Tom Ward, writing for Esquire, does a deep dive into the movie as it celebrates 40 years.

Visually and sonically assured, intelligent and moody, there is much to be admired in Blade Runner. But why has its legacy endured to such a degree? Perhaps in its gloomy portrayal of environmental catastrophe, social divide and oppressive authority we recognise our own world. Or perhaps it’s because, despite all of its foreboding, Blade Runner offers a chance of hope. Hope of a love between two people not meant to love. Hope of freedom, however impossible. A hope as fragile as an origami unicorn, maybe. A hope as beautiful as C-beams glittering in the dark, and as fleeting as tears in rain. Blade Runner is not a film with easy answers. And maybe that is why, forty years later, we’re still remaking it, exploring it, pulling it apart and holding it up to the light.

Blade Runner is my favorite science fiction movie. It surpasses Star Wars for me.