Harrison Ford has been a pretty iconic figure in Sci-fi and action, from Star Wars to Indiana Jones, and Blade Runner is an unmissable title in that list
When it first came out, Blade Runner was a strange film that had some critics saying it was brilliant, and some saying it was sci-fi stupid nonsense and should be flushed down the toilet. However, with the fullness of time, the movie has shown it was far ahead of its time with its story of androids and humans set in a future Los Angeles after another World War which nearly destroyed the planet.
Even the great Ridley Scott has stated that Blade Runner was “probably” his most complete and personal film, and we’re not about to go doubting him when it comes to film.
Starting with the basics, the movie focuses on Harrison Ford’s character Rick Deckard, a special detective (known as a Blade Runner, hence the title of the movie) who’s an expert at hunting down “replicants” – special android robots that are so similar to humans that you can’t tell them apart.
That, of course, is half the reason they’re banned on Earth and confined to working on colonies off the planet, but some are daring enough to come back. The film is based on a novel by the famous author Philip K. Dick called ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep’, which tells the story of one day in Deckard’s life as he hunts down one particular group of replicants who have returned.
The opening scene of the film sets the scene nicely, with Deckard performing a test on a replicant to try and discover whether or not she’s human, something which even she doesn’t know, which is the main theme of the film. Who’s human and who’s not? You’re messing with our brains man!
While the movie has held up pretty well over time, there are some parts that look a bit dated, and the soundtrack can sometimes lean more towards Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace than the smooth jazz and blues that is supposed to remind us of old black and white detective noir films.
That said, it’s absolutely no excuse to leave this one off the list of greatest sci-fi flicks, a definite must watch, even if you’re not into the genre. The ending is particularly good, and without wanting to spoil anything, it gives you something to think about which makes you want to watch the whole movie again.
As an aside, if you haven’t read anything by Philip K. Dick (who was also an under-appreciated genius in his time, much like this film) then his novel The Man in the High Castle is a great place to start. It’s a fascinating book which imagines what the world would be like if the Allies had lost the war and we reckon that there’s at least one director eyeing that one up to make a movie out of too.
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