Do not watch

Rating: 2/10 (17 October 2017)

I like to consider myself to be an optimist. Everything I do, I can gain some benefit out of. This past Sunday I was bored, so I picked a movie in the theater nearby to watch; I happened to pick The Blade Runner. I did not have any preconceived expectations for this movie since the only time I had ever heard about it was during the trailers before the movie at the theater. Nonetheless, I was looking forward to watching it. Little did I know that I was going to waste three hours of my precious time watching a movie that did not deserve my money or my attention. In addition to the lack of a clear story line and misuse of some incredible movie stars, The Blade Runner's effect of sheer boredom on its audience warrants it as one of the most unnecessarily hyped up movies of the year.
Despite being produced with a very large budget, this movie was incredibly difficult to watch because, without previous background, it did not make any sense. The movie lasted around two and a half hours, but to me and my dad, it felt like a few years. The story line was underdeveloped to the point where I felt that the director dragged on certain scenes for many minutes just to fill up time or to figure out what to do next. The Blade Runner did not have to be that long. I am not sure whether or not this is a book to movie adaptation, but if it is, they did a poor job of filling in the movie watchers in regards to the background. The only background provided was a page long of text attempting to explain how the world got to where it is during the first three minutes of the movie. In my opinion, none of it is necessary because the movie did not reference any part of that background until two hours into the movie, and, by that point, everyone had forgotten it.
The director had a really great opportunity to utilize Oscar award winning movie stars like Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, and Jared Leto to his advantage. Unfortunately, the movie just turned out to be a waste of their talents. Ryan Gosling is not good at action scenes; Harrison Ford is. His talents are clearly presented in classic films such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones. However, Ryan Gosling was the only one featured in the two action scenes, not Harrison Ford. Oscar award winner, Jared Leto, unfortunately, was not featured as much as he deserved to be in this movie, as well. Jared Leto showed up a total of three times throughout the whole movie, despite the fact that he was supposed to be the main antagonist.
Aside from the frustration I was experiencing due to confusion and the lack of proper use of the actors, I was incredibly bored. There was a grand total of six people in that theater, including my dad and I, and two of them left in the middle of the movie because they were so bored. The only thing preventing me from following them was my dad who refused to leave because he did not want to waste his money. Its severe lack of background music played a big role in the overall impression of the movie. Normally, the soundtrack is a huge part of a movie, and the absence of it puts a responsibility on the audience to know exactly how they should be feeling at certain times during the movie. I did not feel any tension during the action scenes nor did I feel sad during the depressing scenes. I just felt frustrated. Considering everything moved so slowly, I was very aware of the fact that I was sitting in a movie theater for a prolonged period of time.
I think it is safe to say that this movie ruined all other movies for me. I do not think I am being overly critical; I just think the director really missed the mark on this one. The confusing story line, lost acting opportunities, and overall impression of the movie did not make a very good movie watching experience. From now on, I will thoroughly research each and every movie I watch before going into the theater.