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Update: October 7, 2017
Dragonlord's Review of BLADE RUNNER 2049 (No Spoilers)
Ridley Scott's Blade Runner is considered to be one of the best science fiction films ever made and changed the genre landscape immeasurably in all storytelling medium format. Armed with the best cast and crew working in Hollywood today, on-fire director Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario, Arrivial) dares to revisit Philip K. Dick's dystopian neo-noir world in hopes of capturing lightning in a bottle twice.
Set thirty years after the events of the first film, Blade Runner 2049 follows LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), a blade runner whose investigation on a replicant leads him to a shocking discovery that could potentially cause cataclysmic upheaval in their fragile society. Ryan, who is no stranger to characters glowering and with little dialogue, carries the film admirably, giving a fine performance despite the limitations of his role.
2049 retains the original's existential main theme of "what it means to be human" but a new gamechanging element adds another layer to the philosophical discussion and hints at an even bigger story that might be told in another sequel. Further adding more insight to the subject matter is a minor subplot that's reminiscennt of Spike Jonze's Her. It's a bit disappointing though when an answer to the main theme is spoon-fed to the audience via one of the latecomer character's speeches near the end.
Emulating the sluggish pace of the original, 2049 lacks any sense of urgency or a compelling narrative, unlike the original film where it had the threat of rogue replicants moving the plot forward and keeping things interesting. So when Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) finally shows up, it's a refreshing jolt of energy. For a film clocking in at 163 minutes, it feels there should be more. When the movie ends, some of you will ask, "that's it?" At times it feels like an incomplete movie, especially with the introduction of a bigger subplot brewing in the third act.
As for the rest of the main cast, Robin Wright and Ana de Armas were very likable while Jared Leto was part-fascinating, part-pretentious as the megalomaniac CEO of Wallace Corp. with a tendency for overbearing try-hard philosophical monologue. Dave Bautista gave a surprising good performance.
Beautifully capturing the desolation and harshness of a world barely hanging in there, this might be the film that finally wins uber-cinematographer Roger Deakins an Oscar after 13 nominations. Villeneuve mutes the colors and imbues a minimalistic approach visually but fails to recapture the nitty-gritty and bustling look of neo-metropolitan city of Los Angeles. The city oftentimes look abandoned, barely showing any people on the streets or lights from the buildings in the aerial shots and also discouraging to see only one car flying around the city. The practical sets look amazing and some of the set design are intriguing. They went out of their way to make the future tech compatible with the 1982 film, giving them a retro (and at times outdated) feel.
Fantastic score by Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch, synchronously in line with Vangelis' haunting synth music from the original film. But there are times when Zimmer and Wallfisch's ominous blaring score gets tiresome, like when there's nothing exciting happening but the music says otherwise.
Many are throwing around the word "masterpiece" in regards to the sequel but for me, Blade Runner 2049 was an entertaining and ambitious but somewhat underwhelming detective noir sci-fi film that was overlong and had pacing issues. But just like the original film, repeat viewings might bring more insight and a better appreciation for the sequel.
Preliminary Rating: 7.5/10
The new replicants are programmed to obey their superiors. So how come K was able to lie and disobey orders.
Why give replicants emotions in the first place if they're just meant to be slaves for all intents and purposes. This would be akin to giving intelligence and the ability of speech to farm animals and pets - nothing good will come out of it.
Wallace confessed wanting to create more replicants to be added to the work force across the many off worlds. So why would he want to know how to reproduce replicants the natural way when it takes years for one to reach adulthood. I assume he can just create hundreds of replicants in an assembly line in a single day.
It would have been more believable motive if Wallace wanted the replicant child to quash any potential replicant uprising in the future.
I like Joshi, she seems like a sharp, tough cop but was disappointed with her last scene. She already suspects that the mortician/lab guy was killed by Wallace Corp to cover up the existence of the replicant child. So when Luv entered her room, Joshi already suspects that Luv wants to know K’s location. And since Joshi was not going to give up K, she should have known that she would also be killed. Joshi should have drawn her gun from a drawer or something the moment Luv showed up.
Luv killing Joshi in the middle of a police station and nothing happens to her seemed ridiculous. I’d buy it if they explained Wallace Corp’s influence is great and the cops are corrupt.
I'm normally a romantic but for some reason Joi's death didn't hit me emotionally.
Luv not taking K into custody or killing him when she abducted Deckard was just stupid.
Despite what Ridley Scott said, it is still unknown if Deckard is a replicant or not.
Note: The Blade Runner Sequel 1.0 thread is no longer accessible due to being purged by Sherdog Editors.
Dragonlord's Review of BLADE RUNNER 2049 (No Spoilers)
Ridley Scott's Blade Runner is considered to be one of the best science fiction films ever made and changed the genre landscape immeasurably in all storytelling medium format. Armed with the best cast and crew working in Hollywood today, on-fire director Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario, Arrivial) dares to revisit Philip K. Dick's dystopian neo-noir world in hopes of capturing lightning in a bottle twice.
Set thirty years after the events of the first film, Blade Runner 2049 follows LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), a blade runner whose investigation on a replicant leads him to a shocking discovery that could potentially cause cataclysmic upheaval in their fragile society. Ryan, who is no stranger to characters glowering and with little dialogue, carries the film admirably, giving a fine performance despite the limitations of his role.
2049 retains the original's existential main theme of "what it means to be human" but a new gamechanging element adds another layer to the philosophical discussion and hints at an even bigger story that might be told in another sequel. Further adding more insight to the subject matter is a minor subplot that's reminiscennt of Spike Jonze's Her. It's a bit disappointing though when an answer to the main theme is spoon-fed to the audience via one of the latecomer character's speeches near the end.
Emulating the sluggish pace of the original, 2049 lacks any sense of urgency or a compelling narrative, unlike the original film where it had the threat of rogue replicants moving the plot forward and keeping things interesting. So when Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) finally shows up, it's a refreshing jolt of energy. For a film clocking in at 163 minutes, it feels there should be more. When the movie ends, some of you will ask, "that's it?" At times it feels like an incomplete movie, especially with the introduction of a bigger subplot brewing in the third act.
As for the rest of the main cast, Robin Wright and Ana de Armas were very likable while Jared Leto was part-fascinating, part-pretentious as the megalomaniac CEO of Wallace Corp. with a tendency for overbearing try-hard philosophical monologue. Dave Bautista gave a surprising good performance.
Beautifully capturing the desolation and harshness of a world barely hanging in there, this might be the film that finally wins uber-cinematographer Roger Deakins an Oscar after 13 nominations. Villeneuve mutes the colors and imbues a minimalistic approach visually but fails to recapture the nitty-gritty and bustling look of neo-metropolitan city of Los Angeles. The city oftentimes look abandoned, barely showing any people on the streets or lights from the buildings in the aerial shots and also discouraging to see only one car flying around the city. The practical sets look amazing and some of the set design are intriguing. They went out of their way to make the future tech compatible with the 1982 film, giving them a retro (and at times outdated) feel.
Fantastic score by Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch, synchronously in line with Vangelis' haunting synth music from the original film. But there are times when Zimmer and Wallfisch's ominous blaring score gets tiresome, like when there's nothing exciting happening but the music says otherwise.
Many are throwing around the word "masterpiece" in regards to the sequel but for me, Blade Runner 2049 was an entertaining and ambitious but somewhat underwhelming detective noir sci-fi film that was overlong and had pacing issues. But just like the original film, repeat viewings might bring more insight and a better appreciation for the sequel.
Preliminary Rating: 7.5/10
The new replicants are programmed to obey their superiors. So how come K was able to lie and disobey orders.
Why give replicants emotions in the first place if they're just meant to be slaves for all intents and purposes. This would be akin to giving intelligence and the ability of speech to farm animals and pets - nothing good will come out of it.
Wallace confessed wanting to create more replicants to be added to the work force across the many off worlds. So why would he want to know how to reproduce replicants the natural way when it takes years for one to reach adulthood. I assume he can just create hundreds of replicants in an assembly line in a single day.
It would have been more believable motive if Wallace wanted the replicant child to quash any potential replicant uprising in the future.
I like Joshi, she seems like a sharp, tough cop but was disappointed with her last scene. She already suspects that the mortician/lab guy was killed by Wallace Corp to cover up the existence of the replicant child. So when Luv entered her room, Joshi already suspects that Luv wants to know K’s location. And since Joshi was not going to give up K, she should have known that she would also be killed. Joshi should have drawn her gun from a drawer or something the moment Luv showed up.
Luv killing Joshi in the middle of a police station and nothing happens to her seemed ridiculous. I’d buy it if they explained Wallace Corp’s influence is great and the cops are corrupt.
I'm normally a romantic but for some reason Joi's death didn't hit me emotionally.
Luv not taking K into custody or killing him when she abducted Deckard was just stupid.
Despite what Ridley Scott said, it is still unknown if Deckard is a replicant or not.
Note: The Blade Runner Sequel 1.0 thread is no longer accessible due to being purged by Sherdog Editors.
