Like many other movies that came out during the 1980s, I only recently watched Blade Runner, for the first time, a few years ago.  I guess that you can say that either I'm extremely naive...or have lived a very 'sheltered' life.

Before watching Blade Runner for the first time, I had the impression (based on countless reviews by critics and the general public) that it was one of the most underrated and greatest sci-fi movies of all time.  After having...'somehow' (*cough*) managed to force myself to watch the entire movie, my impression of the intelligence of mankind lowered exponentially -as it has many times in recent years, needless to say.

Blade Runner starts out as an eery sci-fi flic showing potential that it may well, indeed, turn out to paint a very original, accurate and ominous portrayal of the future: The futuristically-rendered city-scapes are very well done (even for the present year, 2009, they still don't look very dated), the synthesizer palettes by Vangelis create an ominous atmosphere that goes well with the beginning of the the movie...and some of the first scenes seem to suggest that the movie will be very futuristic and intellectual in a number of ways.  Once the miscast droning dialogue from Harrison Ford (who plays Rick Deckard, a detective who's narrative dialogue is supposed to sound intelligent, but comes across as that of a dumb rogue more befitting of Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark) enters the movie...it goes downhill...very quickly...

Rick Deckard's mission is to eliminate "replicants."  After the first half hour of the film (the only part of the film that has anything intellectual, thematic, or atmospheric going for it), the entire plot goes downhill very quickly and the remainder of the film focuses on Harrison Ford chasing replicants, being chased by replicants, and fighting replicants.  Instead of being awash with atmosphere, mystery, and futuristic city-renderings, the film is awash with sleazy '80s dance-fight choreography, dark-colored gothic make-up, and gore.  The dialogue and action from this point on is graphic, pointless, and pain-fully redundant...a pointless exercise in futility.  For THIS part of the movie (the majority of the film), Rutger Hauer is WONDERFULLY-CAST (as opposed to "mis-cast") as the proto-typical sleaze-gore '80s villain -something akin to a SUPER-rebellious Billy Idol...exept with MORE makeup and possessing decent fighting skills.  By the end of the movie, you're wondering why the heck did I spend two hours or so watching this sleaze-schlock nonsense...and what the hell was the purpose of it?

How the general public AND critics (look at the PLETHORA of 5-star reviews on this website, alone!) overwhelmingly rate this movie as even "marginally-good"...much less "GREAT"...is way beyond me...(or is it "below" me?).  Is there something about the opening music and city renderings of this film...that creates an atmosphere that 'stays' with them throughout the remainder of the film?  Is it that most people watched Blade Runner when it came out in 1982 (I only saw it for the first time ever recently), times were different, and although the movie is NOW wonderfully-dated and overrated, they still have the same impression of the movie?

In my opinion, Blade Runner isn't a "terrible" movie...but is certainly not good either, and a movie, which I believe can...and should be parodied...or at the very least submitted to Mystery Science Theater (for the take on Harrison Ford's 'dumb-sounding' dialogue narration, or Rutger Hauer's overtly-explicit sleaze antics, among others).  Based on the sheer number of high reviews that I've seen of this movie on nearly every major website, I would even go as far as to say that "Blade Runner is the most overrated movie of all time."
Like many other movies that came out during the 1980s, I only recently watched Blade Runner, for the first time, a few years ago. I guess that you can say that either I'm extremely naive... or have lived a very 'sheltered' life. Before watching Blade Runner for the first time, I had the impression (based on countless reviews by critics and the general public) that it was one of the most underrated and greatest sci-fi movies of all time. After having... 'somehow' (*cough*) managed to force myself to watch the entire movie, my impression of the intelligence of mankind lowered exponentially -as it has many times in recent years, needless to say. Blade Runner starts out as an eery sci-fi flic showing potential that it may well, indeed, turn out to paint a very original, accurate and ominous portrayal of the future: The futuristically-rendered city-scapes are very well done (even for the present year, 2009, they still don't look very dated), the synthesizer palettes by Vangelis create an ominous atmosphere that goes well with the beginning of the the movie... and some of the first scenes seem to suggest that the movie will be very futuristic and intellectual in a number of ways. Once the miscast droning dialogue from Harrison Ford (who plays Rick Deckard, a detective who's narrative dialogue is supposed to sound intelligent, but comes across as that of a dumb rogue more befitting of Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark) enters the movie... it goes downhill... very quickly... Rick Deckard's mission is to eliminate "replicants. "  After the first half hour of the film (the only part of the film that has anything intellectual, thematic, or atmospheric going for it), the entire plot goes downhill very quickly and the remainder of the film focuses on Harrison Ford chasing replicants, being chased by replicants, and fighting replicants. Instead of being awash with atmosphere, mystery, and futuristic city-renderings, the film is awash with sleazy '80s dance-fight choreography, dark-colored gothic make-up, and gore. The dialogue and action from this point on is graphic, pointless, and pain-fully redundant... a pointless exercise in futility. For THIS part of the movie (the majority of the film), Rutger Hauer is WONDERFULLY-CAST (as opposed to "mis-cast") as the proto-typical sleaze-gore '80s villain -something akin to a SUPER-rebellious Billy Idol... exept with MORE makeup and possessing decent fighting skills. By the end of the movie, you're wondering why the heck did I spend two hours or so watching this sleaze-schlock nonsense... and what the hell was the purpose of it? How the general public AND critics (look at the PLETHORA of 5-star reviews on this website, alone! ) overwhelmingly rate this movie as even "marginally-good"... much less "GREAT"... is way beyond me... (or is it "below" me? ). Is there something about the opening music and city renderings of this film... that creates an atmosphere that 'stays' with them throughout the remainder of the film? Is it that most people watched Blade Runner when it came out in 1982 (I only saw it for the first time ever recently), times were different, and although the movie is NOW wonderfully-dated and overrated, they still have the same impression of the movie? In my opinion, Blade Runner isn't a "terrible" movie... but is certainly not good either, and a movie, which I believe can... and should be parodied... or at the very least submitted to Mystery Science Theater (for the take on Harrison Ford's 'dumb-sounding' dialogue narration, or Rutger Hauer's overtly-explicit sleaze antics, among others). Based on the sheer number of high reviews that I've seen of this movie on nearly every major website, I would even go as far as to say that "Blade Runner is the most overrated movie of all time. "