Unfortunate

Rating: 5/10 (9 October 2017)

Blockbusters typically suffer for a lack of artistry. Blade Runner 2049 smothered in a surfeit of it. It had a great script, a story that was engaging and surprising. It had stellar acting, from minor cast to the lead actor. It had beautiful sets and effects, worthy of the big budget. The 1980s modernist lighting and camera angles, however, were a step backward. That was a mistake thirty years ago, and to taint this beautiful film with the monochromatic tinting, neon lighting, and awkward closeups was simply unfortunate. The film would have lost about 3 minutes of running time if they cut all the closeups on eyeballs, for instance. Get rid of those extended scenes focusing on someone standing - yes, standing.... There was probably about thirty minutes of material that could have been cut from the unnecessarily long close-ups on facial expressions and postures. Those shots have a place in movies, and deserved to be in here, but Villeneuve lost all sense of perspective and moderation. Perhaps the most unfortunate artistic indulgence of the entire movie, however, was the soundtrack. I was stunned that the 2017 version of Blade Runner would return to 1982 for musical inspiration. The synthesizer gave the impression throughout that this was the 1980s artistic vision of the future. I had already seen that one years ago.
In Villeneuve's quest to pay homage to the 1982 cinematic precursor, he demonstrated a real lack of discernment, no awareness of what made the original special and what was simply then-fashionable. By carrying over, in block, so much from the Ridley Scott version, the 2049 director smeared all sorts of incongruous artistry over what should have been a new and dazzling production.