Blade Runner 2049
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 The key to the future is finally unearthed.
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Blade Runner 2049 is a 2017 American science fiction neo-noir film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. It is a sequel to Ridley Scott's 1982 film, Blade Runner, and premiered in Los Angeles on October 3, 2017, and was released in the United States in 2D, 3D, and IMAX on October 6, 2017.
Plot
In 2049, 30 years after the first film's events, Nexus-9 replicants have become commonplace on Earth, while earlier replicants, such as the Nexus-8 line, have become outlawed. While on a mission to hunt down Nexus-8 replicant Sapper Morton (portrayed by Dave Bautista), LAPD Blade Runner Officer K (portrayed by Ryan Gosling) finds a secret that could cause a war to break out between humanity and replicants. This same secret leads him to track down former Blade Runner Rick Deckard (portrayed by Harrison Ford), who's been missing for the last 30 years.
Why It Looks Like a Good Joe
- First off, the special effects that combine practical and CGI effects to awesome results, are even better than the first film; it can be even considered as one of the best CGI effects of all time.
- Breathtaking and immersive cinematography, courtesy of Roger Deakins, that makes its images look beautiful, like in the desert scene.
- It has amazing storylines that play off of the themes of the first film successfully while introducing its themes.
- Excellent directing by Denis Villeneuve, who has also directed other amazing films, such as Arrival and Dune.
- It is awesome to see that Rick Deckard is finally back after 35 years; what's more about this is that he is never killed in the film, unlike Han Solo from Star Wars.
- Brilliant acting performances, especially for Ryan Gosling, and Harrison Ford.
- Also, Jared Leto's performance as Niander Wallace is a big step up and an improvement compared to his performance as the Joker in Suicide Squad (2016), even though he would later give a much better performance as the Joker four years later in Zack Snyder's Justice League.
- It has many great action scenes, like the opening fight scene, especially the final battle scene.
- The characters are nice, especially Officer K/Joe himself, who has an AI companion named Joi.
- Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch's soundtrack is awesome, and succeeds at being a successor to Vangelis' soundtrack to the first film, also, some of the soundtrack has been mixed with 8-bit static-looking soundtrack throughout.
- A beautiful and tear-jerking reprise of "Tears in Rain" when K brings Deckard to his daughter and looks like he's about to die from his wounds. This is the only moment where Zimmer and Wallfisch used a Vangelis track.
- The original score has the ominous 2049, the sweeping Mesa, and the thunderously climactic Sea Wall.
- On the creepy side of things, there's the oppressive Flight to LAPD and the ghostly theme for Wallace.
- The ending where K/Joe dies when he lies down the stairs for the snow and Deckard meets his daughter is heartwarming.
- It is a perfect example of how to make a long-awaited sequel more than twenty years to the original classic film done right, where it's faithful to the classic film, which was already amazing, to begin with.
- The use of 3D effects is remarkable, and it also helps to make its image quality look pretty.
- Gaff's cameo is very surprising and special, who had retired and lived in a care facility for thirty years after Deckard's disappearance.
- Speaking of cameos, Rachael from the first film appears in a cameo, and the CGI to recreate her original appearance is excellent and very convincing.
Bad Qualities
- Many people find the film too long to get through, with the runtime at 163 minutes. Even Ridley Scott feels that had he directed this sequel, he would have shortened it to reduce the slow pacing.
- There is false advertising because the film's trailers make it look like Rick Deckard will once again be the main character, though, in the actual film, he doesn't appear onscreen until one hour and 45 minutes into the film.
Reception
Blade Runner 2049 was acclaimed by critics and audiences for its performances, direction, cinematography, musical score, production design, visual effects, and faithfulness to the original film, and was considered by many critics to be among the best films of 2017, although its near-three hour runtime was criticized. Critically, some critics considered it to be an improvement from the first film. Metacritic gives the film an average score of 81 out of 100 based on 54 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Critics who saw the film before its release were asked by Villeneuve not to reveal certain characters and plot points. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 78% overall positive score and a 60% "definite recommend".
Box office
Despite receiving acclaim, Blade Runner 2049 grossed over $259 million against a budget of $150–185 million. In the United States and Canada, the film was a commercial flop; Ridley Scott believed that the film's underperformance at the box office was due to its nearly three-hour runtime.
Trivia
- This was the first Academy Award win for Roger Deakins, after his previous 13 nominations at the time, with him winning his second Academy Award for 1917.