An exoskeleton of a different bug all together

Rating: 2/10 (17 October 2017)

This movie was so disappointing... I watched Blade Runner a few days before seeing this one.
What I enjoyed most about the original film was how immersive the whole world was. I think the costume and set designs were beautifully crafted and varied. I especially remember Pris's outfit at the Bradbury, Zora's bloodied transparent coat and Rachel's outfits (her fur coat and square shouldered jacket). Overall, details like this made the movie visually chaotic and ultimately really unique (although some films like fifth element have a similar wonky aesthetic)
Anyways, the acting of the original film is ultimately pretty cheesy and very dated, but I think it's obvious that art director and various designers were really trying hard to be creative and come up with a really unique look.
(very mild spoiler ahead)
This movie has bad acting with characters yelling in 2 second bursts to emphasize tense moments... and none of characters really stand out from one another. The main character and his virtual girlfriend are crazily bland... The antagonist's side kick, Love, is just bland. If someone asked me to sum up her character I'd just say she's mechanical and somewhat cold. Pris, on the other hand, had a manipulative, childish and daring personality that is much clearer and consistent. And of course, Roy Batty has the most developed personality out of both of the films. He is imposing, angry and ultimately very aware of what it means to be human. While Zora never got much character development, even she had this sort frantic and show-businessy personality... a much more tangible character than almost all the characters in 2049.
On that note, 2049 had pretty good visuals at times. I especially liked the design of the orphanage furnace room. The location felt really layered and cluttered, and the low lighting and lack of music were good at building up the atmosphere. Some of the locations in the Wallace Corporation were really nice too.
Finally, I felt let down by the music... It felt like a much less emotional version of the original soundtrack by Vangelis, which was has an eerie and foreboding quality to it.
So, all in all, I'd say that this film suffered mostly because of the poor writing for the characters, poor acting, and an underwhelming story that attempted to be epic.
And before someone says 'it's a slow film, and people just want it to have explosions and action every minute of the three hours', let me just say I'm a fan of slower paced films like Porco Rosso, Amarcord, 2001 Space Odyssey, Last Picture Show and so on... This is simply a half-hearted and uninspired film.