"The secret of "Blade Runner" is that Scott's fantastically baroque, future-shock imagery, all dark decay and techno-clutter, effectively becomes the story. As the layers of mood and detail settle in, the very process by which we watch the film — scanning those shimmering, claustrophobic frames for signs of life — turns into a running metaphor for what "Blade Runner" is about: a world in which humanity has been snuffed by "progress." This is perhaps the only science-fiction film that can be called transcendental."