Blade Crawler
Blade Runner is widely considered to be one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. I went into the
experience with this thought in mind: I am about to watch one of the greatest films ever created. I tried to watch the film with an open mind regarding the special effects and how the director and writer thought the world was going to be in the year 2019. In the movie, retired Blade Runner Rick Deckard, played by Harrison Ford, is asked by his old boss to come out of retirement and hunt down some escaped replicants. Replicants are biologically engineered humanoids who are used to do menial labour off-world. The obligatory flying cars and random computer screens scrolling green text nicely added to the ambiance. Overall, the effects and the sets were extremely well done. Each scene was quite busy with the hustle and bustle of 2019 Los Angeles. The buildings were covered in graffiti and the streets littered with trash, just how one would think 2019 Los Angles would look.
The effects and the acting was great but my problem with the movie is the pacing. The story seemed quite drawn out. The dramatic structure of the film was quite straight forward; it was your standard detective film. But the pacing was quite slow. There were very few things of importance that happened in the two hours of the movie. I felt like the whole story could have easily been told in half that time.
On the other hand, there is one aspect of the film I can't get over. The themes that run throughout the film are just genius. Perhaps this is what makes the film such a memorable one. The main theme, in my opinion, is the difference between human and android, or in this case, replicant. This is illustrated quite well by the replicant Rachel. Rachel is a replicant, but she doesn't know that she is. The test that Deckard does to test if one is a replicant took many more questions to determine if Rachel was a replicant. This brings into question all of humanity. How does one know that every other person on the planet isn't a replicant. This is a philosophy called solipsism. I feel that this theme impacts the movie quite a bit.
All in all, I feel that the pacing of the film is what killed it. If the movie moved faster, I would definitely consider this one of the greatest films of all time. Thematically, this movie was perfect. It brought into question the very existence of the viewer. Not many films have this type of impact.
experience with this thought in mind: I am about to watch one of the greatest films ever created. I tried to watch the film with an open mind regarding the special effects and how the director and writer thought the world was going to be in the year 2019. In the movie, retired Blade Runner Rick Deckard, played by Harrison Ford, is asked by his old boss to come out of retirement and hunt down some escaped replicants. Replicants are biologically engineered humanoids who are used to do menial labour off-world. The obligatory flying cars and random computer screens scrolling green text nicely added to the ambiance. Overall, the effects and the sets were extremely well done. Each scene was quite busy with the hustle and bustle of 2019 Los Angeles. The buildings were covered in graffiti and the streets littered with trash, just how one would think 2019 Los Angles would look.
The effects and the acting was great but my problem with the movie is the pacing. The story seemed quite drawn out. The dramatic structure of the film was quite straight forward; it was your standard detective film. But the pacing was quite slow. There were very few things of importance that happened in the two hours of the movie. I felt like the whole story could have easily been told in half that time.
On the other hand, there is one aspect of the film I can't get over. The themes that run throughout the film are just genius. Perhaps this is what makes the film such a memorable one. The main theme, in my opinion, is the difference between human and android, or in this case, replicant. This is illustrated quite well by the replicant Rachel. Rachel is a replicant, but she doesn't know that she is. The test that Deckard does to test if one is a replicant took many more questions to determine if Rachel was a replicant. This brings into question all of humanity. How does one know that every other person on the planet isn't a replicant. This is a philosophy called solipsism. I feel that this theme impacts the movie quite a bit.
All in all, I feel that the pacing of the film is what killed it. If the movie moved faster, I would definitely consider this one of the greatest films of all time. Thematically, this movie was perfect. It brought into question the very existence of the viewer. Not many films have this type of impact.
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