"Blade Runner 2049" Review
NO SPOILERS.
On paper, a sequel to Blade Runner sounded like the worst idea ever. But once every blue moon, the stars align (I'm assuming that's how a blue moon works). "Blade Runner 2049" is the most ambitious and awe-inspiring piece of science fiction cinema since Tarkovsky's "Stalker".
The movie weaves together an emotional tale centred around a mystery that's anchored by strong protagonists (something that was sorely lacking in the first one -even in its final cut), a hypnotic atmosphere that matches and pays homage to the visuals of the original, and gorgeous (IMAX worthy) visuals brought to us by master cinematographer Roger Fucking Deakins and director Denis Villeneuve (who's kind of this era's Alfred Hitchcock -I mean just look at the way this guy directs tension- it's absolutely incredible!).
Ryan Gosling kills it as the lead and returns to the art house introvert type that was established in such Nicolas Winding Refn movies like "Drive" and "Only God Forgives". His performance is very calculated and specifically directed and I applaud him for it. On the opposite of things, we have Jared Leto, who plays a douchy creep, which is totally perfect for him but fuck that performance, man.
I wasn't all that impressed by the main antagonist. From a character standpoint, "2049" succeeds at what the original failed at and vice versa. By that, I mean the antagonists in the original were great but the protagonists sucked in the first film and roles have kind of been reversed in this new installment. Another thing I didn't like is the music composed by Benjamin Wallfisch and Han Zimmer. The music itself is decent, but isn't as innovative or as memorable as Vangelis' original score. Also Han Zimmer has been trying to substitute lazy composing with LOUDNESS which didn't work in "Interstellar" and still doesn't work here.
Similar to "Mad Max: Fury Road", "Blade Runner 2049" doesn't require a viewing of the previous film(s) for it to be enjoyable. But this will make fans of the original Blade Runner extremely happy. It also retroactively improves on the characters from the first one and makes it a slightly more tolerable film (Yes, I dislike the original). That being said, "2049" is a hard science fiction film epic with a runtime that will turn off a lot of viewers. But for those who have the patience to tackle it will find it highly rewarding. If you're unsure of the investment, watch the Blade Runner anime short "Blackout 2022". If you're not into that, chances are, you won't be into this.