Written by: Kevin Berge
Maybe this time we'll only need one cut of the movie. Actually, I'm all for seeing the four hour version. (Image Courtesy of: gossipcop.com)
Quick Take: Blade Runner 2049 carries the legacy of a science fiction classic proudly, not seeking to create a franchise but rather to reengage with and enhance a discussion on identity and self through the tale of human vs. replicant. Immaculately directed and shot with stellar performances, this is a masterpiece of science fiction mystery.
***This review up until the grade will contain no spoilers. I have been very careful not to spoil any points for anyone who has not seen the movie. Do be warned there is a spoiler section after the final grade that should not be read unless you have seen the film.***
I have never been a huge fan of Blade Runner as I mentioned in my review of the movie. It was too messy and impersonal, likely a combination of imperfect cuts on top of a strong concept. I still was massively excited to see the sequel, mostly because the director Denis Villenueve (Arrival) has been consistently excellent throughout his career.
What I did not expect was to be glued to my seat for over two-and-a-half hours, never wanting the film to stop. What I did not expect was to walk out of the theater with tears in my eyes. What I did not expect to say is that Blade Runner 2049 is the best movie I have seen in years and basically my ideal film.
I want to be a critic with this movie and review it fairly, but, while others will have quibbles about the movie, I have none. I could bemoan its cultural and gender representation, particularly its oversexualization of women at every turn, but even that has a purpose and a focus behind it, leaving other films to balance it out.
The first Blade Runner was effective because it had a purpose and drive behind it. Even if it got a bit muddled for me, I appreciated the way it addressed identity and personhood. The second has a more direct line to this same idea, questioning not what is a replicant but rather what can a replicant be.
Blade Runner 2049 follows Officer K (Ryan Gosling), a Blade Runner tasked with eliminating older replicants that are not under the control of the Wallace Corporation, run by the enigmatic Niander Wallace (Jared Leto). However, he runs into a mystery and potential conspiracy that leads him down a dangerous and familiar path.
This film is not the noir reflection that its predecessor was, but it is very much a mystery with a constant running line of clues that K follows. This makes for a plot rife with spoilers, so it is difficult to discuss even all the character roles.
Instead, I will just briefly name the important characters and their surface roles in this tale: Wallace's top agent Luv (Sylvia Hoeks), K's personal assistant and companion Joi (Ana de Armas), K's commanding officer Lt. Joshi (Robin Wright), and the returning Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford).
I have never been a huge fan of Blade Runner as I mentioned in my review of the movie. It was too messy and impersonal, likely a combination of imperfect cuts on top of a strong concept. I still was massively excited to see the sequel, mostly because the director Denis Villenueve (Arrival) has been consistently excellent throughout his career.
What I did not expect was to be glued to my seat for over two-and-a-half hours, never wanting the film to stop. What I did not expect was to walk out of the theater with tears in my eyes. What I did not expect to say is that Blade Runner 2049 is the best movie I have seen in years and basically my ideal film.
I want to be a critic with this movie and review it fairly, but, while others will have quibbles about the movie, I have none. I could bemoan its cultural and gender representation, particularly its oversexualization of women at every turn, but even that has a purpose and a focus behind it, leaving other films to balance it out.
The first Blade Runner was effective because it had a purpose and drive behind it. Even if it got a bit muddled for me, I appreciated the way it addressed identity and personhood. The second has a more direct line to this same idea, questioning not what is a replicant but rather what can a replicant be.
Blade Runner 2049 follows Officer K (Ryan Gosling), a Blade Runner tasked with eliminating older replicants that are not under the control of the Wallace Corporation, run by the enigmatic Niander Wallace (Jared Leto). However, he runs into a mystery and potential conspiracy that leads him down a dangerous and familiar path.
This film is not the noir reflection that its predecessor was, but it is very much a mystery with a constant running line of clues that K follows. This makes for a plot rife with spoilers, so it is difficult to discuss even all the character roles.
Instead, I will just briefly name the important characters and their surface roles in this tale: Wallace's top agent Luv (Sylvia Hoeks), K's personal assistant and companion Joi (Ana de Armas), K's commanding officer Lt. Joshi (Robin Wright), and the returning Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford).
"And over here, we have Dr. Frankenstein's attempts to create life. Don't worry, they look much more realistic when they're done shrinking." (Image Courtesy of: vox.com)
All the actors are strong in this film, some in surprisingly excellent roles including great bit parts from other stars including Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Lennie James (The Walking Dead). The star though is clearly Gosling (La La Land) in honestly the greatest performance of his career, going to a level I had never seen from him.
K's personal story and changing connection to the other characters is touchingly complex with Gosling selling every second. In particular, his relationship with Joi is the highlight, clearly taking cues from 2013's Her, with a standout performance from Ana de Armas (Hands of Stone) and clear chemistry between the actors.
This movie will likely stand the test of time due to its visuals more than anything. Villenueve once more enlists the support of cinematographer Roger Deakins (The Shawshank Redemption) who crafts the most beautiful movie of his career. The landscapes, the lighting, the colors, and the ways each shape the world and the story are immaculate.
I cannot say that I have ever watched a movie more impressive in my life. Even obvious standouts with modern marvels like Avatar and cinematography masterclasses like Lawrence of Arabia have never had this much effect on me shot to shot. The landscape is very much Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, grown and flourishing beyond its bounds.
Still though, this movie grabbed me through its story written by the original's writer Hampton Fancher and rising star Michael Green (Logan), which is both powerfully obtuse and emotionally personal. The conflict of human and replicant is still the central piece with new mysteries shaping the conversation just as the world itself has changed. However, this time, the very nature of the themes is bound to the protagonist.
As he tries to find his way in an ever-growing web of conflict, it becomes clear that there will never be a definitive answer for all to find. However, the film does ultimately give viewers K's full role in this expanding tale. His struggles with his place, his role, his purpose, and his destiny each tie into an epic struggle for survival.
For some, it may be too long. Its pacing is certainly deliberate, but I never found myself bored for a second. For others, the plot may just be a bit too complex without resolution, but that is something you have to accept when you pay the price of admission for a Blade Runner film. For me, this was everything I wanted to see in a movie.
K's personal story and changing connection to the other characters is touchingly complex with Gosling selling every second. In particular, his relationship with Joi is the highlight, clearly taking cues from 2013's Her, with a standout performance from Ana de Armas (Hands of Stone) and clear chemistry between the actors.
This movie will likely stand the test of time due to its visuals more than anything. Villenueve once more enlists the support of cinematographer Roger Deakins (The Shawshank Redemption) who crafts the most beautiful movie of his career. The landscapes, the lighting, the colors, and the ways each shape the world and the story are immaculate.
I cannot say that I have ever watched a movie more impressive in my life. Even obvious standouts with modern marvels like Avatar and cinematography masterclasses like Lawrence of Arabia have never had this much effect on me shot to shot. The landscape is very much Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, grown and flourishing beyond its bounds.
Still though, this movie grabbed me through its story written by the original's writer Hampton Fancher and rising star Michael Green (Logan), which is both powerfully obtuse and emotionally personal. The conflict of human and replicant is still the central piece with new mysteries shaping the conversation just as the world itself has changed. However, this time, the very nature of the themes is bound to the protagonist.
As he tries to find his way in an ever-growing web of conflict, it becomes clear that there will never be a definitive answer for all to find. However, the film does ultimately give viewers K's full role in this expanding tale. His struggles with his place, his role, his purpose, and his destiny each tie into an epic struggle for survival.
For some, it may be too long. Its pacing is certainly deliberate, but I never found myself bored for a second. For others, the plot may just be a bit too complex without resolution, but that is something you have to accept when you pay the price of admission for a Blade Runner film. For me, this was everything I wanted to see in a movie.
Grade: A+
***I honestly feel I leave a lot left unsaid without going into spoilers, so this last section will heavily discuss plot points of the film, in particular to focus on the movie's primary thematic journey and why it personally hit me so strongly. PLEASE DO NOT READ AHEAD IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE SPOILED.***
When a robot loves a hologram very very much, they kind of try to touch other sometimes. It's quite awkward. (Image Courtesy of: geekxpop.com)
K's identity is not a mystery in Blade Runner 2049. Early on, we learn he is a replicant. Because of this, the tale of this sequel is about how he gets on in the world knowing he is a replicant. He is discriminated against and talked down to by everyone around him including those he works with.
The only one who shows true compassion for him is his holographic artificial intelligence girlfriend Joi. However, he still seems to appreciate the work he does. He believes in it. Slowly, this movie takes that away from him. As he finds out about this supposed child born of a replicant, he becomes a target rather than a hunter.
About halfway through the movie, the film sells us on the idea that K is that child, and it crushes him. He breaks down because he realizes he is about to lose his foothold. He is going to be forced to go rogue. Even after his outburst, when he returns to a faux blank slate, Gosling shows the cracks in K's psyche.
K becomes an object of a war he never wanted a part in and, only once he accepts his role, is he told he never was the child. At the same time, he loses his one foothold on his old life when Joi is crushed by Luv. He is left empty and forced to decide what is left to do in his life.
Here is the crucial question of the movie: what can a replicant be? K was always a tool for humans, a police dog to hunt down his own kind. Now with nothing left, he takes on his final role, protecting Deckard and helping him see his child. It's a suicide mission he takes on either due to his own shattering self-worth or the orders of the only one around to tell him what to do.
K ultimately is just a soldier in a war he barely took a part in. Moreover, his memories, that helped define him, are primarily memories of the potential savior of replicant kind, Deckard's daughter. Even his love story with Joi, so beautifully told, has holes poked in it as he looks up at a billboard of the Joi brand and is forced to question if she ever was real or just said what he wanted her to say.
Even as the role of replicants becomes more complicated, K's story is simple, a terrible tragedy of the soldier who has always been meant to die for a cause he barely had time to understand.
All he manages to do is point the replicants in the direction of their savior and die in order that Deckard can see that savior just once (while barely revealing anything of the true villains and heroes in this fight). And we are left to ask: was he ever allowed to be more than what he was programmed to be and did he need to be?
The only one who shows true compassion for him is his holographic artificial intelligence girlfriend Joi. However, he still seems to appreciate the work he does. He believes in it. Slowly, this movie takes that away from him. As he finds out about this supposed child born of a replicant, he becomes a target rather than a hunter.
About halfway through the movie, the film sells us on the idea that K is that child, and it crushes him. He breaks down because he realizes he is about to lose his foothold. He is going to be forced to go rogue. Even after his outburst, when he returns to a faux blank slate, Gosling shows the cracks in K's psyche.
K becomes an object of a war he never wanted a part in and, only once he accepts his role, is he told he never was the child. At the same time, he loses his one foothold on his old life when Joi is crushed by Luv. He is left empty and forced to decide what is left to do in his life.
Here is the crucial question of the movie: what can a replicant be? K was always a tool for humans, a police dog to hunt down his own kind. Now with nothing left, he takes on his final role, protecting Deckard and helping him see his child. It's a suicide mission he takes on either due to his own shattering self-worth or the orders of the only one around to tell him what to do.
K ultimately is just a soldier in a war he barely took a part in. Moreover, his memories, that helped define him, are primarily memories of the potential savior of replicant kind, Deckard's daughter. Even his love story with Joi, so beautifully told, has holes poked in it as he looks up at a billboard of the Joi brand and is forced to question if she ever was real or just said what he wanted her to say.
Even as the role of replicants becomes more complicated, K's story is simple, a terrible tragedy of the soldier who has always been meant to die for a cause he barely had time to understand.
All he manages to do is point the replicants in the direction of their savior and die in order that Deckard can see that savior just once (while barely revealing anything of the true villains and heroes in this fight). And we are left to ask: was he ever allowed to be more than what he was programmed to be and did he need to be?