Blade Runner 2049

Hello, whiplash. Now I go from pastel ponies to dreary, yet serene dystopias.

Ridley Scott's Blade Runner realized the most visually appealing sci-fi urban dystopia at the time. It floundered at the box office but it came back on home video and inspired other sci-fi works. It's been re-edited and re-released multiple times over the years. Now the story of sci-fi dystopia has finally continued on the big screen in Blade Runner 2049.

In the first movie, Blade Runners like Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) hunted down the biomechanical Replicants barred from Earth. In the titular year, Replicants like "K" (Ryan Gosling) are now welcome on Earth. That's because the blind mogul Niander Wallace (Jared Leto) made newer, more compliant Replicants. K is himself a Blade Runner who goes around "retiring" older models. K deals with one such Replicant (Dave Bautista) and finds a box of bones.

These bones were of a pregnant Replicant, which nobody thought was possible. This could give credence for Replicants to pursue their rights and thus, war. So K is ordered to find the Replicant offspring and retire it. K's investigation leads him to a conspiracy, a rebellion and eventually, Deckard himself. He also learns a lot more about himself along the way.

The film continues the technical standards set by Syd Mead, et al. in the first film. The production design and cinematography, by Dennis Gassner and Roger Deakins, visualizes Los Angeles as a dark metropolis that turns alluring at night. The LAPD building's so large it's like a domineering entity; what symbolism. It's amusing to see a future where Panam is still a thing. The costume and makeup designs are also elaborate displays. The sound design resonated with the pulsating sound effects and score. Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch collaborated on the score and even incorporated bits of Vangelis's iconic score from the first movie.

A real deal-breaker is its extreme length of 164 minutes. If you came for an exciting action film, you'll have to wait a while. There is action but the main mystery plot moves along at a slow pace. Deckard himself shows up at about the 90 minute mark or so. The film goes on about the meaning of humanity and freedom as much as the first film. There was some logic I didn't understand at first but I got over time. Overall, its themes were better developed than Ghost in the Shell, whose manga source material was inspired by Blade Runner.

What about the characters? The actors were all capable in their roles. K's quest to find his personal identity made the length bearable. His hologram girlfriend, Joi (Ana de Armas), was a likable and endearing character. Wallace was weird and proved himself a scumbag. His Replicant assistant, Luv (Sylvia Hoeks), seemed warm at first before she proved violent. Robin Wright was also great as K's gruff-but-good superior Lt. Joshi as was Dave Bautista as the opening Replicant, Morton. Harrison Ford did well as the weary Deckard in his small role. There's also a few cameos from the first movie, one of which was accomplished with eerily effective visual effects.

Blade Runner 2049 is as much a visual masterpiece as its revered predecessor. And like its predecessor, it's going to take some time to get used to. Once you do, you'll find an effective mystery film with strong twists and turns. The ending leaves the film on a strong note. See it on the big screen. Its three hours are slow but they are worth it.