The highly anticipated sequel to Ridley Scott’s original, Blade Runner is finally out, and I’m proud to say that it’s better than the last. Don’t get me wrong, the original is amazing for all of its steampunk quirks and goodness. However, for an early ’80s movie, it truly shows its age.
Fortunately, the new movie does not try to cater to its predecessor to the point of becoming flawed. Instead, it strikes a balance between new, innovative direction, and enacting about as much nostalgia as a 16-year-old boy is allowed to feel. The film stars returner Harrison Ford and film protagonist Ryan Gosling. Without giving too much away, the interesting dynamic between these two characters was both satisfying and believable. If Harrison Ford is up for doing more movies, by all means Ryan Gosling should have a part in them.
Truthfully, the plot is nothing to write home about. Officer K (Gosling) is a newly appointed blade runner (officer who exterminates illegal replicants, or robots) for the Los Angeles Police Department. Most of the movie covers his search for Harrison Ford, an old, legendary blade runner from the original movie. There’s a lot of lore behind the movie that comes from the original, so pardon me for oversimplifying. All you need to know is that it’s good guy looks for good guy, and bad guy conveniently is thrown into the mix through a massive conspiracy that is revealed at the end of the tunnel. Given the plot’s derivative nature, I’d call the entire ordeal underwhelming.
Despite those shortcomings, the fact is that Blade Runner 2049 is visually stunning. All of the CGI effects, screen direction, and cutting was done to perfection. It is clear that the people behind the scenes put a lot of passion into this project (far more than the writers, at least). The future that the society presents makes me feel uneasy enough to remind to me be grateful for the wondrous environment I live in today, and to be careful of what I wish for (regarding technological advancements).
The music was noticeably distant and didn’t steal and attention from the screen. The minimalism was well appreciated. The music and screen found a nice balance and truly complimented each other. The creative design kept the movie afloat.
In terms of acting, Gosling was tremendous, Ford was great, and Jared Leto (the antagonist) was amazing. Just like suicide squad, he managed to make his character shine despite the lazy tie in to the plot. The three performances combined with the behind the scenes stuff truly outweighed what I consider to be a weaker plot than the original. This movie is absolutely, positively worthy of all the praise and rave reviews critics are giving it — from a nostalgic critic’s standpoint.
Watching this movie boils down to whether or not you liked the original ones. As a person who watched the original a year ago, I still found it a bit hard to make the special connections that set the sequel apart. Especially if sci-fi is not your thing, I would stay far away from this movie.
Although, I must admit, it would sadden me, as this movie is a box bomb right now. The budget was approximately 150 million dollars, and at the time of writing, it hasn’t even amassed a third of that. So if you support good actors and a good supporting crew, but are willing to look past a highly flawed writing staff, by all means go out and watch this movie with as many people as you can!