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Embed with Games: A Year on the Couch with Game Developers

Cara Ellison and Kieron Gillen

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

In 2014 games critic Cara Ellison rather flippantly pledged to the internet she'd leave home, become...

Beyond Good & Evil 2

7.3 (4 Ratings) Rate It

Video Game Watch

Beyond Good and Evil 2 is an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective which...

action adventure

David McK (3207 KP) rated Mortal Engines (2018) in Movies

Sep 18, 2021

Mortal Engines (2018)

2018 | Fantasy, Sci-Fi

6.7

(57 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Cyberpunk sci-fi movie that should really have been a series, set in the far future centuries after the cataclysmic sixty-minute war and where there are now two main kinds of settlements: the 'traditional' (here, viewed - at least initially - by the main protaganist as barbaric) and mobile: giant cities (London is one) powered by some form of locomotion, who pursue a philosophy of Municipal Darwinism ie hunt down and consume smaller cities to provide supplies and materials.

The problem, however, is that this movie just tries to pack too much into its runtime; too much if the action from the source book on which it is based, with the result that the characters never really seem to develop all that much and, in some cases, are given short shrift (which is why I feel a series would have been better).

Good effect, though.

Kudos

San Giorli

Games

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App

San Giorli, an ungoverned region situated between three galaxies, has become an interstellar dark...

Tron: Uprising

7.4 (12 Ratings) Rate It

TV Show Watch

Two feature films have been produced based on the Tron character, 1982's "Tron" and the 2010 sequel,...

Tron Cyberpunk Disney

Nick Friesen (96 KP) rated Blade Runner (1982) in Movies

Jul 13, 2017

Blade Runner (1982)

1982 | Sci-Fi

8.5

(75 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Dark and gorgeous setting (4 more)

Harrison Ford

Thought-provoking premise

That moody Vangelis score

Rutger Hauer

It's taken 35 years to get a sequel (0 more)

Best in Class Cyberpunk Neo-Noir

Most Sci-Fi fans these days probably rank Blade Runner somewhere in their top five favorites. Its status and influence on Sci-Fi, especially in the Cyberpunk sub-genre, is undeniable. When it was first released in 1982, however, it was not so well appreciated. It was met with polarized reviews and underwhelming domestic box office figures. This was probably due to some misplaced expectations of the movie. The studio erroneously marketed Blade Runner as an action/adventure, and not to mention, Harrison Ford was riding the fame of another Sci-Fi franchise that was much more action-oriented. It's no surprise then, that audiences and critics alike were initially turned off by the slow-burn pacing of detective noir that Blade Runner pulled into a science fiction setting. Today, Blade Runner is a celebrated masterpiece of filmmaking and adored by fans around the world. However, with a sequel coming soon, those new to the franchise might be a little confused due to the existence of multiple versions of the film. Let's clear that up a bit.

Fast-forward ten years to 1992, when the world received the Director's Cut of the film. At the time, Blade Runner had picked up in popularity through video rental and the international market, and the studio was prompted to release an official Director's Cut after an unofficial version was being made available from a workprint. The Director's Cut was the first introduction to Blade Runner for a whole new generation, including myself.

Fast-forward fifteen more years to 2007, when Ridley Scott brought Blade Runner fans his definitive version of the movie, the Final Cut. Blade Runner: The Final Cut was digitally remastered and reworked by Ridley Scott with complete artistic freedom, whereas the Director's Cut was created by the studio without his involvement. This version fixes some technical problems that persisted from the theatrical version to the Director's Cut, and adds back a little story to better fulfill Ridley Scott's original vision for the film.

If you're looking to get into Blade Runner before Blade Runner 2049 hits theatres in October, the Final Cut is probably the best place to start. It offers the most cohesive viewing experience, complete with restored visuals. Believe me when I tell you there is no movie quite like Blade Runner. Watching Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) track down and "retire" replicants on the streets of a dystopian Los Angeles awash in neon signs never ceases to fill me with awe. Rutger Hauer's performance as the main antagonist, Roy Batty, is both chilling and thought-provoking, making viewers question what being human truly means.

Blade Runner is now widely considered to be not just the first example of Cyberpunk in film, but also the best. And for good reason, as every frame is a work of art, and the philosophical questions it first posed 35 years ago are still being debated today. Us die-hard fans can only pray the upcoming sequel doesn't completely obliterate the mystery and pathos of the replicant condition.