It's okay

Rating: 7/10 (8 October 2017)

Blade Runner 2049. Saw it Saturday night in Xtreme screen at Hoyts Woden. No spoilers.
Short: It was okay. Long, slow, with some gorgeous visuals. An interesting plot that extends beyond the original film in a new and inventive way. Ryan Gosling is a terrible actor. Zero facial expressions or emotion. Harrison Ford is old. Musical score is way, way inferior to Vangelis' work on the original. It's a good sequel, but an average film.
Long: The story is interesting, and expands on the original film in a good way. My friend found it predictable at times, but I was intrigued for most of it. It's a long film, and I'm not sure that was a good thing. It really fails to build the world that the original created, although there are a few throw-back shots that you'll recognise if you're paying attention. Aside from a few random sparse scenes, you never get a feel for the larger universe. The original did. This one doesn't. It lends itself to a very lonely feel, maybe designed to reflect the main character's state. This is a good thing, but it still feels empty.
The characters are a bit half-assed. The main villains are pretty one-dimensional, although their motivations make sense. There's no lines as profound as Roy's final dialogue from the original to be found here. In fact, there's very little depth to be found at all. Ryan Gosling brings no emotion to the character at all. As far as the rest of them, at least one character dies and there's zero repercussions. That makes the story feel kind of slapped together for convenience's sake.
The cinematography is great. Wide shots, great colour palette. Looks brilliant on the big screen.
The music, as before noted, is vastly inferior to Vangelis' score. This one is loud, chair shaking, a tad instrusive, but also lacks character and memorability.
Overall? Yeah, it's okay. It's not great, but not bad either. It'll appeal to some and not to others. I am happy to recommend it, but not enthusiastically. Apparently they're planning a sequel, and if it's good, this will be a great bridge between the two. If not, it's an oddly thin romp through an unexplored world.
Finally: Is Deckard a replicant?