I have an absolute fondness for the Blade Runner universe. Its sheer beauty; its glittering neon tones and heavy rain; its connection with the human mind in a world that seems so lost in thought; so lost in what it means to be alive, in a world that looks so dead and forgotten.
I remained sceptical of Blade Runner 2049's production quality once it had been announced. Worried that the congested world of sequels and mediocre cash-grabs of famous and original films of the past would claim yet another victim. Its cast was particularly worrying at first, although I had faith in the brilliance of Dennis Villeneuve as a director and filmmaker having seen his previous works, which I cannot praise enough.
Blade Runner 2049. It's an achievement, for sure. It's a sequel that successfully expands upon a story that was otherwise complete; it manages to answer questions that never really needed an answer, but with such excellence that you can't help but appreciate it. This film has done every possible thing right.
Cutting in at almost three hours, Blade Runner 2049 follows Officer K, a blade runner ordered to retire previous model replicants. Being a replicant himself, K lives a normal life with his artificial intelligence girlfriend, who frequently tells him he's special.
Caught up in believing he is something special, K finds himself unravelling a much larger mystery; one that suggests that a replicant successfully gave birth to a child, and such a miracle has resulted in unwanted attention from the Wallace Corporation, owned by a dangerous blind man hell-bent on being a God, on taking Tyrell's achievements a step further himself. Believing he is that child after numerous puzzle pieces suggest so, K goes on an adventure to uncover his reality. To be special. To find reason behind his existence. This slowly brings such unwanted attention towards Deckard, who has been hiding for years.
K isn't special. K is just another replicant. K is not the replicant son of Deckard; he's been led down a false path of hope. K is nothing.
These turn of events are done in such perfection, in such a manner that the previous statement isn't apparent until it wants the viewer to know. Up until then, we're taken down a path of mystery and loneliness alongside K, taken for a ride through the neon lights.
Dennis Villeneuve's cinematography is astonishing in the film. He does the Blade Runner universe so much justice, and it's clear that he was forever destined to take up the job of filming this sequel. Everything fits so beautifully together. You can quite literally visualise the script working alongside Villeneuve's directing. As each shot displays a subtle beauty, no matter how empty the background is. This film is evidence that there is still art within blockbuster filmmaking.
With almost three hours of sheer beauty, Blade Runner 2049 is filmmaking at its finest. It's a sequel produced by some of the best within the film industry, and was made so clearly with the fans at heart, rather than the sheer potential returns.
