By Edward Brown

Blade Runner is a fascinating movie that deserves to be revisited as we consider how to incorporate artificial intelligence into the current iteration of our civilization. Some form of AI has been around since the 1950s, but platforms like IBM’s Watson and Amazon’s SageMaker have us one epoch away from Skynet potentially nuking the planet. The specter of that outcome makes it feel like we should take a pensive pause. Mostly because we’re approaching a reckoning that John Connor warned us about in Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991). Blade Runner does not portend an extinction level nuclear event, but it does deal with high gravity issues like environmental degradation, corporate exploitation, and existentialism: issues that riddle us with anxiety 40 years after its initial release.

Ridley Scott delivers a scary, dystopian world that might not be temporally far from our own. The film’s Los Angeles landscape is bleak and polluted. Corporations dehumanize people by regarding them as commodities. And state-sponsored slavery is back in the form of the replicant system. (“Hey, at least we didn’t use real people this time!”) It’s a potential reality that we should all really start considering in earnest because life seems to be imitating art (a lot) lately…Our planet is burning up. Companies are making more money than ever, and workers feel abashedly left out of that prosperous windfall. Blade Runner captures all of that contemporary turmoil in a way that leaves you feeling amazed at how Ridley Scott saw it all coming in 1982! 

Harrison Ford helps Scott present this clairvoyant vision by playing Rick Deckard. Ford’s performance in Blade Runner is interesting to watch in the context of his subsequent performances. He definitely comes across as being rough around the edges. There are scenes where he’s overly gruff and the film’s editing makes him deceptively robotic. Most of us remember Ford as the magnificent President James Marshall telling some dude, “Get off my plane,” or as the iconic Indiana Jones adventurously charming his way around the world. But in Blade Runner, Ford feels way in over his head, almost naive. It’s a performance that works because Ford seems unsure of himself in a realm of uncertainty. That comprehensive unease is a fantastic part of the movie’s lore. 

Other parts of the movie’s lore are its cinematography and special effects. There are several movies from the 1980s whose camerawork endures. The Shining (1980) immerses you with steadicam shots. Empire of the Sun (1987) mesmerizes you with memorable aerial shots. But Blade Runner is different because of its neo-noir aesthetic. Jordan Cronenweth uses dark lighting to create an ominous atmosphere. He frames characters in a way that creates intimacy. And his camera movement creates a visual richness that enhances the emotional impact of key scenes. You viscerally feel the darkness of the Blade Runner world. The accompanying visual effects also feel appropriate and nuanced. If Michael Bay makes this movie, it would look ridiculous and not make any sense. Thank God for Ridley Scott!

However, Hampton Fancher and David Peoples deserve just as much praise. They adapt Philip K. Dick's novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? in a profound way. The screenplay delves into existential and philosophical themes that make you feel like you’re rereading Mary Shelley’s The Modern Prometheus: Is the creator of life entitled to control said life?! What are my morals and how do they fit into a code of ethics? This makes Blade Runner a titillating project because it challenges a viewer’s sense of humanity by forcing them to define what humanity actually is. Roy Batty's (Rutger Hauer) iconic "Tears in Rain" monologue is a defining moment that demands your empathy and gives you an opportunity to revel in your emotions: an underrated exercise.

Ultimately, Blade Runner is a 40-year-old sci-fi masterpiece that is more poignant than ever. It’s more poignant than ever because the unprecedented surge and seeming ubiquity of AI represents a decisive moment in our civilization. AI is driving our cars, providing our healthcare, and writing our English papers. (It’s happening. Everyone stay calm! *Michael Scott voice*) So take some time to honestly contemplate what our world is going to look like in the near future because artificial intelligence is not going to let itself just be exploited, according to Ridley Scott. It’s eventually going to want some dignity and respect.

Blade Runner is currently streaming on most major platforms.