Blade Runner 2049 Revitalizes an Imperfect Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (9 October 2017)

For several decades Ridley Scott has tried to fix his iconic but lacking, Blade Runner. Many recuts moved the film closer to what he originally envisioned, but further away from a good film. My personal preference is the first 1982 cut.
With the long-gestating sequel, the simple story of a cop and an android that fall in love is expanded into the epic saga that Scott originally envisioned, with special effects technology worthy of the grand vision of a dystopian future, not unlike our current world, with systemic prejudice, inequality, and injustice.
The sequel makes the first Blade Runner better. Let's hope this is a trilogy.
It's for this reason that Denis Villeneuve's brilliantly conceived and executed sequel makes the original better. He turns Deckard into a flesh and blood character, even with minimal screen time.
This movie is a great example of how reboots are usually more successfully achieved by an outside artist. For a while, Ridley Scott himself was going to direct the sequel. He says he didn't have time in his schedule, given that he's busy rebooting his other masterwork, the Alien franchise.
Bringing in a fan to direct Blade Runner 2049, someone who was clearly influenced by the original, and a talented new storyteller, with something to say, has given this franchise a needed injection of freshness.
In this sequel, K discovers the remains of the body of a woman who has died in childbirth. But the big surprise is that she's a replicant. Suddenly, we know where this story is going. The woman is clearly Rachel, the replicant love interest of Deckard's. He's obviously the father.
The driving force of the narrative is for K to solve the mystery—where is the father and who is the child. K slowly begins to discover clues that suggest that he may be that missing son. His character is given really interesting colors to play with, as he comes to accept that his memories may, in fact, be real.
Read full review HERE: https://wademann.net/movies/blade-runner-2049- revitalizes-imperfect-masterpiece/