10 Classic Movies That Are (If Anything) Underrated
3. Blade Runner
Why Do People Think Its Overrated? If there's a single movie devout cinephilles will find themselves umming and ahhing over, it's Blade Runner. That's not saying people ever go as far as to call it a "bad" movie (see Titanic), but it's one of several on this list that will be appreciated for its filmmaking brio while being skirted around as an actual cinematic experience; it looks good, it sounds good, it feels... something...? And even those who now love the film will often state so with the caveat, "it took me a couple of times to get it." Why Isnt It? Blade Runner isn't really an impenetrable film, nor one that needs reinforcement to find in any way good. Sure, it may take repeat viewings to fully crack all of its complex themes and realise the full implications of the unicorn ending, but even on first watch it's an intoxicating experience. From the opening shot of the Hades landscape, exploding with flame and light, the film is a fully realised vision, with special effects that still boggle the mind decades later and an hypnotic Vangelis score that transports you to a totally different world. In terms of plot and character, there's endless elements to praise, but it really begins and ends on the "Tears in Rain" soliloquy. It's singularly one of the most awe-inspiring moments in cinema, sci-fi or otherwise, summarising the film's themes and unearthing the human (or should that be replicant) side of the whole thing. And isn't there something overwhelming brilliant that, in a movie whose visual identity is so clear and has had an overarching impact on the genre, the most visually beautiful moment is delivered entirely in prose?
