I knew that there would be a sequel of this movie to premiere in Indonesian theaters on Friday, but as I have completely forgotten the story, I thought it would better for me to see this again to refresh my memory. So I looked around in the internet and managed to find it online and saw this without hesitation. Now what was the movie all about? Let us find out more.
The story was told in the year 2019 where a group of humans created through bio engineering and called "The Replicants" were sent to do space colonization. The Replicants were created by Tyrell corporation led by Dr. Eldon Tyrell (Joe Turkel - The Shining etc). When four of the Replicants led by Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer - Blind Fury, Batman Begins etc) fled from one of the colony to earth, a retired cop specializing in capturing Replicants and referred to as Blade Runner named Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford - no intro necessary) was assigned to recapture those four.
Deckard's first investigation led him to Tyrell where he would meet his assistant Rachael (Sean Young - Wall Street, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective etc) who happened to be an advance version of Replicants and intrigued Deckard. He was also supported by the calm, cold officer Gaff (Edward James Olmos - Battlestar Galactica and Miami Vice TV Series etc) in his investigations.
Meanwhile Batty's friends who fled to earth have spread in various locations. They included Leon (Brion James - 48 Hours, Tango & Cash etc), Zhora (Joanna Cassidy - Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Chain Reaction etc) and Pris (Daryl Hannah - Splash, Kill Bill etc). So could Deckard capture all of these Replicants? What would happen to Rachael who never realized that she was not human? Find them all in this unique sci fi movie.
End of Brief Story Line
After watching this uncut version of the movie, I became very doubtful if I ever watched it. I really think that the plot was too complex for me to understand if I watched this many years ago (definitely not when the movie played in theaters as I was too young then). So even if I had seen it many years later in cable TV, I could not have completely forgotten all about it by now. My point is that the movie was too unique for me to have not remembered a thing.
It was moving at a very slow pace and unfortunately made me feel very bored after first 20 or 25 minutes. Which was surprising considering it is very popular and higly rated now. But I guess the popularity was not due to the pace but more towards the unique story telling and the good special effects at that time. A reminder that this is a 1982 movie which I think the visions of the future were quite good (though some might be too ahead of time even for the year 2017, which is 2 years from the time told in the film).
Despite the movie was considered a very stylish movie (categorized as neo-noir science fiction genre) and later on garnered reputation of being cult film, I think general audience may find it difficult to understand or appreciate the deep philosophical message. I am neither a movie Maker nor a person who is really into that stuff so I also had challenges to enjoy the movie (especially due to the slow pace) though I still like to see those good visions being put into a movie. I also enjoyed seeing the young faces of some stars who would be even bigger in later years such as Harrison Ford or Edward James Olmos or even Daryl Hannah and Sean Young.
The movie was directed by Ridley Scott who also directed commercial and critical hits such as Alien, Gladiator, The Martian and few others. It was based on novel titled Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? written by Phillip K. Dick back in 1968.
In my personal opinion, though the movie presented something unique, I found it a bit difficult to simply enjoy. Perhaps it must be seen in full concentration together with other people who have seen and could understand its complex storyline to better appreciate it. Let us see if the sequel is loyal to its predecessor or it would just focus on a more action approach.
Mike's movie moments rating: 3 out of 5 stars
The uncut version of Blade Runner (1982) offers an immersive and more nuanced experience, deepening the film's exploration of identity, memory, and the existential plight of its characters, solidifying its status as a groundbreaking masterpiece in the realm of science fiction.
ReplyDelete