One of the best sequels ever!

Rating: 10/10 (5 October 2017)

Personally I think the original Blade runner from 1982 is a really good film and I was interested to see what was in store for the sequel, especially considering the talent that is involved.
Firstly Denis Villeneuve is quickly becoming one of the best directors around at the moment even before he had laid his hands on this film. From Prisoners to Arrival the man has a lot of talent and range in his filmmaking, and personally one of my favourite directors. Unfortunately though he hasn't made a good film............. He has made an absolutely fantastic film, this film blew me away from start to finish! The directing in this film is perfect, that is all you can say there is not a fault throughout. Villeneuve has had an incredibly difficult task in following in the footsteps of the first film that changed the film industry, but wow has he exceeded all expectations. Personally this is better than the original, even though this is nearly three hours long it doesn't feel like it and not a second is wasted. Villeneuve is genius.
Villeneuve is helped by the amazing cast that has been brought together, starting with the main character of Officer K played by Ryan Gosling. Gosling is tremendous in the role and is the emotional heart of the film, we get to see two sides of his character which really nicely done. One side is the blade runner, who is very professional, intelligent and plays by the book. Whilst the other side is a more gentle and relax side to the character when he is off duty at home with Ana de Armas' character. It is easy to see why Ryan Gosling is a lead actor and this performance only enhances his reputation as an actor. Harrison Ford once again is brilliant as Rick Deckard, he slips back into the shoes again like it was yesterday but also showing the age of the character, how he has matured.As well as Gosling, Ford is brilliant in every scene he is in, none of the cast miss a beat in this film all of them are incredibly performed. Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Jared Leto and Ana de Armas are all superb in the film however there is one more performance that matches Gosling and Fords. That performance is by Sylvia Hoeks who is amazing in this film, she is the true villain of the film and every scene that the character is in is a scene stealer. The marketing and trailers have done a brilliant job of portraying Jared Leto as the big bad guy, which he is to an extent but Sylvia Hoeks is such a more interesting and frightening character than his.
The story of the film in fact is quite simple but has a smokescreen that layers the film is some many ways. There is a simple mystery/detective story at the heart of the film, however this then spreads into subject matters that are mind blowing and incredibly thought provoking. It is a very emotional film full of many personal struggles that are real easy to grasp a hold of and make you care as an audience member. The twists and turns in this film are an emotional roller coaster and some scenes are extremely poignant and heart breaking. All of the individual story threads throughout the film are woven together perfectly and create a story that is riveting from start to finish. Talking of the end of the film, it is extremely rewarding and is a brilliant emotional punch at the end with some more unanswered questions. Similarly to the original this film this does also bring up many more questions than it answers, let the debates begin and oh its much more than is Deckard a replicant this time around.
Lets now bundle a few more positives of the film together, firstly the cinematography from the living legend that is Roger Deakins. If this man does not win an Oscar for this work then the system needs to be fixed because this is one of the best shot films that I have ever since. From start to finish this film is gorgeous to look at, sometimes the cinematography is simply outstanding you just want to pause the film and admire the visuals. Another positive is obviously the use of practical and visual effects, the world feels very much like the original film but shows age of the city really well. The blend of the practical and visual effects works really well with the incredible production design that is fantastic, it really shows that time, effort and care has been put into this film, truly amazing. Especially in the case of Ana de Armas' character the use of CGI is amazing and something that I have personally never seen before on screen, it was quite breath taking at first and was always amazing to look at.
The final positive of the film is the score created by Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch, it takes the all the good qualities of the original score which is obviously easily recognisable and they add a new flavour to the mix that works perfectly. Even before the film has stated and the production studios titles are rolling you get the sense of the film even before it has stated because of the score, makes your hair stand on end.
Overall this film is perfect 10 out of 10 or 100% for me this is everything that the Blade runner sequel needed to be and much much more. However this film will not be for everyone, this is not your typical Sci-fi film like a Star Wars or a Star Trek this is a different creature all together. This film may turn the general film audience away for things that are attempted and achieved in this film ,but this film definitely deserves everyone's time and attention. It is a masterpiece!