Blade Runner 2049★★★★
Pretty and quiet
Hey girl, we made a sequel
Ford is in it, trust
A young blade runner's discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former blade runner Rick Deckard, who's been missing for thirty years.
Disclaimer: It's been a while since I saw this movie, so this review might be less articulate and thoughtful than it could be.
Until the night before we were going to see Blade Runner 2049, I'd never seen the original Blade Runner all the way through. I know, GASP. I'd seen parts and pieces, and read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (the Phillip K. Dick novel the movie's based on), so I knew the gist. But watching it right before seeing the sequel was a great idea; I wasn't nearly as lost as I might have been, and actually understood some of the hidden nods.
Blade Runner 2049 was a visually stunning movie, and really feels like an extension of the original, even all these years later. It uses similar technology, even though technology has changed drastically; I really appreciated the attempts to make it match, even thought they could have made everything much more "cool." The dated tech fits with the dystopian nature of the film. The sets and costumes also match well. The movie's treatement of women is somewhat problematic, but it too fits with the original. (Not making excuses, mind you. Just stating facts.)
Ryan Gosling makes for a good Deckard ancestor: he's quiet, reserved, and brooding, just like Harrison Ford's character in the original. It was also great to see Ford reprise the role, but Old Deckard kind of just seemed like Old Harrison Ford? Jared Leto was crazy, as expected, and creepy as heck as Niander Wallace. (Side note: I can't even imagine having to work with Leto.)
The plot held some twists and turns, which kept me interested in what is a very long time to sit in a theater for a movie that's not fast-paced. Honestly, my biggest complaint is the length of the film, and that's only because about halfway through, I found myself thinking about how long I'd been sitting there and the fact that Ford had yet to show up. It took me out of the viewing experience.
If you're a fan of the original or quiet science fiction films, I'd recommend giving this a go. If you find yourself thinking about when Ford will show up, please let me reassure you that it does eventually happen.
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