Blade Runner (1982)

Directed by: Ridley Scott

Starring: Harrison Ford

Since seeing Blade Runner I've somewhat forced myself into revisiting Ridley Scott. The reason for this being that I began to question a certainty that I once had. That certainty being that Ridley Scott was great. The more I explored this notion, the more I realized that my opinion of Scott has been based solely on Gladiator, which is a great film, and Black Hawk Down, which I've not seen in years.

Neither Gladiator nor Black Hawk Down, as acclaimed and recognized as they were when they were released, are considered Scott's best work. Alien and Blade Runner are true Ridley Scott films. Well, I like Alien, but don't love it and Blade Runner falls into the same category. And so many other Scott films, Kingdom of Heaven, Matchstick Men were disappointments. But then I look at Thelma and Louise and American Gangster, both of which I really liked... I just can't make up my mind.

So Blade Runner... Visually, its a stunning movie and the idea of it, I really like. Of course, movies about machines made to look like humans was very successful in the 80s. But unlike Terminator the story behind these machines isn't all that compelling. Granted Blade Runner is its own film, but I feel like I would have liked to learn more about the origin of these Replicants rather than simply reading a little blurb at the beginning of the film. I couldn't really get invested in Decker (Ford) as he chased after these apparently dangerous machines.

In addition, the whole aspect dealing with Decker's love interest who may or may not have been a replicant didn't have the suspense I think it needed to sustain my interest or really even care about it.

There is so much about this film that's easy to respect, but I found there is very little about it that is entertaining. Thus, Blade Runner falls into the "I'm not a Ridley Scott fan" category. I'll just have to keep track.

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