Warning: Spoilers Ahead
Review of Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Obviously), 3rd Viewing, Screened at the La Costa Cinepolis
Somebody: Blade Runner is overrated.
Me: Well, everybody is entitled to their own opinion, I suppose.
Somebody: Blade Runner is a really, really, really boring movie.
Me: I mean, I guess I can get behind that? The first time I saw it way back in eighth grade, I too thought it was tedious, huh-huh!
Somebody: Interstellar is a much more intellectually challenging and superior science-fiction film!
Me: Looks like somebody is getting retired tonight!
There is no film out there like Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. The closest film I can diagnose to capturing the unidentified tones of Blade Runner would be the recent A24 release Under the Skin, but even that doesn’t nearly collate to the unorthodox presentation of Ridley Scott’s controversial sci-fi feature.
The best way I can describe Blade Runner would be holding it or paralleling it to the standards of a “dream.” When I watch Blade Runner, I never feel like I’m awake—and no that’s not a “because it’s boring” joke, don’t even start with that—I feel as if I had barricaded myself into this idiosyncratic, crusty interpretation of a dystopian Los Angeles inside of my sub-conscious.
I perceive Blade Runner as a poetic piece that explores humanity’s fear of death. It took me three watches to finally get every, single segment and how it relates to the awarded topics, but I guess, here I am now, talking to you fellas about it. Witnessing Rutger Hauer’s eccentrically aerial and, might I add, underrated character Roy Batty go completely bats*** brainsick in the climax of Blade Runner is a lot more traumatic than some may perceive it as comical. It’s quite terrifying, in fact. Imagine being told that you were no longer going to live and that there was nothing anybody could do to save you. I could never fathom coordinating myself into such a psychotic position out of fear for the end and out of fear of absence. Death truly is petrifying yet, we must all face it.
I hear a lot of folks claiming that 2049 captures the vibes of Scott’s original. While I do think 2049 is a tour de force on its own and a nearly flawless sequel to its predecessor, it’s a lot more cohesive and less taxing or demanding in terms of its themes and cinematic techniques. Blade Runner (1982) is like a depressing uncovering of our greatest fear and 2049 is about wanting a purpose or to be loved in life—which can also be regarded as the 2nd greatest struggle in our lives but also a classical theme that’s already been explored in MANY other flicks.
And yeah, I guess I do have to mention the visual aesthetic of Blade Runner. To be honest, even though most individuals say that the special effects and cinematography are the highlight of Blade Runner, I’d have to disagree. However, it is one of the stronger points of Blade Runner and it is f###ing spectacular! This is effortlessly one of the top 5 neatest looking movies of all-time, hands down, no questions asked, don’t even argue with me, the graphics are flipping perfect. So is 2049, though!
I enjoy referring to Blade Runner as the “accidental masterpiece,” because as misty and rebellious as this film sounds on paper, it really shouldn’t function properly. This movie does everything you’re not supposed to commit within the classical narrative like say expecting viewers for their full attention for every, meager detail, yet, Blade Runner doesn’t give two flying f###s.
There is no set protagonist—that’s debatable. There is no set antagonist—that’s also debatable. The sequence of events feels naturally casual rather than planned out, which is likely to off-put first-time viewers. The climax is a complete repulsion to how a finale should commence—an opponent just decides to die, and another opponent simply gets his ass handed to him with no upper resolution. There are no sacrifices, no winners, no nothing in this finale, just tom-foolery. THIS MOVIE DEFIES EVERYTHING THAT WE’VE LEARNED ABOUT THAT SHOULDN’T WORK IN A MOVIE YET IT FREAKING WORKS.
Also, the billions of different cuts prove that Blade Runner was never meant to be any set product. This movie was made to be replicants of a coding, altered slightly to change the results of its intentions. See what I did there, huh? Okay, I’ll shutup now. Blade Runner is one of the best movies ever made and Ridley Scott’s finest movie. That’s it. That’s final. Ba-bye!
Verdict: A+
This Movie Has Moved From #15 To #20 on My List: My Top 44 Favorite Movies of All-Time
And if you are a massive Blade Runner fan like I am, YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT IN THEATERS. IT’S A MUST!
“Blade Runner” is now available to rent and buy YouTube, Amazon Prime, iTunes, Vudu, and Google Play.
Burning the Celluloid 
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