Well-Made, Thought Provoking, Imaginative, and Decent, But Something's Missing

Rating: 6/10 (31 January 2019)

I just watched this for the first time knowing nothing about it except who was in it and recalling the original I've only seen once.
It's a well-made movie, but something was missing. In a movie like this, I want a strong lead actor, and Gosling came across too paper-thin and mediocre for me at key parts, almost like the material was a little too outside his intelligence or emotional depth. At times, he was good enough, but at others, not so much.
On the other hand, Ford is the best actor in the film, and he really delivers and brings some depth and grittiness to the role, enhancing the film's quality from the moment he appears on through til the end.
Overall, it gave me what I wanted, which was a movie that would take me into another world and be a challenge, immersive, and different, but most sci-fi films do that anyway. That being said, as far as Sci-Fi movies go, it was above average.
I have to give a shout out mention to the dog, just because up until that scene late in the movie, there wasn't really too much to like about the movie outside of the visuals and some cool-looking effects.
I just think it needed a better lead actor, which makes me long for the 70s and 80s, even the 90s, when most leading men for a film like this would be man's men, more manly, more charismatic, and be able to chisel the script down to become a star and own the film. Acting is a huge chunk of a movie. You can have great scenery, visuals (cinematography), music, and even a good supporting performance in a generally good concept, but the greatest movies of all-time usually have a stand-out leading performance from an actor or actress to go with it and make it stand out even more.
Gosling doesn't totally fail, but he doesn't shine either, and that's a big problem in a movie that needed a stronger lead actor to make it more engaging, especially since the movie is close to three hours long. I might watch it again for the visuals and to try to decipher some information regarding the whole futuristic universe of replicants that I missed or couldn't follow very clearly to see if I would have enjoyed it more if I knew what was happening better at a certain scene, but I doubt it will make me like it more since the story wasn't anything particularly great, special, or moving.
6.5/10