hauer. It sums up what the feel of the film is about. And to think, Hauer made it up! I guarantee you, from the time you hear it, it will haunt you from that moment on.
In all this movie STILL demands your attention. Forget those who says the special effects and the fantastic sets are the movie's stars and not Ford, Hauer, Daryl Hannah, Brion James, or anybody else. Its all fine. If your a fan of good thought provoking sci-fi, then give this a shot.
My rating (from Excellent to Poor) - Good. To any serious science fiction, fan this is a must.