Masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (13 October 2017)

First of all, this film is well-made. The world-building effort really pays off, and the dystopian world it makes extends perfectly from original one's. Also, the cinematography is astonishingly exquisite. The silhouettes and color palettes are so stylish, that I think it deserves an Oscar. Besides, the score sounds breathtaking. Especially the symbiosis between musical sound and visual effect makes a wonderful combination. About the plot, at high level, it is carefully designed. It does not only tie everything together in this movie, but also levitates the original Blade Runner. Although the movie plot rolls out slowly, it can bring you a kind of cathartic joy during watching. The allegorical meaning is not that obvious in the movie, but it does hit the beat of some philosophical view point.
Regarding shortcomings, my major concerns are related to the length and pacing of the film. Blade Runner 2049 lasts 2 hrs and 43 mins. Probably that is too long for those causal audiences. Also, the pacing of the film comes way slower than those nowadays. I understand it is intended to play out in such way so this movie has a similar pacing to those in 60s and 70s, and the pacing of original Blade Runner film. However, I really fear this can turn away a large number of audiences. Here I really admire filmmakers' confidence and bravery on sticking to their principles about film making without pandering to the tastes of masses, but it really undermines the possibility of making another such high budget art film in near future.
Overall, if you are a hardcore sci-fi fan or interested in art films, I sincerely recommend Blade Runner to you. It is still not clear to me whether this is going to become another cult or legend yet, but I do believe you will not have another sci-fi movie with such high level of quality in years.