Ridley Scott to direct new Blade Runner entry

[alexdz]

dont mess with my avatar.

Whatcha gonna about it now?

[Darkmoon]

Let's not. I am in the mood to kill, and for once I'm not joking. I have had a bad day.

[rehunk88]

Whatcha gonna about it now?

stop trolling and respect the forum.

[alexdz]

I'm not trolling, I'm just joking around, if you don't like it sorry I guess but I'm not trying to offend you or something.

[rehunk88]

then joke around somewhere els.

[Mr. Spencer]

I swear that I wasn't going to post on here anymore though Darkmoon linked me to this topic and I just couldn't sit back and do nothing. There are those out there who feel that Blade Runner is overrated, and I can respect that opinion. I can see where those people might be coming from in regards to that. However, whether you like the film itself or not, no-one can deny that Blade Runner has been a huge influence on many other things that we enjoy.

Look at Deus Ex: Human Revolution, look at Akira, look at Bubblegum Crisis.

You're not alone in believing that Blade Runner needed more action, that's what a number of reviewers said about it back in the day, a lot of people found the movie to be too slow paced. But this was a mindset that belonged in 1982, opinions about the film have changed considerably. Do I feel as though BR has become overly saturated in popular culture? Yes I do. Is it a bad film? Far from it.

It's one of the most influencial films of the 20th century, something that showcased a very plausible and quite frankly, terrifying vision of the future. My advice is not to view Blade Runner at face value but to look a lot deeper, between the lines and analyse it. Don't rush in expecting an action flick, you'll be disappointed. It's one of those films that requires repeated viewings in order to understand, a bit like Memento in that regard.

Also, it's hard to overlook the amount of work and effort that went into the production of this movie, from the beginning it had a troubled development. Dustin Hoffman was originally penned to play the role of Deckard, though he dropped from the project when he wanted too much creative control. Despite being hampered by budget issues and the persistent concerns of Bud Yorkin and Jerry Perenchio (the two blokes who were funding the whole project), Ridley Scott kept to the vision he had in his mind. Every scene is bristling with detail, I must have seen the film a hundred times by now and I'm still discovering new details that I missed.

On that note, do I nonetheless consider it overrated? Yes, yes I do. Shock horror. But that's because it's become such an important part of film history, and I'm always happy to see people who are new to the film to watch it and give it a chance, and hopefully become as interested in the lore as some of the more die hard fans out there.

Now we reach the million dollar question - Should Blade Runner have a sequel?

The question we should be asking is, does Blade Runner NEED a sequel? It's pretty self-contained, a film of the times. What makes it special is that at the time, there was nothing else like it. It was unique and different, but in the day and age when we have many films of that particular genre and tone, it might not have the same effect as it did 25 years ago. Personally I'm pretty divided on this one. On one hand it would be good to see it bring in new fans, and generate interest in the original film for a younger generation. On the other it's a film that, as I've stated before, doesn't really require a sequel.

Also, pay no attention to reviews. When BR was released, it was critically panned by most major reviewers. Opinions were pretty polarised but on the whole it was a box office flop, you can partly blame E.T for that.

On a final note, rehunk88. Have you seen Blade Runner? Judging by your posts it sounds like you haven't seen the film at all.

[rehunk88]

if you look in my comments i said i had seen the directors cut or what i called it ...extended directors cut, because i have no idea what its actuelly called.

so yes i have seen it.... if i dident see it i would never comment on it.

[Inferno04]

It's a trope called Seinfield is UnFunny. The concept of people complaining about something as being cliche or overdone when it was the FIRST or one of the first to do it, FFVII gets hit with this a lot for example, people complain about it hacing an angsty hero when really, it was one of the first major RPGs to have a loser as our hero, someone living in another's shadow and who has well, issues. Now I love this game and do see its flaws, but Cloud is not one of them.

Same goes for Bladerunner, I hear boring, I hear slow, but do you realize that it essentially took 1940s Noir, and did something new to it? One of the first examples of cyberpunk in film, and as Spencer said, the inspiration for many things. It's supposed to be dark, tense, and in the same vein that the games I mention above used later, a pathetic excuse for our hero. I think that's the greatest part of all is looking at the characters. You say boring and bad but it was essentially, a Noir film in the 80s, a decade ruled by cheesy and hilarious action films. The dark aspects of it were not overdone until far later when movies took the cyberpunk concept, kicked in the balls, then proceeded to overuse it.(Oh hai Matrix)

Taxi Driver defined Anti-Hero but Bladerunner defines Villain as Protagonist. Do both movies have their flaws, absolutely, I chalk both movies to having small pacing issues and in the case of BR, not letting us into the world more. I would've loved to see more of the broken down dark world and why it got to be that way.

It's aboslutely still talked about today, and Avatar is already forgotten. You can't have a cliche without something new these days, which Titanic actually did, which is why of Cameron's big budget non-action focus films, Titanic is the one that will be remembered more. Even still, T2 is one of Cameron's films that will still be talked about more than Avatar.

You know what the funny thing is? You could say Avatar has a bit of post-cyberpunk in it as well, with the trees of Pandora acting as computers and the Na'vi 'connecting' to them. If not that, than look at Earth and the human technology. Overcrowded, dark, filthy looking, lots of advertisements. Wouldn't that be a bit or irony if BR inspired it? >)

[rehunk88]

avatar already forgotten ? i think your dreaming.

[Mr. Spencer]

if you look in my comments i said i had seen the directors cut or what i called it ...extended directors cut, because i have no idea what its actuelly called.

so yes i have seen it.... if i dident see it i would never comment on it.

1991 Director's Cut or the 2007 Final Cut? Either way, saying the film needed more action is an outdated opinion. If you had said that in 1982 you would have had more support but these days it just doesn't fly. Also, did you compare it to Avatar? Jesus christ, Avatar was horrendous.

[rehunk88]

i dont compare it to anything it was the moderator that involved avatar and twilight not me XD

[Alexia_Ashford]

I always find it amusing (and slightly vexing) when people start bringing out the "moderator" card in a discussion/debate as if they are not entitled to get involved. He has been polite and he is entitled to discuss this topic as much as anyone else as long as no one is breaking forum rules.

I loved Avatar, and I also really enjoyed Blade Runner. I didn't get it on the first watch, but it's something I've really been wanting to watch and I loved how similar it was to Mass Effect.

[Mr. Spencer]

i dont compare it to anything it was the moderator that involved avatar and twilight not me XD

Anyway, you're avoiding the subject. I've told you why Blade Runner doesn't need action sequences.

[rehunk88]

I always find it amusing (and slightly vexing) when people start bringing out the "moderator" card in a discussion/debate as if they are not entitled to get involved. He has been polite and he is entitled to discuss this topic as much as anyone else as long as no one is breaking forum rules.

I loved Avatar, and I also really enjoyed Blade Runner. I didn't get it on the first watch, but it's something I've really been wanting to watch and I loved how similar it was to Mass Effect.

I dident bring out the moderator card i just told the truth.
really.

[jimmyjoejangles]

avatar was cheesy commie crap and wicked predictable! What was going on with gravity on that planet? Also they were always going around mind controlling shit with their weird hair things. WE get it James Cameron humans are evil and we ruin everything. The movie sucked and was mad unoriginal, and it didn't look that great.