A Classic Netheless

Rating: 10/10 (10 September 2018)

Denis Villeneuve and Rodger Deakins make the best tag team in film today. Starting with the cinematography, it was nothing short of groundbreaking, I won't say much considering it's an experience all on it's own. All I'll say is that I'm almost certain will be talked about and revered for years to come. I must mention, this film felt distractingly white, but considering that one of the people who was fronting millions of dollars is a black man I take it as more of them choosing the best person for the role. That does put Ryan Gosling in a very simmilar role he's been known for, which will definitely bother some, but only as much as they let it. The visual effects were astounding, this film had a budget of 150 million dollars, nothing in the movie look fake. the way Deakins utilizes the set and lighting is genius. This isn't a new observation in the least, but you could take any frame from the movie and use it as a desktop screensaver. The story was fantastic, notably it didn't depend on the previous movie at all, it used it as a reference point but never jabbed at your shoulder and said "Hey, remember when the last movie was great and this scene happened, now we did it", it's truly it's own movie and it did it flawlessly. Unlike the original the pacing was never an issue, which is very impressive considering this is 43 minutes longer. Despite being nearly three hours it felt like an hour and a half. However the screenplay is not without it's flaws, the dialog can be extremely cheesy at times and there was an amazingly convenient moment at what could be considered the beginning of what I would say is the climax, that would normally set it back a point. However it happens I'm talking about Blade Runner 2049. If I'm being honest, I sincerely doubt you will have an honest conversation about cinematography, visual effects, set design, or pacing without mentioning this movie. It's the kind of movie born out of the influence and surpassed it by miles, perfecting the concepts brought about, reinventing them, and evolving into something completely different that will influence so many down the road. For that, I think it more than deserves a perfect score.