Blade Runner 2049 is a 2017 science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve and it stars Ryan Gosling, Jared Leto, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Robin Wright, Sylvia Hoeks, and Carla Juri. The film is about a young replicant blade runner named K who is trying to track down former Blade Runner Deckard since he’s been missing for thirty years. A secret that has been buried for a very long time is the reason why K is hunting down Deckard. The film was expected to be a box office hit but it actually flopped unfortunately.
Opening Thoughts:
When Blade Runner 2049 was first announced, I couldn’t believe they were actually making a sequel to the original. I was so excited and also more down with the movie since Denis Vileneuve will be the director. I decided to see the first film again before seeing the sequel in theaters on the same day. I had a good refresher from seeing the first film. After seeing the sequel, I actually had some issues with the movie. But when I let the movie sank in for a few days, I realized the issues that I had were really nothing and it’s really a true flawless movie. It’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen and it’s definitely in my top 100 films of all time list. To prepare for this review, I saw the film again on 4K bluray and I love the film even more now. This movie is a prime example of why I love movies so much.
The Positives:
The main great thing about Blade Runner 2049 is the story. From the beginning of the movie you are drawn to the story and it makes you want to know what happens next. After Officer K (Ryan Gosling) “retires” Sapper (Dave Bautista) and finds out about a box buried under a tree that has Rachael’s remains, the movie gets interesting right from that moment. There are tons of memorable scenes in this movies and the beginning of the film is one of them. The scene where Officer K goes to the Wallace Corporation and hears the audio replicant test in which Deckard asked Rachael the questions gives the viewer a mini nostalgic feeling. It gives a mini nostalgic feeling since that replicant test was a scene in the first Blade Runner film. The scene where Officer K is assigned to retire Rachael’s son but states that he has never retired something that was born was a clever scene for me. The scene where Officer K finds the date (6/10/21) carved at a tree trunk in Sapper’s farm was a clever turning point scene in my opinion. It allows more character depth of Officer K and it made you actually believe Officer K was one of the children of Rachael even though he is a replicant for a short while. The scenes where he looks through the LAPD records, going to the orphanage in San Diego while remembering about it as a childhood memory, Dr. Ana Stelline (Carla Juri) confirming the memory is real makes you believe Officer K is the son of Rachael for a brief while which is brilliant.
The scene where Officer K fails the post-traumatic baseline test which makes him a rogue replicant was also brilliant. The scene where Deckard was finally introduced in the movie was clever and it was executed at the right moment. Viewers would get goosebumps seeing that scene since we all know who Deckard is and how an awesome of a character he was in the first film. I also liked how Deckard told K that he used to have K’s job and how he was good at it. The scene where Freysa who is the leader of the replicant movement tells K that she helped deliver Rachael’s baby was neat since it allows K to understand that Stelline is the daughter of Rachael and he’s not the son. The scene where Wallace (Jared Leto) introduces a replicant clone of Rachael to Deckard also gives viewers goosebumps since they know who Rachael is and how she was heavily part of the first film.
The intensity in the last act of the film where K and Lev (Sylvia Hoeks) are fighting while in the transportation vehicle with Deckard filled with water was top notch. The ending scene where Deckard goes to Stelline’s office to see her for the first time as his daughter really hits you in the feels. After all the great acts in the movie, this last scene summed up how great this ending and the movie is as a whole.
The characters were really developed well. I think Officer K had the best character development because when he became a rogue replicant, his morals and values changed. He wanted Deckard to be united with his daughter for the first time and he didn’t want to turn him in if he wanted to. If K did not go rogue, he might’ve turned in Deckard and that would’ve been a different story. Ryan Gosling was perfect for this role and this is my current favorite Ryan Gosling movie.
Deckard also had great character development. In the first movie, all he cared about was retiring the remaining replicants until he met Rachael. After meeting Rachael, his morals and values changed as well. His morals and values in this movie improved more in depth since he said he had a child with Rachael and he wanted the child to be safe at all costs. If Deckard stuck to his usual police morals and values, he wouldn’t hesitate to retire Rachael and he wouldn’t have a relationship with her and even have a child with her to begin with. It was great to see Harrison Ford returning back to the role of Deckard. It definitely gave majority of the viewers the nostalgia.
The movie is very long but the pacing as executed flawlessly. Each scene did not feel too short or too long and each scene was shown sufficiently. The cinematography and visual effects for this film is GORGEOUS! They looked great on 4K bluray. I’m glad this film won two Oscars under those categories. However the movie should’ve been nominated for Best Director and Best Motion Picture too in my opinion. The film score is also really good in this movie since it gives a “serious” feel to it.
There are lots of movies that have sequels where the original film is superior to the sequel. However there are sequels out there that are better than the original films. Films like Terminator 2, The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 2, The Empire Strikes Back,etc. are all films that are superior than the first film. After seeing Blade Runner 2049 a few times, I would say it’s superior to the original first film in my opinion. This movie expanded the original film’s story and I love this movie more than the first. Don’t get me wrong, the first movie is still great.
It’s hard to believe this movie flopped at the box office. I heard the first film also flopped at the box office but it became a cult classic eventually. Hopefully this movie becomes a cult classic just like the first film.
The Negatives:
I have no issues or nitpicks with this movie!
The Verdict:
Overall, Blade Runner 2049 is a phenomenal movie and it’s a movie that I can see over and over again along with the first film. The film is a true masterpiece and I would highly recommend anyone to see this beautiful film. I’m going to rate this movie five out of five stars.
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Thanks for reading my review of Blade Runner 2049 and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Stay tuned for another film related post or a film review! 🙂
The Elite Film Prodigy 