A one of a kind Big Budget Art Cinema

Rating: 9/10 (10 October 2017)

Blade Runner 2049 - Waoww. I have often stated that Roger Deakins is a master Cinematographer and often his Oscars were stolen by other cinematographers. Even after 13 nominations (highest by any Cinematographer in the history) and yet not a single win. This is the time. For the first time hi was working with an enormous budget of 150m$ and for the first time he was creating a futuristic world. And he has hammered the nail perfectly. He should and must win this time. And I am saying this after considering the exceptional cinematography done by Hoyte Van Hoytema in Dunkirk with IMAX camera , because even the word 'Exceptional' falls short what Deakins has done here. Each and every scene will make you 'Awe' towards it..
That being said , the movie is not doing well till now at the box office. Its opening numbers were very low and trade experts were saying the only way this movie could be not at loss , if only it will be saved by China , Japan and Korea , where it is still to be released .
The reasons for its box office failure in America were 1. U have to see the first part before watching this one. It a compulsory requirement. 2. The plot has been superbly kept secretive , which is great for the audience like me who were interested in the movie even before the trailer came out , but creates distance from the audience who wants to know about the movie before watching it. 3. It's very noncommercial. Too lengthy , very serious , less action scenes , very artful , which makes it vulnerable at box office.
But I don't want to talk about the box office , it's making me sad , as m very happy after watching the film , and it would be a very big lose for Hollywood if this film doesn't perform well. Because then no other studio will try to do this thing again. It's one of a kind film , I don't remember any other movie which priorities the AMBITION over its COMMERCIAL Prospect so much and still made with a budget of 150m$ .
The movie totally builds on the story-line of the first installment. Answers some questions from that film , raises some new questions , which will be answer in future movies if ever made.
But the best thing about the film(apart from Cinematography obviously) is writing. We don't get to see such brilliant writing in such a big budget film (again except Christopher Nolan movies). There were so many genuine surprises that you can't stop praising the writers. The surprises keep on coming. They never stop. And the movie end with giving you the feeling that you want more.
Acting wise there is only Ryan Gosline to talk about. He was the only character in the whole movie. All the other actors just come and go. Dave Batista got one scene , Jared Leto got two. Harrison For comes in the last 45min of the movie although utilized very nicely. Ana De Armas gave a very emotional performance . But Ryan get much more emotional and vulnerable , with each shock he gets in the film. It's such nice to see him in a big budget film. It would be so nice if it becomes a franchise.
The score from Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch is heart pounding sometimes and goes total silence in rest of the part.
Denis Villeneuve is a very good director. One of the best working right now. I have liked his Prisoner , Sicario and Enemy , and liked Arrival a little less . People keep comparing him to Nolan . Which I think is wrong. Villeneuve doesn't have the business sense of Nolan. The failure of Blade Runner 2049 at the box office after such awesome reviews proves it. Nolan knows his audience and also knows how much budget he should inject in his film to make it a hit. He just don't goes on spending money without analyzing the commercial prospect of this film. That doesn't mean Nolan is not artistic. Rather you can say he is the artist who sales most . Villeneuve should learn this single talent from Nolan and then he could be as successful as Nolan in the Box Office.
Some more action scenes and slight editing here and there could easily had raised its commercial prospect . Also we needed some more scenes of Jared Leto as the Villain.
Like I said , m hoping that China , South Korea and Japan will save this film from drowning , and m also expecting this movie to bag almost all the technical awards in this Oscar like Mad Max: Fury Road did.
8.5/10 By ANuP APu KuMaR.