Blade Runner: 5 Things That Are Scientifically Accurate (And 5 That Make No Sense)

Ridley Scott's Blade Runner was a game changer in the world of science-fiction. In 1982, the same year that kid-friendly films like E.T. were released conveying the adventures of a cuddly extra-terrestrial, Scott's vision of the near-future was introducing thought-provoking questions about the advancement of artificial intelligence, humankind's desire to play God, and what constituted being "human" with the rise of genetic engineering. Set in 2019 Los Angeles after the degradation of Earth from a nuclear war, resources are scarce and anyone wealthy enough to do so ventures off-world. Off-world planets are colonized by replicants, synthetic beings created for the purpose of slave labor and dangerous activities unfit for humans. After a replicant revolt, they're forbidden from returning to Earth, but a few escape in a shuttle intent on making a better life for themselves. Deckard is the "Blade Runner" sent to "retire" them, along the way discovering more about his own humanity as he hunts those considered "more human than human."