Movie Monday: Blade Runner

The week after Christmas, while my oldest son was home sick, he and my husband and I watched the original Blade Runner movie, which only my husband had seen before when it first came out, so that we can watch last year's sequel, Blade Runner 2049. We all enjoyed this sci fi movie from 1982, which is set in the far future world of 2019!

As with many futuristic sci fi movies, Earth - and particularly Los Angeles - has become a dark, bleak place. Human-like androids known as replicants live among humans. A young Harrison Ford plays Rick Deckard, an ex-cop who used to work as a "Blade Runner," someone assigned to assassinate replicants found among humans. When a bloody mutiny occurs off-world by a team of replicants, Rick is brought out of retirement to track down the androids responsible. During his investigation, though, he meets a female replicant, whom he gets to know and is attracted to. This makes Rick reconsider his role and think about what it means to be human.

We all enjoyed this gritty sci fi thriller, based on the 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. It's a dark movie, both literally and in tone, and Harrison Ford is, as always, fun to watch. There is plenty here to make you think, about being human, relationships, and the future. We were all amused by the film's depiction of the future, since it is set in 2019, and we are almost there! I always find it fascinating how sci fi writers in the past foresaw the distant future, where we are now. They generally get some things right, predict some things that are still far too advanced for us, and completely miss the boat on other technological advances. So, in this movie, there are androids that are almost impossible to tell apart from humans, yet Rick still has to find a pay phone (granted, it's a video pay phone) to make a call! All in all, we enjoyed this suspenseful and captivating film. Now we need to find time to see its recent sequel!

Blade Runner  is available for streaming on Amazon, starting at $2.99 or on DVD. It doesn't look like it is available on Netflix. And no spoilers here - ever - but from what I read, there are big differences between the theatrical version and the director's cut (we watched the theatrical version) and between director Ridley Scott's interpretation of the movie and Harrison Ford's! AFTER you have watched Blade Runner, you can check out this YouTube video, The Ending of Blade Runner Explained, to get in on the controversies (be ready to have your mind blown).