A worthy sequel and a truly great film on it's own (no spoilers)

Rating: 10/10 (17 October 2017)

The movie is literally a throwback to the classic era of cinematography.
First of all: as expected...visually Blade Runner 2049 is absolutely stunning. The compositions made me smile throughout the whole movie. Nothing more to add. The score/OST is great, but does not surpass/rival Vangelis' excellence. The themes are just not as memorable.
The cast and the acting is superb. Ryan Gosling has been really on fire lately. And once again - he delivers. At times he is subtle, but when the time is right - he explodes with emotion and expression. He brought exactly the right amount of flavor to the role of detective K. Though Ryan was exceptional - the rest of the cast impressed me even more. Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Ana Armas, even Bautista (yep...he is a really good actor & I finally see it) but especially Sylvia Hoeks, who gave an ravishing performance as "Luv (Love)" and completely nailed her cold-ass character with a perfectionist-drive and a quest for approval. Leto was believable and completely passable, but did his usual kind of crazy. I do not want to talk about the rest of the cast, but there were several surprises here and there.
It is a joyful and relaxing experience to see a movie that takes it's time. Especially in times where most movies have rapidly fast cut scenes, overly sharp and snappy dialogue and racing pacing (which can be a good thing, don't get me wrong). There is of course also the danger of making the movie too slow - thus making it unbearably boring. And this is exactly where Denis did everything just right. The pacing is perfect. It is a long movie, but it does not drag. The story and the writing are what you would expect of Hampton, Green and Villeneuve. Top notch.
Overall I loved this movie a lot and I think it is the first Sci-Fi movie that might one day be ranked among the likes of 2001 and the first Blade Runner. And let's be real: on this level of quality the higher ranked movies are subjective choices. In recent years only Ex Machina and Arrival had a similar impact on me. Denis' fifth masterpiece movie in a row. What a run.
To sum up: - weaker score, some locations/settings are a tad too empty neutral: a passable Leto + everything else
Bonus: holograms improved so much since Tupac