Blade Runner 2049
Runtime: 163 min R-Rated
It wasn’t so easy to ignore all Trailers, TV shows or interviews with the cast, just NOT to see or hear something that could spoil the pleasure of watching the legendary Blade Runner movie’s sequel… And yes, that strategy worked nicely to get surprised by plot and plot twists and turns, or various scenes… wow, what a trip into a dystopian (relatively near) future – simply breath-taking. And those 2h 43min are just enough to unfold this SF adventure, I would not want miss any minute!
The story: Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
More should not be told not to spoil the fun. In case you might expect a typical US block buster containing non-stop (brainless) action, high speed car/space ship pursuits, shootouts and explosions – well, maybe better watch the Transformers. Which does not mean that none of those elements can be found – actually all of them, but in a moderate dosage. This Blade Runner could almost be called „European“, meaning: director Denis Villeneuve takes time to develop a character, travel through a merciless urban jungle, allows the camera (worked by Roger Deakins) to lovingly explore the landscape of a face, gives time and room to introduce the protagonists, time to think and absorb what you just saw/learned. The epic soundtrack (Jóhann Jóhannsson, Hans Zimmer, Benjamin Wallfisch) has even the most minimalist scenes stand out and cause goose flesh, not to mention those massive dystopic visions of a doomed civilisation.
And you will surely discover some Easter eggs (most of them probably need a close analysis via DVD). I had to giggle when I discovered a reference to the original book by Philip K. Dick „Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?“ References to part 1 are nicely worked into the film, my compliments to the screenwriters Hampton Fancher und Michael Green! No need to mention the excellent cast – e.g. Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright, Ana de Armas (Joi), Jared Leto and Sylvia Hoeks…
The questions raised by the first movie – how to define „human being“, could replicants be more „human“ than the humans, what is „life“, or „having a soul“? – receive an upgrade (which was also a topic in the movie HER) … but the answers, well, that’s what people need to find out for themselves …
Brilliant masterpiece, a future classic and as good as the first one. Must-see!
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10/10