Blade Runner 2049, A Sequel Worth Waiting For

Rating: 10/10 (17 October 2017)

Blade Runner 2049 is a sequel to the Ridley Scott directed 1982 masterpiece Blade Runner. This movie, starring Ryan Gosling takes place 30 years after the events of that first film. Nexus 8 replicants (replicants with advanced artificial intelligence and an open-ended lifespan) have been made illegal due to a series of rebellions in 2022. Few survived and went into hiding shortly after. Years later, in 2036, a new line of replicants was created. The Nexus 9 models are complacent and made to never turn on humans. Ryan Gosling plays one of those models, a Blade Runner named K. His job is to investigate cases of Nexus 8 models in hiding and retire (kill) them. After one such mission, K makes a discovery that turns everything he knows completely on its head. I will not go into any specifics, as any spoilers would ruin the movie's mystery.
This film was an incredible feat. After 30 years, many would consider a sequel to be unwarranted and frankly, unnecessary. For Denis Villeneuve to captivate his audience, he needed to establish that his film added to the mythos, not cheapened it. In short, he did so extremely well. The cyber punk meets noire style that had made the original film so iconic was well represented. Every shot was masterfully crafted to hint at the mystery without giving it away. Blade Runner 2049, like its predecessor, requires multiple viewings to start to put together all the finite, masterfully crafted details. The soundtrack adds just enough atmosphere to allow the audience to essentially enter the movie itself. The new tech designs and pieces felt like they belonged in the world, and didn't feel tacked on. The acting was superb. Ryan Gosling does a fantastic job as K, though the true best acting comes from supporting actress Ana de Armas who plays Joi. Her role was simple, yet the actress brought so much life and depth to the role that I couldn't help but be captivated by every moment she was there. In all, Blade Runner 2049 is a fantastic movie that hits the aesthetic of the original while still being a fantastic movie on its own. I only had one slight problem towards the end when the movie had a flashback to explain everything to the audience. One of the greatest things about the first movie is that nothing is spoon fed, it takes multiple viewings to piece together the whole story. While there are moments that are better understood through a second viewing, I felt that the flashbacks slightly cheapened the movie, which is why I can't grant it a perfect score. 9.8/10.