Amazingly, Didn't Disappoint....

Rating: 10/10 (22 November 2018)

Whilst I looked forward to this film, as a self-professed Blade Runner fan-boy,
it was not without a certain amount of trepidation. Right from the get-go, this latent concern was laid to rest. The film is not only visually staggering, it's also an aural wonder. Though thankfully, the soundscape doesn't swamp the film. Rather, it integrates perfectly, complementing the eeriness, the vastness, yes even soulless despair of the dystopian future presented by the large scale visuals. But this film isn't just a showcase for production technology. The feel of it, from the rain drench vastness of the West Coast megalopolis that is Los Angeles 2049, the culture-mashing, the CGI that is at once flawless yet retro, and the music that harks back to Vangelis' original score - it all meshes together, producing a holistic and satisfying evolution of the original. Even the well-handled storyline not only successfully continues on from Blade Runner, it further develops the themes addressed in it. At no time did I feel that this film was forced or a compromise, with tacked-on elements to justify its sequel status. Nor can I put a finger on the acting. Everything gels, and Ryan Gosling is perfectly cast as the unemotive skin-job.
I know that I may be in a minority here, but this sequel IMHO, is right up there with Godfather II, where the follow-up is arguably better than the first film. Not so small an achievement by Director Denis Villeneuve, Cinematographer Roger A. Deakins, and Screenwriters Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. Kudos to all concern. After Arrival and now this, Villeneuve's up-and-coming production of Dune might not after all be the disaster, that one could be excused for expecting.
I have since seen this film both on 4K disc and in 3-D, and whilst it demands the largest screen possible and will test your HT sound system to the max., it is possibly the best produced disc out there.
Whilst I'm getting a tad weary of the hyperbole that is undermining the IMDB system, where people either give films 1 or 10 stars and nothing in between, I can happily give Blade Runner 2049 10 stars. That's because it bloody well deserves it.