First of all, let me just preface this by explaining that the original Blade Runner film is one of my favourite films of all time, and alongside Withnail's Hamlet soliloquy to the zoo in the rain at the end of Withnail & I, the 'tears in the rain' speech at the end of the original Blade Runner is my favourite scene in cinematic history. Something I don't think will ever be recreated.
So it was tough for me to even come to terms with them re-booting a film I loved so much. I think I got angry the first time I saw the trailer for this and took to social media writing something stupid like "Harrison Ford, retire thyself."
But I heard good things about this, and from people whose opinions I respect. And didn't this director do a couple of great films recently, like Arrival and Prisoners? "Maybe I should give it a chance..." I thought to myself.
And so I went along to the cinema, slightly nervous, but hoping for good things.
I might need to ask a few ranty questions here, so forgive me, but...
Why the hell did they cast Jared Leto as the villain? Why was he so overly creepy and villainy? Why didn't he just leave that visual chip thing in his neck all the time? What was the point of the scene where he stabs the replicant he just made in the tummy? Why did his assistant cry at that point, and then turn out to be the most evil kind of henchwoman in the world afterwards? Wasn't the virtual girlfriend storyline a bit too much like the film Her? Why did the tough replicant at the beginning even let K (Ryan Gosling) retire him? Surely it would've been better to kill Ryan Gosling and then no one would've found Rachel's remains? Why was the music so loud and jarring? Why is Hans Zimmer making jarring scary music (after Dunkirk and this, I think he might be losing his touch a bit when it comes to sound – too loud, too icky) when they could've got Vangelis to do the soundtrack instead? Why was it so bright? Why couldn't they have kept it dark like the original? Was Deckard a replicant or not? (Actually, I like not knowing) but did the fact he was living in radioactive Las Vegas mean he WAS a replicant? Because when they track Deckard and K down, the people who come to get them are wearing gas masks.
Also, why was the film so long?
It might sound like I didn't like it, but I did. It's not a bad film, at all. There was a lot I did like about it: the cinematography was beautiful (despite not being dark & noir enough), the acting was good (apart from Jared Leto), it didn't just rely on action but created suspense in the traditional detective/crime format, the sets were pretty and the dialogue was good.
If it wasn't connected to the original, I might've been able to relax a bit and enjoy it more. But I found myself overanalysing everything. It didn't help that the plot was overly complex and opaque at times.
But I didn't hate the film, I just hate this re-boot culture we're living in now.
Why can't we just make new art? 7/10
