Review: Blade Runner

Well. It's on AFI's Top 100, so it has to be good, right?
I don't know if it is. Apparently it bombed when it was initially came out. And then it became a cult classic. Me? I wasn't thrilled. The bottom line of this movie for me was: a few moments of brilliant don't make up for an hour or so of "...ok"
Basic Plot: Humans have gotten a kind of God complex and we've started creating robots that are incredibly human-like (except that they don't have human emotions) We made them to do the dirty work in our off-world colonies. They have been banned on earth because they revolted against us. Blade Runners are the special cops that take care of these resky Replicants. Harrison Ford plays a semi-retired Runner who is pulled back into the job. I'm not going into it too much more.
The whole idea presented is what makes us different from them? Apparently the emotional response, but that is evidently wrong, because they develope these feelings, which is why they are limited to a 4 year lifespan. The message is clear: we shouldn't have made them in the first place, they are also people. The film also presents questions: What is it to be human? Where do we come from? How long do we have? That side is brilliant. It's a wonderful way to make people think of these things.
However, there are certain things you lack in the film to make it really effect you. Feeling for one. Strangely enough, you don't get a lot of feeling from anyone in this film, except for the head Replicant (Roy) in the very end. Right next to him in feeling and above him in sympathy is the JF Sebastian character who is a very human person who has the same problem as the Replicants (a minimal lifespan). The rest of the characters you just don't feel anything from - not even the humans or the new-and-improved Replicant with Emotions and Memories.
Design wise, its interesting. It's futuristic, but it is also very 1940s. Which is a common theme in design of similar films (why is that??) But it is also a product of its time (the 80s) One look at Rachel's shoulderpads will tell you that. And why is the future always so dirty and junky?
The film is an interesting neo-noir type. It has the typical voiceovers, the femme fatale, the detective character, the underground world, the dark places, etc. So, in type it is very interesting.
Overall, I just didn't like it much. Like a said, there are a few moments of brilliant, but not enough.
2 out of 5 stars