Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
A young blade runner's discovery of a long-buried
secret leads him to track down former blade runner Rick Deckard, who's
been missing for thirty years.
Director:
Denis VilleneuveStars:
Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner,
LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has
the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery
leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former
LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
6 October 2017 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Blade Runner 2 See more »Company Credits
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Dolby Atmos | Auro 11.1 | DTS (DTS: X)| IMAX 6-Track | 12-Track Digital Sound (IMAX 12 track)Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.39 : 1Did You Know?
Trivia
David Bowie was Denis Villeneuve's first choice for the role of Niander Wallace, but passed away before the star of the shooting.Quotes
[from trailer]Rick Deckard: I did your job once - I was good at it.
K: Things were simpler then.
Connections
Referenced in ScreenPrism: Blade Runner Ending Explained: Is Deckard a Replicant? (2017)
Over 163 stylish minutes, “Blade Runner 2049” wrestles with nothing
less than what it means to be human, serving as a beautiful thematic
companion to Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner,”
a film that redefined a genre. It’s too soon to tell if the follow-up
will have the influence and staying power of the groundbreaking original
but it’s clear from the beginning that this no mere piece of nostalgic
fan service. Unlike a lot of reboots or long-delayed sequels that merely
remix the themes and characters of the beloved original to give viewers
the hollow comfort of familiarity, Denis Villeneuve
and his team are remarkably ambitious, using the topics raised by
“Blade Runner” to continue the conversation instead of just repeating it
to make a buck. To that end, they have made one of the most deeply
philosophical and challenging sci-fi films of all time, a movie that
never holds your hand as it spirals the viewer through its gorgeous
funhouse of the human soul.
Here’s where things get a little tricky for a film critic. Villeneuve and the team at Warner Brothers have asked critics to be incredibly
precious with spoilers, not even revealing things that the film does
mere minutes into its running time (and even a couple things I believe
the trailers give away, but whatever). The way the film reveals its
secrets, themes, and connections is one of its greatest strengths, so
I’ll heed that directorial request, although I suspect some of the best
writing about this film will be done when its themes can be discussed
beat by beat and explicitly.
Until then, I’ll just give you the very basics, as beautiful as they are. Riding a wave of gorgeous visuals from the legendary Roger Deakins
and a crack effects team, Villeneuve brings us to Los Angeles in 2049.
It’s been decades since the action of the first film, but the
replicant-destroying Blade Runner is still a profession, personified
here by Ryan Gosling
as an agent known as K. His duty now is to track down old replicants
who have gone into hiding, living long past their originally-programmed
lifespan. In the film’s opening, Officer K tracks down a replicant who
is just trying to live a peaceful life as a farmer (a spectacled Dave Bautista,
doing a great deal with a small role). What he finds there will start
what is essentially a detective story, spurring K to solve a mystery
about his own past, the history of replicants, the power of memory, and
what it means to be a human being. Robin Wright, Jared Leto, and Harrison Ford co-star.
From the minute footage of “Blade Runner 2049” started to leak, it was clear that the director of “Prisoners” and “Arrival”
had created a film with a confident, strong visual language. The Oscar
talk for the always-an-Academy-bridesmaid Roger Deakins started with the
first trailer. The film is undeniably gorgeous, the kind of work that
could be appreciated with the volume turned all the way down. Not only
are Deakins and Villeneuve great at the “futuristic” aspects of their
vision, but they’ve made a film whose most striking imagery often
relates to nature. When I think of “2049,” I think of waves crashing,
snow falling, and, of course, rain pelting down—an iconic image from the
first film that’s almost subverted here in the second half. And
Villeneuve and Deakins are often playful within this visually
striking world, capturing images that work thematically—I think of a
“small” K against gigantic statues at a point when he’s questioning his
place in the world or a moment with a hologram that comes off a
billboard to remind him of what he’s lost in a fashion that’s ten
stories tall—while never losing sight of the pure beauty of it all. It’s
one of the most stunningly shot films of not just this year, but the
last several. I can’t wait to just see it again, just to bask
in its visuals without trying to follow its plot. And the sound design
is so remarkable that it’s almost overwhelming—this is a film you don’t
passively watch, you experience it.
Don’t worry—this is no hollow visual spectacle. It’s grounded at the same time. As he did with Amy Adams in “Arrival” and Benicio Del Toro in “Sicario,”
Villeneuve proves his skill with performance as well, particularly with
Ryan Gosling, who gives one of the best performances of his career.
Gosling is perfect for this part as he’s always had a vulnerability
underneath the handsome façade, and he allows fear and confusion to
become operating forces on K’s arc without ever overselling the deep
emotion of the piece. It’s a fantastic performance, and Villeneuve draws
great ones from Sylvia Hoeks and Ana de Armas
as well. The film did drag a little for me near the end of the first
hour when I wanted it to pick up the pace, and some of the characters
feel like they do things dictated by plot necessity more than believable
behavior, but that's a criticism that could fade on repeat viewing.
It
would have been incredibly easy to reboot “Blade Runner” directly,
merely continuing Deckard and Rachel’s story from the first movie or
even (gasp) remaking it. And yet while hundreds of writers and
filmmakers were inspired by “Blade Runner,” it’s hard to believe any of
them could have found a way to expand its legacy as completely as
Villenueve does here with a movie that doesn't feel at all repetitive.
He’s in no way seeking to improve or replace—the films now work
together, enriching each other instead of mimicking. They ask timeless
questions and, like all great films, refuse to give you all the answers,
allowing viewers to debate and discuss their meaning instead of merely
being passive recipients of mindless entertainment. In that sense,
"Blade Runner 2049" answers one of its own questions about what it means
to be human—to have free thought—and how vital it is to appreciate art
so clearly designed to enrich the soul.
FINAL RATING: 10/10 for the genre and 9/10 overall because I think at the end the plot is a bit too much visible and the movie could have been shorter, like 15 minutes, but this is critics on a high level. It is already a blockbuster in my eyes.
Thanks for reading and have fun watching movies.
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