It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced awe in watching a movie, but I did have my moments in viewing this brand new version of Brave Runner at the Landmark Theatres, the only theatre that was showing Blade Runner on the west coast (its run now is unfortunately over). I’d only seen the film once before, back in freshman year at LMU, for a philosophy class. Back then, I talked about the positives and negatives of having artificial friends, since artificiality is a major theme in Blade Runner, with the replicant creatures. An excerpt from my essay…

“The problem that arises with a real friend, however, is that a person can be subjugated to having a friend who can become a terrible person, one who lacks sincere feelings and instead focuses on feelings of hate, jealousy, and greed. A real person is capable of ridiculing his friend whenever and wherever he feels the need to, and the friend merely has to accept the reality that there is no sure-fire way to guarantee his friend will always be there for him. A real person has the ability to act like a companion when all he really wants to do is maybe further his career or become more popular so that he can pursue more handsome, educated, and wealthy friends.”

Wow, what insight! And what’s bad about artificial friends?

“However, looking at the negative side of an artificial friend, there would be an irony to the argument that a fake person could cheer up his friend because it’s difficult for one to be cheered up by something that doesn’t have true human emotions. As great as it would be to have a friend who essentially lives for the person he was designed to love, there comes a point where the real being must analyze the situation and realize the friend is no more than a toy, a creation formed specifically for him to feel better about himself.”

Huh? I think I got an A on this paper. I’m not sure if Dr. Herr even looked at it.

Analyzing Blade Runner four years ago was fun because I got to look deep into a film and try to find meaning in different themes. In watching the movie again, for the first time in a theatre, I abandoned all notion of deep thought and just tried to watch it as a film, as a narrative, and there were positive and negative aspects.

The positive? This film looks gorgeous. It helped that I watched it on a brand new digital projector in one of the newest theatres in all of LA, but there are shots in this movie, originally released in 1982, that look far better than anything been done today. All of the model special effects feel far more realistic than most special effects done lately because there is tangible material right there on the screen. And it looks amazing. The gritty cinematography of the entire film still looks pristine, and the tone of it all is so drab and dark that the movie feels more like ambience than a story. Ridley Scott is a visionary, and here, in this final version, delivers a thing of beauty.

The negative? I don’t really care for Blade Runner as a story. I really really tried to get involved in the movie, but after about thirty minutes, just like it did a few years ago, the movie lost me, and I lost interest in the story, and I instead focused on the look of the movie, which never falters. Harrison Ford is nowhere near memorable in the title role–in fact, he seems a little too bored as the bland antihero. Sean Young just makes me upset as a whole, and Rutger Hauer overplays the villain. Daryl Hannah is the only one who really shines, in a very weird performance. Blade Runner has a lot of avid fans, but I don’t really see how one can truly love this movie. The movie is too talky, with a climactic showdown that goes on forever. I wanted to absolutely love this movie, but it didn’t grab me, and I have to acknowledge that.

The experience of seeing this lovely film in a theatre makes up for some of my reservations about the movie itself. I don’t really have reason to ever see this movie again, given that I saw it in the best possible way. I don’t have enough knowledge surrounding the past two versions to really explain what’s different about this “final cut,” but this is apparently the definitive version. I’ll never love the film, but I love the visuals, and merely on that level, the movie is definitely worth seeing. I just wish the story had more to offer. Blade Runner: The Final Cut is a mixed bag, a sumptuous feast that has, unfortunately, somewhat of a bitter aftertaste.

2 1/2 stars (out of 4)