I’m going through the AFI Top 100.  Number 97 is Blade Runner.

TCM gives this synopsis:

An ex cop comes out of retirement in order to hunt down androids who are being reproduced for purpose of slavery.

For those of you who don’t know, Blade Runner is directed by Ridley Scott who had just finished Alien.  Harrison Ford stars as the ex-cop, Deckard.  He was fresh off Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I had seen the original Blade Runner back in film school and frankly, I wasn’t impressed.  But so many people love the film and I was pretty excited to revisit the film.  This time, I watched the Final Cut of the film found on the 5 disc Bluray release.  There are several versions of the film and you can read about those over on Wikipedia.

My initial reaction to the film, this time without cheesy studio-imposed voice-over, was similar to my first viewing.  The visuals were amazing but the story didn’t hold my attention very well.  Upon further research, what most people find interesting about the story is it’s philosophical question of what it means to be human.  Dan Mancini, a friend and movie reviewer, pointed out to me on Twitter, “It’s the Frankenstein myth dressed up in cyberpunk. What is “human”? What does it mean to be created in someone else’s image?”

So in that respect, the movie is interesting.  But bringing up a philosophical question isn’t enough to grab me.  On the other hand, the visuals and the immersion into the world do a lot to help.  And this movie is oozing with mood and design.  That’s what I take away from Blade Runner.

I hate to compare Blade Runner, which admittedly is a classic, to a films like Pirates of the Carribean 2 and 3 but I’m going to do it anyway.  I watch the Pirates “Trilogy” probably once every 6 months not because those films are great films (let’s face it – they aren’t) but because the world is so darn cool and a place I want to live for several hours.

Making your scripted world really cool and detailed might distract from any plot problems that the script may have.  It sure helps with Blade Runner.

What did you think of Blade Runner?