"Blade Runner" is commonly regarded as one of the greatest science fiction films of all time, and you won’t have to look very hard to find any number of awards, nominations, and rave reviews the film has garnered. Its gorgeous cinematography and production design have influenced countless other films, and, in 1994, it was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the U.S. Film Registry as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” In a 2007 interview with Wired magazine, director Scott calls it “probably” the most personal of his films.

So this isn’t a film to be trifled with. And yet…I must. Because there’s something about "Blade Runner," towering achievement though it may be, that I haven't been able to let go of once I finally zeroed in on it. See, as he carries out his mission to track down and kill the replicants, Rick Deckard is presented to us in no uncertain terms as the hero of "Blade Runner."

But he’s not. He’s the villain.

Here’s how I arrived at such a conclusion: some years ago, I came across an article that explored "Blade Runner" in depth. It praised the film, as most articles about "Blade Runner" tend to, but was critical of a scene in which Deckard rapes the female lead, a replicant named Rachael (Sean Young).

And that's where I stopped reading. "Rape?," I still remember thinking. "No, that's not what happened." To be sure, there is a sex scene between Deckard and Rachael, but in my memory, it was unambiguously consensual. So I dismissed the article as nonsense and continued on my merry way, with "Blade Runner" resting comfortably on the sci-fi pedestal on which I’d placed it.

It was maybe a year later that I decided to revisit the film, partly just for enjoyment, and partly to specifically watch for that so-called rape scene so I could put that silly article out of my mind once and for all. And as it turned out, I was wrong and the article was right.