Being a real person Once the famous science fiction writer Philip K. Dick thought about whether Androids dream of funny Elektroovtsy, and based on this idea wrote a story that eventually became a cult genre work. Taking into account the ideas of colleagues who have been working in a given direction for decades, Dick expanded the established framework for understanding the psychology of machines, while trying to speak in language that is understandable to the ordinary reader. Discussing why artificial people, capable of deep reasoning and analyzing their own actions, submit to people only because they created them, led the writer to revelations that were investigated not only by fans of fantastic literature, but also by very eminent psychologists who are trying to understand what awaits humanity in the near future. Giving the story a dynamic, as well as a favorite paranoid atmosphere permeating each of his works, Philip K. Dick thereby created a work that was equally successfully accepted by both the mass viewer and the intellectual, refusing to clog the consciousness of everyone in a row. Not afraid to outshine the bright rays of hope that brighten the path of our civilization, Dick nevertheless did not exclude the understanding of hope and faith as the fundamental symbols of any civilization. And it doesn't matter what it is, blood and flesh, or vice versa machine. Intelligent beings are obliged to live in a single society and not to create illusions that one side should rise above the other. But as long as the spirit of the conqueror lives within us, peace on the planet will not be established for a long time.
Approaching the 1982 mark, Philip K. Dick’s story, written a decade and a half ago, finally found the features of the film adaptation, which the demanding author himself was pleased with. It is known that Martin Scorsese leaned over the writer’s Androids, but his strength and patience were not enough to fully appreciate Dick’s legacy and build a worthy film on its basis. One director replaced another, famous masters, as well as ambitious debutants, and only those who are in grief because of the premature death of their older brother Ridley Scott managed to cope with the obstinate nature of Dick and his no less complex works, titled him Blade Runner and released for rent. Ironically, repeated revisions of the script and other production problems prevented the author from seeing the finished picture, as he left our mortal world. We’ll never know Dick’s opinion on Blade Runner, but the years that followed showed that Ridley Scott managed to make not just an entertaining movie, but a kind of masterpiece full of interesting ideas, thoughts, reasoning and unforgettable visual series reminiscent of the noir of the future. As you know, at the time of “Blade Runner” the audience perceived far from the best way, and yet this did not prevent the film from gaining immortal status and at the same time lay faith in a possible continuation of the story of Rick Deckard, dissolved in the unknown.
The widespread return to the screens of cult paintings and franchises of the past, which occurred at the dawn of the new century, could not do without rumors about the beginning of work on the sequel to Blade Runner. Despite the fact that the original film collected mere pennies at the box office, its influence on the formation of modern fiction was undoubted, and therefore the producers, among whom was also Ridley Scott, decided to tell the world about how the events unfolded after Rick Deckard finished his investigation and brought out unexpected truths. The only problem was to refresh the audience’s memories of those ancient events, and at the same time show them what happened over such a long period of time in the universe of humans and replicants. Canadian Danny Villeneuve, invited to the post of director of the full-length sequel, could not be distracted by additional projects, since all his attention was entirely paid to Rick Deckard and his heir in the field of catching fugitive replicants. However, Luke Scott came to his aid, agreeing to put two short prequels that can clarify for viewers the events that are fundamental to a full understanding of the film Blade Runner 2049. One of the stories told by Scott at the request of Danny Villeneuve was the short film “2048: Nowhere to Run”, which demonstrated a segment from the life of one of the heroes of the feature film.
The events featured in Nowhere to Run are set in a bustling market a year before police detective Kay discovers a revelation that could upend the worldview of an entire society. In the center of the story is a fugitive replicant Sapper Morton (Dave Batista), who long ago managed to escape the authorities and live the secret life of an ordinary average citizen. If possible, Sapper would rule out any contact with people, but the unsuitable atmosphere outside the big cities and the almost complete lack of money forces the replicant to periodically appear in clogged places to get what he wants and just as quickly disappear. But this time, for Sapper, a harmless walk to the market will be a very serious conflict with unintended consequences. Remembering what honor and valor are, regardless of who violates it, Sapper gets into a fight that in any other circumstances would have ended in a couple of bruises and bruises, but not this time. Violent measures taken by the police encourage people to look at the images of strangers and at the slightest danger to call a special outfit. And since Sapper can hardly be called a mediocre person, he easily attracted attention and thereby spurred another chapter of the Witch Hunt, also known as the Destruction of free replicant masters.
What is valuable is the short film by Luke Scott, so it is her everyday aspects, demonstrating the life of a fugitive replicant, forced to deny himself everything in order not to be caught. The title character in the performance of Dave Batista appears before us already an elderly man who clearly told us a lot of troubles for his century, but his eyes continue to burn clearly, and his character does not exclude sympathy and understanding. Yes, Sapper Morton is one of the replicants who escaped from their masters, refused to obey and tried to organize their own closed community, but they did not lose human traits. Unable to come forward with a fittingly raised chin, Sapper still tries to live according to a moral code that distinguishes him from most people, only everyone around frankly does not care what is in the thoughts of the replicant and according to what canons he lives each day released by Providence. People still cannot accept that they are not alone as the dominant force on the planet, trying in every possible way to eradicate the willful toys once cultivated at Tyrell Corporation. And in this case, the line between good and evil becomes increasingly blurred, because not everyone is ready to see the true truth.
7 out of 10