Review – Blade Runner 2049

Blade Runner 2049 is a rare cinematic occurrence in that it is a long delayed sequel (30+ years) that exceeds the original by miles.  Everything about Blade Runner 2049 is better than the 1982 original Ridley Scott film.  This is a true sci-fi noir that features great performances, bold filmmaking, a twisty, captivating story, and some of the best visuals I have seen on screen in 2017.

It is really hard to explain the plot of the 2049 without spoiling a lot of what happens.  The film follows K (Ryan Gosling), a new kind of replicant and modern blade runner who’s in charge of hunting down older replicants.  When he stumbles on a case that could alter the course of mankind, he follows a trail of clues that leads him to former blade runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) who has been missing for thirty years.

Writer Hampton Francher, who wrote the original film based on the Philip K. Dick short story “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”, has made the definitive sci-fi noir, filled with a dark, moody tone, constant twists and turns, and great mystery.  He expands on the world he already made in the original film.  He dives deeper into the characters, takes us to other parts of the dystopian America the film is set in, and gives us bigger, more thought provoking themes about life, love, and what it truly means to be alive and to be human.  These ideas stay with you long after the movie is finished.

On a technical level, I don’t know if there has been a better film this year.  This is a movie the needs to be seen on IMAX or whatever the biggest screen near you is.  Director Denis Villeneuve has made a science fiction movie on the biggest scale possible.  Every set piece is beautiful and Villeneuve shows the expanded world Francher wrote down to the most minute detail.  At a runtime of two hours and forty three minutes, the film never drags.  The mystery of the film keeps us riveted and the brutal fight scenes are thrilling.  Every scene serves a purpose and nothing is wasted.

One of the true highlights of the film, and the main reason you need to see it on the biggest screen possible, is because of the cinematography by the legendary Roger Deakins.  Deakins has shot some legendary films such as The Shawshank Redemption (1994), No Country for Old Men (2007), and Skyfall (2012), and his work here in 2049 is some of the best of his career.  This is a masterclass in using lighting and shadowing to manipulate mood and emotion.  It also features dozens of jaw-dropping screenshots that I want as posters.  Deakins has been nominated for thirteen Oscars and this should earn him his fourteenth nomination and is deserving of a win not only for this movie but for his career.

Ryan Gosling gives one of his most impressive performances to date here a K.  This isn’t a flashy performance, but one that tears into your soul.  Gosling’s eyes are piercing and tell us everything we need to know about how K is feeling.  He brings physicality and shows the brutality of the world he lives in.  It is one of Gosling’s best.  Harrison Ford takes Deckard to another level here and shows more range than he has shown in decades.  He also shows he can still kick some ass.  This is the best Ford has been in a long, long time.  Jared Leto was the right amount of creepy as the new replicant creator Wallace, and I really loved all the actresses in the film, particularly Sylvia Hoeks as Luv.  She is beautiful, yet terrifying and has some of the more chilling scenes in the film.

Blade Runner 2049 is one of the best movies of the year.  This is a movie that deserves multiple viewings because of its themes and talking points and a film that needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible because of the technical mastery and breathtaking cinematography by Roger Deakins.

Did you see Blade Runner 2049?  What did you think?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook by searching Kevflix.