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Song of the Day: “I” by Andrew Bird

• Director: Ridley Scott
• Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller/Action
• Year: 1982

My sister was being born when this movie came out! Actually my sister beat out the movie in arrival by about five months but that is neither here or there, I am simply pointing out the fact that this movie is getting old. Oh dang I am so screwed if my sister reads this. But aren’t we all getting old? Facts are facts and age in a movie, particularly a Sci-Fi movie, in my opinion, can often be crippling, because more and more they become reliant on special effects and as technology improved visual effects as well and because increasingly the new generation of MTV children get bored with the old school of watching films. Therefore, it is the signature of a well done movie when one can watch a twenty-something sci-fi film this day in age and still be blown away by it. Empire Strikes Back, anyone?

This is not the first time I watch this film, in fact I can still vividly recall coming back into the house after rolling around in the sand piles of Toño’s construction site with my friends and walking up to my dad who was seated in the family room watching this film. I was hooked from the go (I walked in on the scene where Pris paints her face like a harlequin). I spoke no English at the time, so you can probably imagine me staring at the screen, trying to figure out what was unfolding. So, perhaps after that verbose explanation you can understand why I had to watch the film again and judge it properly. It is unfair to say I liked a film because it looked really cool when I was a seven year old (I saw it a couple of years after it came out).

I watched it, twenty-six years after its release and I can still happily say this movie is flippin’ good!

Based on a novel (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) by Philip K. Dick, Ridley Scott presents us with the story of Rick Deckard a formerly retired Blade Runner, who is called back into action when four replicants sneak back into earth where they are no longer allowed. In a future (2019, but honestly I am saddened to see how far off the mark we are from this version of the future. Where are the flying cars???), where robots have been created to be an equal match, if not better than a human as far as physical traits and intelligence go, it was only a matter of time before the robots became sentient enough to rebel against the slavery that was imposed on them. Blade Runners are officers that are in charge of retiring replicants that make it back to earth. Retiring is a nice way to say executing.

On a purely entertaining level, this movie is solid, with a theme that is constantly moving, intriguing and set in a world that is still visually stunning and which was clearly the influence of many films to come. Yes, the effects are not quite as polished as what you are likely to encounter in recent movies, but they hold up surprisingly well, to the point where it becomes a non-issue, allowing for the audience to sink itself into the film without questioning the how’s and the why’s on the mechanics and design of things.

But the beauty of this film, and surely the novel (which I have sadly not yet read), is in the complexities of the issues it deals with underneath the surface of this techno-punk world. The central question being what is it to be human? These replicants, modeled after ourselves, are like us in just about every way and the newer models (Nexus 6, or something like that) are even more complete in that they have been implanted with memories. Needless to say, the film offers a group of antagonists that are both interesting and easy to relate to. All they want is to live! Trying to get rid of the coding inside them that allows them to have a lifespan of no more than four years. Never is it mentioned that they are looking to take over or displace the humans. Life…a proper life is all they want. All of this set in an dim, neon highlighted littered with garbage and automated advertising. Mixing a sense of Noir along with the futuristic vision of our society, the setting alone is enough to get one involved in the story.

Leading the cast as Rick Deckard is Harrison Ford, who looked really young compared to the latest installment of Indiana Jones (hurl!) which is the last film I saw him in, and there is no question that he carries his role solidly. The supporting cast, which includes Daryl Hanna as the replicant Pris, Rutger Hauer as replicand Roy Batty and William Sanderson who is immediately recognizable as J.F. Sebastian the moment he steps out of his vehicle, is good in their delivery. This, coupled with good directing add up to a very enjoyable Sci-Fi film, that reaches beyond the stereotypical borders of the genre opening a can of philosophical worms that will make for great, late night conversation with your friends.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Notes: Some violence. I do not recall much language but then again I seem to have a filter when it comes to that and swear words do not register with me until my parents are in the room and watching the movie with me…only then I seem to be aware of how potty mouthed many of my movies are. No question on the violence, however, which is mostly what earns this film its R rating along with brief nudity.
Quote: [after Rachael kills Leon]
Deckard: Shakes? Me too. I get ‘em bad. It’s part of the business.
Rachael: I’m not in the business… I *am* the business.