Just short of well deserved sequel. Entertaining, though bland dialogue.

Rating: 6/10 (6 October 2017)

Blade Runner 2049, directed by Denis Villeneuve, came as an unexpected sequel to one of the most highly regarded Sci-fi films of all time. A big title to live up to. This film did not have to be made; the story of Blade Runner was completed in 1982. That alone did lower my expectations for a sequel to win a place on my shelf, but if it could at least rise above the terrible rehashing, rebooting, sequel mania that we are being put through by Hollywood today, maybe it'd be worth my time. I'll tell you why I think it did, not exceedingly so though.
I had strong doubts going into this movie, even if it pulled of the thrilling ride that The Force Awakens did, would it really be enough to justify another sequel to a classic film. In all honesty, I think we can all admit that the sole reason that this film was made was for the huge clout that the name Blade Runner holds, and it's ability to rake in cash. I think it's cool to make dough from films, but I don't believe in that being the primary reason. Hearing that Ridley Scott gave the go-ahead did not make me believe in the film more. How many times has Spielberg, Burton, Lucas or Ridley himself give approval of another awful sequel or remake. We can not trust our Directors to protect a film's legacy.
Despite, all my premonitions. I walked out of the theater with a better impression than I went in with. It was a wise decision to have Villeneuve direct this film, Arrival, Sicario, and Prisoners have demonstrated that he can make a tightly knit serious film with strong performances modernly unique approaches to science fiction. I still don't know if he was the best choice because frankly the performances were all solid, but no one stood out too much as did the performances of the Replicants in the original film. For me the best written character and performance came from Ana de Armas, who played Joi. Ryan Gosling's performance was good, it didn't require much of him, I sort of wish he played the character a little darker. His performance resembles that of Drive all too much. He is great at looking completely stern and serious, but he doesn't have a special added element of deep emotion that a different casting choice might have brought from this character. Of course this is Hollywood, 2017, so casting anyone else might have hurt their wallets.
Other casting choices were terrific. Robin Wright finally landed a role made for her in a large scale film. Jared Leto while not his best performance did bring that character to life.
The biggest downside to the film, that left me feeling that it didn't achieve what it was hyped to be, was the dialogue. It was so very bland, and filled with plot explanations. The writers could have created a much more vivid world with intricate subtext, rather than handing the plot on fine China to the audience. Additionally, there were many instances that jokes, or what seemed like jokes were made, where I and the rest of the audience were completely silent. It was difficult, I even tried laughing, but these characters were so hard to the bone that the attempts at humor felt unnatural and fell flat.
The cinematography was enthralling. Each scene had the tone was nailed through the shots. It was not incredibly unique, almost all the shots were by the book, but it was beautiful and got the job done and was truly shot very closely with the edit in mind. Scenes play out vividly in my mind and I must give it due credit for that. The lighting was one of the high notes of the film. Very professional, and again, walked hand in hand with the cinematography and tone of the scenes. All technical aspects of this film were planned to the t. I deeply enjoyed the water lighting, as well as the variation of temperature based on the scene. Jared Leto's place was just awesome.
The thing that stood out the most, and is something that I think the film will receive an award for, is the sound design. There were some sounds that I had never heard before, and were so well composed with the story on screen that it brought this film up a rank. It wasn't just the Hollywood formula for sound either. There were some truly unique uses of it that got my emotions going. Atop this, the soundtrack was also fantastic, and stands to receive another award. The classic 50's songs go great with the dying of the old world theme. Love it.
There were specific concepts and elements of the film that I deeply enjoyed. I don't want to give any spoilers. Each scene was rewarding to watch in it's self. In fact the overall plot, and story was good too. Though I do have many questions, and it didn't all tie together perfectly. The pace felt a little awkward as a whole. But you can really get lost in each scene.
Overall the film was enjoyable, but the writing, namely the dialogue didn't quiet achieve what it needed to for me to call it a great and well deserved sequel. I do recommend watching it. Though it wouldn't be unforgivable if you missed it. It did expand on the world in a cool way, showing us lots of little lifestyles, and technological advancements. It didn't give any metaphors or lessons on AI or technology that I haven't heard before though. I give Blade Runner 2049 a 7.3.