It's not easy to create a masterpiece...

Rating: 6/10 (26 October 2017)

I just watched Blade Runner 2049, which left me a bit sad and disappointed. Yes it pales in comparison, even though in the surface, Denis Villeneuve did a reasonable job with the film.
In the original Blade Runner, the story of Deckard is a mere decoy, a means to justify and support the tragedy of Roy Batty and his friends. The most powerful character is not Deckard but Roy Batty, the Nexus Replicant looking for his creator. Like a human being, he has unanswered questions (inception date, longevity, ) and is looking for meaning. He is a tragic hero. His identity is based on fake memories, and some real experiences, without which he has no way of understanding himself and the world. He fights not just for survival, but to grasp the why of his existence as a slave and to rejoin his creator, his "father". Like in the Oedipus myth, he ends up killing his father and while doing so, blinds him (whereas Oedipus blinds himself) - and there is a lot to be said about the eyes, and the giver of the light that comes through them... He knows then that his quest and desire of immortality is without hope, but during this process, he also becomes more human than Deckard (who himself might be a replicant - but that is left for interpretation). Roy is the real hero, the one with whom ultimately we can relate to. When he dies, the story is told. The dialogs are few, but meaningful, well written, and have a psycho-analytical reach (- "I'll tell you about my mother"), a poetic tone (" All those things will be gone, like tear drops in the rain"), and often serve to convey a philosophical meaning (-" Is it a real owl?" ).
Most of the meaning is carried through the images, rich in allegories and symbolism: the diffuse lighting, the reflections on the walls, the giant images of virtual people on the streets, reminding one of Plato's cavern, and questioning the very essence of "Reality", (seen through our eyes, or remembered in our minds), and of our own nature.
Yes Blade Runner 2049 steals from the first Blade Runner: the visual aspect, the characters, the symbols (horses, toys, unicorns, origamis, giant images in the streets, photos ). But what does it give in exchange or adds to it? Not much. A good Sci-Fi thriller I suppose, regretfully so far from the spirit of Philip K.Dick. Because what I really dislike the most, is that by adding to the original movie, Villeneuve diminishes it. By giving his own interpretation he steals what I had in my own mind, the many meanings and interpretations enabled by the questions intentionally left unanswered by its original creators.
In the original and only Blade Runner, there is so much imagination, so much attention to detail, to the veracity of the characters and the depth of personal dilemmas, so many philosophical questions for the spectators to answer for themselves, acting like "koans" in their minds, so many symbols and literary references, that I consider Blade Runner a masterpiece. It is still my favourite movie, the one that left me a life lasting impression, and if anything, I suggest you watch it again to feel the difference.