This is for people who haven't watched all the versions (or any version).  If you are a long-time fan of the movie in one version or another, just skip this review because you'll probably hate it.

I heard about Blade Runner for many years but never got around to seeing it.  The final cut was my first exposure to the movie.  If you are like me, these are things you should know:

1.  It's dark.  Visually as well as plotwise.  I like noir films but have difficulty seeing dark & shadowy scenes, which in this case is most of the movie.  I think the larger & clearer you can see it, the better off you'll be.  If you've got a 20-year-old 26" TV, bring the movie to watch with friends who have new, big TVs because you can't understand what you can't see.

2.  It's dark (again).  Deckard is the closest thing to a hero in this movie and he isn't exactly warm and fuzzy.  He doesn't express any more emotion than Rachel, the replicant with whom he falls in love (contributing to the "is Deckard a replicant or human" debate).  I think the reason they needed special tests to identify replicants wasn't because the replicants were so human but because all the humans were so robotic.  Ridley Scott portrays a future I hope we never see.  Very grim.  And it rained all the time in LA -- huh?

3.  It can be confusing.  As I understand, the original release had a Deckard voiceover added after screening audiences didn't like the movie.  I think the movie is stylistically better without a voiceover, but it can be hard for new viewers like me to catch all the details.  One scene in particular confused me:  Deckard was looking at a photo in his apartment that he kept enlarging and enhancing to find small details.  What was that about?  And then the added unicorn scene that followed (more fuel for the Deckard as replicant position) confused me more.  Again because of the visual darkness & my old TV, I had to go online to realize that the last object Deckard picked up was an origami unicorn (presumably left by the cop who made origami).  If you like movies all spelled out for you, you probably won't like this movie.

4.  No happy ending.  The original Deckard & Rachel escape to lovely woodsy places would be more "feel good" but make no sense if the Earth is so miserable people want to move off world.  The ending in this final cut is a bit abrupt for me.  They get into an elevator and all of a sudden the credits start, leaving me wondering what happened.  If you like happy endings, you'll be disappointed.

5.  Hard characters to like.  It may be that I missed something, but I didn't find anything in the replicants to make me empathize with them.  Roy has one moment of goodness after a violent and murderous swath through the movie.  If the goal of the movie was to make me think about what makes an organism a person who deserve rights to life, liberty, etc., I missed it.  I had no problem with Deckard killing the escapees.  Even Rachel, who was benign, gave me no reason to feel she should be treated as a human.  On the other hand, I didn't like any of the human characters much either.

I gave this movie 3 stars because I still don't know whether I liked it or not.  But I was intrigued enough that I might read the Philip Dick story or watch a version with voiceover narration and then come back to this version hoping to understand it better.
This is for people who haven't watched all the versions (or any version). If you are a long-time fan of the movie in one version or another, just skip this review because you'll probably hate it. I heard about Blade Runner for many years but never got around to seeing it. The final cut was my first exposure to the movie. If you are like me, these are things you should know:

1. It's dark. Visually as well as plotwise. I like noir films but have difficulty seeing dark & shadowy scenes, which in this case is most of the movie. I think the larger & clearer you can see it, the better off you'll be. If you've got a 20-year-old 26" TV, bring the movie to watch with friends who have new, big TVs because you can't understand what you can't see. 2. It's dark (again). Deckard is the closest thing to a hero in this movie and he isn't exactly warm and fuzzy. He doesn't express any more emotion than Rachel, the replicant with whom he falls in love (contributing to the "is Deckard a replicant or human" debate). I think the reason they needed special tests to identify replicants wasn't because the replicants were so human but because all the humans were so robotic. Ridley Scott portrays a future I hope we never see. Very grim. And it rained all the time in LA -- huh? 3. It can be confusing. As I understand, the original release had a Deckard voiceover added after screening audiences didn't like the movie. I think the movie is stylistically better without a voiceover, but it can be hard for new viewers like me to catch all the details. One scene in particular confused me:  Deckard was looking at a photo in his apartment that he kept enlarging and enhancing to find small details. What was that about? And then the added unicorn scene that followed (more fuel for the Deckard as replicant position) confused me more. Again because of the visual darkness & my old TV, I had to go online to realize that the last object Deckard picked up was an origami unicorn (presumably left by the cop who made origami). If you like movies all spelled out for you, you probably won't like this movie. 4. No happy ending. The original Deckard & Rachel escape to lovely woodsy places would be more "feel good" but make no sense if the Earth is so miserable people want to move off world. The ending in this final cut is a bit abrupt for me. They get into an elevator and all of a sudden the credits start, leaving me wondering what happened. If you like happy endings, you'll be disappointed. 5. Hard characters to like. It may be that I missed something, but I didn't find anything in the replicants to make me empathize with them. Roy has one moment of goodness after a violent and murderous swath through the movie. If the goal of the movie was to make me think about what makes an organism a person who deserve rights to life, liberty, etc. , I missed it. I had no problem with Deckard killing the escapees. Even Rachel, who was benign, gave me no reason to feel she should be treated as a human. On the other hand, I didn't like any of the human characters much either. I gave this movie 3 stars because I still don't know whether I liked it or not. But I was intrigued enough that I might read the Philip Dick story or watch a version with voiceover narration and then come back to this version hoping to understand it better.