Having received my Moviepass, the first film I saw "for free" was Blade Runner 2049. The Blade Runner sequel takes place 29 years later. A new blade runner, "K" (Ryan Gosling) is tasked with tracking down and eliminating an old terror cell. The world of 2049 has the same dystopian feel as 2020 earth, but with slightly enhanced elements.
Officer K has been tasked with hunting down a group of rebel androids. Sounds a lot like the premise of the original film. However, the world has changed. Officer K discovers a buried treasure which threatens to destroy the tentative balance society has found in our dystopian future. The knowledge of the contents of that box could spark a war. A revolution. The Wallace corporation learns of the revolutionary (evolutionary) evidence collected by Officer K and will stop at nothing to uncover the secrets connected to the discovery. Officer K follows his leads, crossing paths with many interesting characters even as he begins to doubt his own reality. It is as if he has his own internal struggle, man vs. himself, android style.
If Philip K. Dick were alive, I think he would approve of the sequel to the original film based on his book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Dick liked to explore alternate realities as well as government/corporate authoritarianism. This film has the same corporate feel as the original, pitting the LAPD against a large android corporation bent on building an android revolution. The film also mastered sleight of hand to give us all the answers while suggesting multiple possibilities. We aren't spoon fed the plot, which evolves at nice pace. Although the pace of the movie is sluggish at times. This film is fairly long (epic) at 2 hours 43 minutes. The pacing is good for that length of film, but I think it could have been scaled back significantly.
Blade Runner 2049 had the epic feel of the original. Director Denis Villanueve has done several films I enjoyed, to include Sicario, Prisoners and Incendies. The soundtrack has the dystopian industrial hum at times that augments the screen. The combination of soundtrack, writing and production quality were all spot on. The special effects were awesome and often paid homage to the original. Particularly the ability to manipulate images, which takes on a slightly new twist in this film. The dialogue was sharp. Writer Hampton Fancher returns from the original film, joined by Michael Green, whose credits are a combination of sci-fi and superheroes. My only complaint about the film was the length, which felt like it cold be shorter.
The casting was as good as the writing. I have been a fan of Ryan Gosling dating back to his lesser known film Lars and the Real Girl. If you haven't seen that film, rent it. Harrison Ford has more than just a cameo in this film, which I liked. Among the cameo appearances is Dave Bautista, who I love in Guardians of the Galaxy. It's nice to see him without the make up. Jared Leto is always solid, but also has a very small role in this film. The stand out performance, for me, was Sylvia Hoeks. Her performance as Luv, the Wallace Corporation enforcer, was fantastic. She brought an ice cold reality to the role that was chilling. Her steely character had an oddly likeable characteristic in spite of the sheer evil of her role. Hoeks was phenomenal. I hope to see more of her in the future. I can't imagine that this film could have been cast any better.
Blade Runner 2049 received an R Rating from the MPAA. The rating is well deserved. The film has plenty of graphic imagery to include ample nudity, violence and language. The nudity never felt gratuitous, but it left little to the imagination. There was also a tastefully handled (nudity free) sex scene that was actually visually appealing to me. A "virtual threesome" if you will. There was great attention to detail in this film, often with sexual and substance-abuse thematic material lurking in the shadows. I can't imagine an epic dystopican film without those elements. They were handled well, but definitely make this a film you don't want to bring younger viewers to.
Blade Runner 2049 was everything I was expecting and more. I have long been a fan of Philip K. Dick's work. His vision was amazing. I am eagerly anticipating the anthology of his work that Amazon is currently working on to augment their Man in the High Castle success. The casting, writing, acting, cinematography, special effects and sound track all come together to create a seamless trip into the dystopian future. While a bit too long, the film did not disappoint. The attention to detail gives this film the same credibility as the original. I would highly recommend seeing this one in the theater. 8/10.
