Blade Runner 2049

It’s a wonder how this film ever got made so long after the original’s lukewarm reception, but fear not, this sequel was well worth the wait and then some!

Taking place decades after the first film, Blade Runner 2049 sees us follow a different Blade Runner named K (Ryan Gosling) as he “retires” or, to put it more bluntly, hunts down and kills older replicants that are essentially trying to live their own lives, free from the burden of being an artificial life in a world that does not want them to be free. Since the marketing campaign has done a tremendous job spoiling very little about this film, I don’t want to give too much away here, but know that the basic premise has something to do with a unique and potentially dangerous evolution in replicant kind, a search for a returning character in Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), and a brand new set of adversaries hell bent on making sure that K does not accomplish his goals. To put it more simply: just go and see it!

Now, I’m about to say something controversial here, and depending on how you feel about the original it might even be considered sacrilege, but Blade Runner 2049 is better than the first film, sometimes leaps and bounds so. When it comes to the original I can 100% say that it was ahead of its time, but I can’t say with the same honesty that I thought it was as good as everyone always seems to make it out to be. As with most Ridley Scott films, there’s always some kind of lofty idea floating around just beneath the surface that intrigues us while at the same time keeps our minds spinning with what it all could mean, but in the end, Scott’s films usually don’t amount to much in this regard, or even come close to answering any of the questions these ideas pose for that matter, the original Blade Runner being no exception.

That being said, director Denis Villeneuve somehow finds a way to make a familiar film while at the same time blowing the doors off of what Scott ever could have done with this universe, expanding and building on top of the original’s blueprint as if he created this world all on his own. The lofty ideas are still there, but there’s more to them, more thought, more (semi) answers, and at the center of it all, there’s a commentary about life and what it means to be a human being, even if the human being part is still up in the air with all the new and old replicants running around. Maybe it’s because Villeneuve studied the crap out of the original or maybe he decided that he was going to deliver a little bit more with his vision, but regardless, this film is a perfect homage to the original while making its own statement visually, thematically, sonically and in every other way in between.

Speaking of, the visuals are on point and are literally a sight to behold as the lighting and cinematography cues change from frame to frame and scene to scene in the most unusual but visually arresting ways. Villeneuve and legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins have managed to show us various stunningly executed technical marvels throughout the film that we just don’t see anymore in big budget films, and even when there’s not much going on in any given scene regarding the story or characters, there’s always something beautiful to behold. The special effects work in tandem with this approach to perfectly convey the world we’re peeking into, and the score of the film is equal parts futuristic yet gritty while still being pulse pounding all at the same time.

On the acting side of things, Ryan Gosling is a solid lead as K even though he seems a bit bored at times, and Ford, as usual, brings back his great, low-key energy to the Deckard role without missing a beat. Nearly every supporting cast member from Jared Leto’s Niander Wallace, to Ana de Armas’ digital Joi all the way down to the blink and you missed it role Dave Bautista has, complement each other in a way that gives each character their moment to shine while still being able to effectively have a purpose in the grand scheme of things. With casting like this, Villeneuve shows mastery in pulling exactly what he needs out of each performance, further solidifying that lived in feel of this world with characters and actors that can handle the dramatic weight of what happens in it effortlessly.

Now for the nitpicks. Say what you will about the extremely long runtime, but no second seems to have been wasted even if it feels like it’s been days since you’ve stepped into the theater, and while the length will surely put a lot of people off (and cut into how many showing a theater can put up in any given day), this film is more about experiencing the world we’re being transported to rather than be an observer to it, so I personally didn’t have the worst problem with it. I felt like I was always watching something important happening onscreen even if some scenes definitely seemed to drag on a bit too long, but since each one had a purpose towards building this believable world and exploring each corner of it with a sense of care and a detail oriented approach, it can easily be forgiven even if this sort of storytelling might frustrate some people. Other than that, my main issue with this film stems from the fact that I never felt any sense of danger for our characters, K in particular, or any kind of urgency in the plot even with the few explosive action scenes scattered about and the twisty turny story trying to convince you otherwise. For as intense as the story seems to be, there’s really no rush to make it seem like any of this is on a timetable that needs to be adhered to, and for me, that took a bit of the wind out of this film’s sails.

Better than the original while still blazing a new path of its own, Blade Runner 2049 is a superb sci-fi gem that surprises in more ways than I could have ever expected. Director Denis Villeneuve has now officially solidified himself as one of the best directors out there and wastes no time in showing you why that’s the case from start to finish. Sure, the runtime is almost agonizingly long at close to three hours, and if you could care less about the original then this one will probably be a hard watch, but from a storytelling, technical and visual level this film needs to be seen to be believed. I plan on watching it again and for the love of everything that’s holy, please do the same. We need films like this to get made, but if no one goes to see them then we’ll be stuck with steaming piles of Transformers sequels instead.

Go see it!