Blade Runner 2049 [2017] Genre: Science Fiction Director: Denis Villeneuve Actors: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Jared Leto Following up on a great film is extremely difficult. Appealing to the fans of the original as well as drawing in new viewers who can learn to love the world previously built is a feat that many talented directors and screenwriters have tried and failed to do. A new challenger to this task is Denis Villeneuve, director of previous films such as Arrival, which was a visually stunning science-fiction film with a deep and interesting message that was one of my favourite films of last year and Sicario, a crime thriller that provided a well-directed and exciting look into the fight against a Mexican drug cartel by the FBI, who has now taken on the daring trial of directing the sequel to Blade Runner, Ridley Scott's 80s sci-fi cult classic. If anyone could capture, in particular, the visual ecstasy of the original, Villeneuve seemed like the right director for the job. Making a sequel to Blade Runner would never be easy, but I'm extremely pleased to report that Villeneuve's aims of making a sequel that lives up to the original was a resounding success. Blade Runner 2049 tells the story of K (Gosling), a replicant working as a blade runner, who uncovers a secret (which I will not mention – it's certainly better to go in unspoiled) which causes him to hunt for Rick Deckard (Ford) from the original film who can help him with the fallout. Rounding out the list of character is Joi (de Armas), K's girlfriend and Niander Wallace (Leto), who provides a threatening side to the story as the antagonist. In seemingly all reviews of this film, the first thing almost everyone has mentioned are the visuals. This film looks astonishingly beautiful. Roger Deakins, the cinematographer who has worked with Villeneuve on films like Sicario in the past, provides us with some absolutely unbelievable shots, telling us so much about the characters and the landscape, that should finally cement an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for him. The dark and dingy city of Los Angeles from the original film is explored even further in this film in a very interesting way. It is important to remember that thirty year has passed in-universe since the original and the development of the city is evident to see. Large holographic advertisements take the place of the large billboards, which take the place as the artificial lighting for the shots, even providing a lot of interesting thoughts for the viewer in the later parts of the film. An example of one of my favourite scenes from a cinematic standpoint takes place in a desert landscape with the ruins of an old structure standing in the sand. Clear indications of Villeneuve's inspiration from texts like Ozymandias, as well as other film ideas portraying a dystopian landscape such as Planet of the Apes and Mad Max to give us an idea of the lack of nature's presence not only in the city, but outside too. On a more interpersonal level, the technical genius of the syncing of a virtual character and a real character is absolutely mesmerising, and praise should be given to the visual effects team for this also. There is rarely a dull or bland shot in the film, and despite not matching the distinct cinematographic style of its predecessor, it is almost impossible to criticise the beautiful looks of the film. Every shot could, and should, be considered a work of art. The next aspect of the film certainly worth talking about are the performances. My personal stand-out of the film was Harrison Ford who brings the character of Rick Deckard to life once more and in my opinion, gives a performance superior to his in the original. Other supporting actors like Robin Wright, who plays K's stern but sympathetic boss give a compelling and interesting performance and even an actor like Jared Leto, who has given some shocking showings in a film such as Suicide Squad, brings to life the character of Wallace well, creating a creepy, threatening and menacing character as well as subtle actions and movements that make him seem real. Unknown actors like Ana de Armas give an emotive performance that makes the audience think about many engaging ideas in the film, as well as Sylvia Hoeks who removes all emotion from her character, yet still shows so much, gives a praiseworthy performance as Luv, the antagonist of the story, yet doesn't quite manage to match Rutger Hauer's stellar acting in the original. Interestingly enough, one of the weaker performances in my eyes was that of the lead, Ryan Gosling, who unfortunately I found to be a little bland and boring (as I have found of his acting in films like Drive in the past) in the film, with the interesting arc of his character saving him from becoming a protagonist I felt apathetic to. Before I get onto some negatives of the film, there are some other things that are certainly worthy of discussion and praise. Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch collaborate to give a score that is fantastic not only in the context of the movie but also as pieces of music as a whole. Zimmer continually manages to impress with his score in films after creating my favourite score of the year so far in Dunkirk and Wallfisch has done some impressive music in the past, particularly in Hidden Figures. The combination of the talents of these two create a score that keeps the viewer interested through the audio of the film, as well as the aforementioned visuals. One of the more overlooked relationships in the film is that of K and Joi and, without going into details, I believe the dynamic between these two characters explored so many interesting ideas. Some of the earlier scenes highlighting their relationship are some of the most beautiful and moving I've seen in years and will be some of the most memorable in years to come. Unfortunately, this film wasn't perfect in my eyes. Firstly, the nearly three-hour long running time can be a bit daunting at first, and although the visual and auditory masterpiece kept me thoroughly entertained, a few scenes did drag ever so slightly. My main issue, however, comes with the narrative of the film which I found to be comparatively weaker to the original. While the original's story felt fresh and interesting, actually telling the story in a rather minimalist way, with little dialogue and a lot of emotion shown through acting performances, the story here felt a little generic. While there were genuinely surprising turns along the way, it didn't feel entirely fresh, and didn't resonate with me in the same way as the first. I also would have been more interested to see some of the themes explored a little more, as some of the more interesting ones, such as the dynamic between K and Joi, were relegated to the side-plot a little in the film. While these themes were there slightly, the film instead decides to focus on K as a character a little more, which was slightly disappointing to me. It's not that the narrative is poor – I just felt a little more could have been done. Overall, Blade Runner 2049 is a success, despite its minor flaws. The cinematography, the visual effects and the melodic score all combine to make a film that will be remembered for its beauty for years to come. Ford's performance will also be seen as one of his best of his career and I hope will garner him some awards towards the end of the year. The issues I have with the film however, namely Gosling's performance and the slightly weak narrative, do stop me from calling this film a perfect masterpiece. There were hints of something more to the story of the film, trying to break free, but unfortunately, for me, it just didn't come through. Despite this though, Blade Runner 2049 is the best film I have seen so far this year, and will be seen as a worthy successor to the original that, too, will be remembered for years to come. Villeneuve cements himself as one of the great modern directors, and proves that he was up to the challenge with this one. Rating: 8/10
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