everything Blade Runner did right, done wrong

Rating: 4/10 (29 August 2019)

Imagine Blade Runner without a strong directorial vision, and interesting story, or engaging characters. If you find that impossible to imagine, just watch the forgettable sci-fi flick Blade Runner 2049.
Instead of the distinct '40s-noir of the original, 2049 offers scale without purpose and a dusty color palette. Instead of riveting, distinct, excellently-acted characters, you've got sturdy but unforgettable people. Blade Runner was full of amazing moments and places, such as the room of living toys and Rutger Hauer's every word, but 2049 has nothing but a bland lead and a bunch of characters whose motives can't be looked at too closely.
Scenes come not out of the story but out of a desire to have something happened, resulting in pointless interactions like the tormenting of a naked replicant. There aren't so much huge plot holes as poor motivations and small inconsistencies that make everything in the movie feel false.
If you don't compare this to Blade Runner, it's a mediocre but almost-watchable movie with the occasional interesting idea (the talking, naked ad, the memory designer's creation of a birthday party), but as a sequel to a classic, this movie is a travesty.
And how is it that a futuristic L.A. heavily influenced by Japanese culture has no Asians in the entire city? It's as though there's no detail so big or small that the filmmakers won't ignore it.