12 Most Heart-Stopping Sci-Fi Movie Scenes Ever
8. Rooftop Scene - Bladerunner
The original Bladerunner was quite a bloated affair that spent far too much time on extreme close ups of eyes and philosophical pondering that actively disengaged a large portion of its audience. The film has acquired a legion of fans over time, largely thanks to some significant improvements made in future director's cuts, including the removal of that woeful narration.
One scene though which didn't need any changes was the truly powerful 'rooftop scene', which sees Deckard doing his utmost to escape Roy, the android who seems determined to track the Bladerunner down and kill him. The chase from rooftop to rooftop is real edge of the seat stuff, but the moment when Deckard looks set to slip to his doom as Roy loiters over him is the moment that sends the viewers BPM's skyrocketing.
The scene is a ripper, Director Ridley Scott creating a bleak atmosphere to match our world weary characters, while also leaving us with a surprising ray of hope among the gloom. Rutger Hauer delivers a beautiful monologue that brings appropriate closure to his character's journey while exploring the deeper existential themes of the movie.
The scene would have been higher up this list if not for one badly misjudged moment. Ridley Scott unfortunately decided to whack us over the head with the most obvious metaphor of all time, with the release of doves upon the android's death. How subtle.