Blade Runner stars Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, a former Blade Runner who hunts down escaped replicants and "retires" them which is really just killing them. These replicants are manufactured AI that, for years, have been used all over Earth and subsequently on other space colonies. In 2019, replicants have become illegal on Earth and after an incident with a rogue replicant killing a Blade Runner, Deckard is told of four in total that have successfully made it onto Earth and is assigned to retiring all of them.
One aspect of the film that I absolutely adore is the fact that I don't know who to root for. Sure Deckard is the protagonist but the rogue replicants have reasonable reasons for doing the things that they do. That reason being that they only have a lifespan of four years, despite looking like average adults. The only reason that they are causing trouble is because they want to find a cure for whatever is making them die after four years. This is exemplified when Deckard comes into contact with a women named Rachael who he knows for sure is a replicant. She, however, has memories from her childhood which convinces her otherwise and, as their relationship grows, the audience gets to realize just how human these replicants actually are. It's an AI story that, though done many times, seems to have been shown to its full extent if not started here.
Blade Runner looks and sounds absolutely beautiful. Though the technology and effects used are noticeably dated, the cityscape is nothing short of stunning. Even on the city streets, everything is perfectly lit and themed in such a way to give me chills in certain scenes. As stated, the technology is dated but meshes so well with the world that I can lift my suspension of disbelief just enough to get absorbed in it. None of this would matter, however, without the music. Words for it: divine, ravishing, alluring, and even dark. The soundtrack is composed by the Greek composer Vangelis who has written for films of all types but surprisingly no mainstream films besides Blade Runner and he has done a fantastic job of capturing the noir feel of this futuristic (at least by 1980s standards) music with mostly jazz and operatic pieces. The visuals and the sound come together in a romantically stunning dance to give us the great atmosphere of Blade Runner.
I have seen so many films and shows that try to replicate the feel that Blade Runner gave us back in the 1980s. Now I know where it all started. From an absolutely brilliant film about a tense subject. Though other films from the era tried their hand at an AI-centric plot, Blade Runner has the bar set and I don't see it going dropping anytime soon.
Blade Runner is brilliant.
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