Out of all the film genres I enjoy, my most favourite has to be Science Fiction, or Sci-Fi, and its subgenres. I enjoy the classic golden age of cinema Sci-Fi films that either make the year 2000 the most futuristic and technologically advance we will ever get, with hover cars and space travel being similar to a road trip or a B-movie where the aliens are a thin sheeted allegory for "Godless Communists" and I equally enjoy recent Sci-Fi films that are usually bleak and dystopian, where aliens are barely serving our space bars, let alone trying to conquer the Earth. But my most favourite of the Sci-Fi genre has to be the ‘smart Sci-Fi’ film, a visually stunning and entertaining Sci-Fi film that is also intelligent and thought provoking, a film that says to you, “I know you’re intelligent, so I’m not going pander down to you with flashy secial effects like you're some retarded magpie”.
One film that is constantly associated with this subgenre is Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. A smart epic Sci-Fi with an exciting atmosphere, an intelligent premise and the acting talents of Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer all tossed together and it was brilliant.
The film is based on the book Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep? by Science Fiction legend, Philip K. Dick. There are some similarities between the book and the film, such as the characters and concepts, however some things are changed, such as in the book; Deckard had a wife; and the mood organ that showed how humanity is becoming so artificial, it has to construct emotions and feelings. As such, the film is a little less complex than the book, but I wouldn't hold that against it.
The narrative is that it is the year 2019 and man is still alive. A company called the Tyrell Corporation has created a series of genetically engineered, biomechanical androids called ‘Replicants’. Replicants are completely indistinguishable from humans (hence, Tyrell’s motto “More human than human”) and are mostly use as ‘slaves’ in dangerous environments and colonisations. Soon, however, after a violent revolt by a group of Replicants, all Replicants are illegal on Earth and a special division of the police force is created called ‘blade runners’; who’s job is to identify, hunt and “retire” Replicants.
The plot is that a group of Replicants have escaped their Off-world colony and have returned to Earth, specifically Los Angeles. The police entice retired blade runner, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) to hunt them down and “retire” them. The group of Replicants are led by Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), an extremely intelligent and emotional unstable Nexus-6 Replicant who has returned to Earth to stop the programmed fail-safe that Tyrell had installed in all Nexus-6 models; a four year life-span to stop them from developing emotions and desire for independence. In the middle of this, we are introduced to Rachael (Sean Young), an experimental, advanced Replicant who has no idea she is a Replicant and has been implanted with false memories, that are the actually memories of the niece of Dr. Eldon Tyrell (Joe Turkel), the extremely intelligent CEO of the Tyrell Corporation, who may have a serious God complex. In the middle of the middle of this, Deckard is starting to feel affection for Rachael and starts questioning himself and what he is doing, especially when he is given orders to “retire” Rachael.
The constant question that floats over this film is ‘what is human?’ The film is trying to find a definition for what is human; is it just a title or something else that can’t be inherited by man-made machines created in his own image? The concept of humanity is also questioned with the character of Deckard and his interactions; Deckard seems almost unemotional with a lack of empathy for machines that act more human and just want to preserve themselves. Oh, and because of things like this, there are many debates as to whether or not Deckard is a Replicant. My opinion is still currently ambiguous like the answer to that question; Deckard does seem to be able to take beatings from the Replicants, who are supposed to have superhuman strength, he doesn’t have any sort of back story and the character of Gaff (Edward James Olmos) seems to know a lot about Deckard, even what happens in his dreams; but if Deckard is a Replicant why would Roy save his life, which he does to teach him the value of his humanity, and how can Deckard see humanity in Replicants if he himself is a Replicant? It’s hard to argue against each claim because they both create juxtaposition in the narrative and further the audience to question what is humanity.
Now, just because Blade Runner does have a lot of intelligence and philosophy in it does not mean it isn’t entertaining. The atmosphere and set pieces are just amazing; creating this dark, dystopian and realistic world that still seems futuristic, with cultural mixing and constructed languages and a side satire on commercialism and paranoia. The action is also entertaining in that it is well-shot and well-paced. The music is very haunting, helping create this scary, futuristic environment with the right mixture of film noir inspiration.
And the acting is amazing, with actors who only have about five minutes of screen time giving memorable and competent scenes. There is also the kick-ass acting of both Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer who just fill the boots of their characters so perfectly; no-one else could have played those roles.
Blade Runner is a fantastic film that any Sci-Fi buff should not miss out on. Also, if you one of those people who are tired of many films treating you like an idiot, who thinks it can entertain you with jingling keys; try Blade Runner, you will feel all the smarter for watching it.
I’m Random Internet Critic and I criticise it because I've got a secret, I've been hiding under my skin.
No comments:
Post a Comment