Vox Nova At The Movies: Blade Runner: The Final Cut.

“A new life awaits you in the off-world colonies! A chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure.”

Blade Runner has become one of the most popular science fiction movies from the 1980s. When it was at the theatres, it was not an instant success. In fact, one can say it was a box office failure. Despite the draw that Harrison Ford should have had for the film, the movie bombed. Blade Runner was not an action film. It was film noire set within a futuristic, cyberpunk landscape. While there were a few important action sequences, for the most part, the movie was very heady, and it asked questions which the audience did not expect or want to hear. What does it mean to be human? Who has the right to exist? How should we treat one another? How should we treat other sentient beings (if they exist)? Do androids really dream dreams of unicorns (ok, that question would only come later, when excised footage from the movie would be reinstated to the film). Thanks to home video and dvd sales, Blade Runner became a cult classic. Through the years, footage which was cut from it was able to be restored. Many versions of the film became available, although the so-called director’s cut became the most authoritative version of the story. But things were not perfect. Continuity errors in the film and various special effect sequences could be improved. With the advent of high-definition television, the opportunity for a new, final cut of Blade Runner became not only a possibility but a reality.

Blade Runner is a movie about a world gone amuck. Harrison Ford is Rick Deckard, a Blade Runner called out of retirement for one important, final case. The story takes place in a future where humanity has created android replicants which look, live and exist like humans. They have human thoughts and feelings. Indeed, it seems as if they have a soul. But humanity has turned these androids into slave labor. Of course the replicants don’t want to be slaves. But, for humanity, they have no other purpose. After a bloody revolt, authorities have forbidden replicants from living on the earth. Those who come here are hunted down and killed by the Blade Runners.

“Have you ever retired a human by mistake?”

Deckard has been called back into service to deal with a group of replicants who have landed on earth. As with all replicants, they have been given a very limited lifespan (of four years). Yet they want to live and they want to find a way to overcome the limitations built into their existence. For the most part, they blend in with the rest of humanity. Deckard goes to the Tyrell corporation, their creator, to learn more about them. But as he does so, he finds out Tyrell has created one more replicant, Rachel, who does not know she is one, and who has been living and working as a secretary for the corporation. As a Blade Runner, Deckard is expected to kill her as much as everyone else. Yet, something in him does not want this – why should he kill her? And when she saves his life when dealing with the other replicants, he feels he must do what he can to save her and her life. Indeed, he begins to feel love for her and she for him. But why is this so? Is Deckard, unknown to himself, a replicant as well?

Blade Runner provides an interesting journey as Deckard tries to discern what he should do about Rachel as he tries to find and destroy the other replicants. The last one he has to deal with is Batty, a replicant made for military use. Throughout their encounter, Batty always has the upper hand. He is militant, even vindictive, and yet there is something in him which shows a kind, caring heart as well. He has seen and experienced much, and despite his militant nature, he has grown to love all the beauty he has seen. Can Batty, in trying to find a way to save his life, overcome Deckard? Must he kill Deckard in order to survive? Or is there something greater Batty can end up doing? And if so, what?

The final cut of the film does not have the voiceovers, but it has new special effects and continuity corrections which make for a more consistent spectacle. For anyone who has not heard the voiceovers, I would recommend finding a copy of the original theatrical cut of the film before seeing this version of the film – they help explain what is going on, and indeed, some of the lines are classic. But for anyone else, this is indeed the ultimate, final cut, and it is worthy of all the expectations and hopes put on it. It is a polished version of the director’s cut, so the ending is more ambiguous than what was shown at the theatre (as Ridley Scott wanted); but that ambiguity is what the film is all about, and as such, it is a valid ending. What will happen between Deckard and Rachel? Only the viewer can decide.

4/4 stars.