An absolute spectacle to behold, and a monument for movies as a whole.

Rating: 10/10 (1 November 2018)

*Minor spoilers for Blade Runner 2049*
From the cinematography and score, to the setting and subject matter - director Denis Villeneuve has crafted a masterpiece of cinema that has everything you could want perfectly fitted into a feature film, all converged and fused into fantastic cohesion. It is a brilliant marriage of existential themes and a hard-boiled detective story, strung along an uncompressed and provocative plot with nothing short of phenomenal production design (but honestly - just overall design).
As a sequel, 2049 honours its predecessor with its preserved aesthetics, reminiscent score, and familiar themes. But not the point of over-saturation or excessive fan service that manifests into a larger and renamed Death Star. Instead it nurtures its retro-future environment to fruition that results in a gorgeous, complimentary, and immensely immersive work of art. Seriously, just thinking about it - the poetic divide between man, machine, and AI could not be better portrayed.
The film enhances the franchise in every aspect imaginable and from every conceivable angle (like the leap from Nexus-6 to Nexus-9 models). Dampening the 35-year gap with the help of short prequels that don't necessarily spoil the film as much as build to it. Rolling out the carpet for Villeneuve's vision while bridging the story to newer horizons. Posing new ideas from classic notions left by the open-ended conclusion of the original (regardless of the many versions released for it).
Nothing is wasted in the 163-minute runtime (though intimidating to consider). The plot absolutely blossoms without compromise, unfolding as though programmed and designed to serve a purpose as opposed to mere, convenient satisfaction. It's as though the film was produced after a graphic novel, yet paced like an engrossing book. Defining the anatomy of every scene with words in great detail, depth, and dynamism - while painting every sequence with careful contrasts of colour and composition.
And when it comes to illustrating the hyper-concentrated world of Blade Runner 2049...
(*exhales in awe)
You just can't say enough to describe the genius of the film's visual storytelling. Utilised to accentuate - through the senses - a plot that investigates all that makes us 'human'. Pair that, with a contemporary score that reinvigorates the classic (and established) neo-noir tone of the original - and you're in for a palpable, tangible, and incredible viewing experience.
A trait that I'm beginning to notice and appreciate from Villeneuve, is how he writes his characters as conduits to engage audiences. On top of the carefully crafted cast that brings the glowing, breathing world of 2049 to life, Ryan Gosling - like Emily Blunt's Kate Macer in Sicario (2015) - drives the narrative and places you right in the boots of Officer K. Achieving degrees of empathy and immersion beyond the recommended IMAX experience, while bringing together the pieces of the larger puzzle of 'what makes us human?'.
In all honesty and all things considered - a film of this calibre only comes around as frequent as total solar eclipses (which average about once in a lifetime). And it is equally and truly as absolute.
Just like the Voight Kampff test - you'll certainly have to ask the right questions regarding expectations on Blade Runner 2049.
If you won't catch the film for the absorbing and refreshing continuity, then indulge in the fantastic cyberpunk design that fills and encapsulates the world. If not for that, then marvel at the stimulating cinematic monument of every scene on display. Or go for a ride with Ryan Gosling in one of the best hard-boiled dystopian detective story cinema has to offer the generation.
And if none of that entices you, then you may very well be a replicant

and that's okay.