Blade Runner: The Question That The Movie Raised – Momus Review

Blade Runner is another movie that was ridiculed when it was released but gradually established itself as one of the smartest sci-fi movies.

Denis Villeneuve directed the sequel, Blade Runner 2049, which was released in the year 2017.

Like the prequel, the sequel was also a project under the supervision of the iconic movie-maker Ridley Scott and is a noir sci-fi movie.

In between Blade Runner and Blade Runner: 2049, three short films came that shed light on the plot and the key characters.

The first short film is called 2036: Nexus Dawn (Directed by Ridley Scott’s son, Luke Scott), 2048: Nowhere to Run (Directed by Luke Scott), and Blade Runner 2049: Black Out 2022 (Animated short film, directed by Shinichiro Watanabe).

Let’s talk about the first movie, Blade Runner starring Harrison Ford as the main lead.

Here’s a quick revision of the plot:

The movie is inspired from Philip K. Dick’s Novel, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”

Philip K. Dick is known for his another sci-fi work, which inspired the movie, Total Recall (Year: 1990)

Blade Runner is a story set in the future, where a retired law enforcer, Deckard (Harrison Ford) is brought back to service to hunt down replicants.

Replicants are human-like genetically engineered creatures. These human-made beings revolts in a planet and comes to Earth to expand their lifespan.

A company called Tyrell Corporation manufactures the replicants.

Deckard meets a replicant named Rachael in Tyrell Corporation. Rachael was unaware of the fact that she’s a replicant too.

Eventually, they fall in love. Deckard falls in love with something he was sent to retire or kill.

While watching the movie, I had a few questions on my mind.

1. The replicants were so similar to humans that they had to undergo tests (subjective or objective introspection) to ensure that they are replicants. Did this close resemblance between the creator and the creature symbolises humans and Gods?
2. The replicants realized at one point that they shouldn’t trust their memories as they were implanted in them. They understood that these false memories would cloud their judgment. Again, the accuracy of the memory (given that it’s true) also plays a role in the decision-making process. Were the humans in real life compared with the replicants in the movie and how humans make decisions on the memories?
3. Rachael was convinced that she was a replicant when officer Deckard described her the replicants and how they work. Her intelligence was based on those memories. So, would you believe in the possibility that even your intelligence is somewhere dependent on the memories that were in a way implanted in you?
4. The movie’s moral message is that the replicants shouldn’t be treated like a slave. Why? Only because they look human? So, we are not supposed to enslave or dominate something that looks like us!

[bctt tweet=”Blade Runner is a movie that is based on cloning and intelligence. However, it confused the definition of humans?” username=”SMomus”]

Then there was another important question:

Who decides who will live and who should die? Just because we create anything, do we have the right to kill it too? Or just keep it as our slaves?

The replicants revolted on a planet and came down to Earth next. When you think about it, they are more relatable to something mythological that fell from the sky to find answers; like fallen angels!

Roy Batty again looked like an example of Ubermensch or Uber Superman by Nietzschean; because of his demeanor, outlook, and intrinsic character. He was basically a new god to the other replicants.

Now for a moment if we assume that Deckard is also a replicant.

In the sequel, Blade Runner 2049, we see that Rachael and Deckard have a baby.

So was it always possible for replicants to reproduce and that’s why the humans were scared of them and wanted to kill them?

Was it an ability that they developed or was it there all along?

Nonetheless, if the humans in Blade Runner are to symbolize Gods and replicants, humans then the creator was shown scared somewhere of his creation. The creator created the creature in his own image, and somewhere he was afraid that he’d pull him down and rule. The insecurity of the creator was also visible in some parts.

Overall, Blade Runner is an excellent movie that encourages you to think.

Blade Runner was way ahead of his time and deserves to be remembered as a cult classic.

Also Read – 10 English Movies That Were Ahead Of Time