Blade Runner 2049: A Sci-Fi Sequel With A Lot Of Character!

Rating: 9/10 (7 October 2017)

The year is 2049 and the replicants are wiser and more lifelike than ever before. Let's begin with the cast which was nothing short of a perfect selection process. 'K' played by Ryan Gosling played the perfect replicant/detective aka a Blade Runner in what seemingly looked to be a futuristic post apocalyptic world full of Nomad-like characters, both on the Replicant & Human side. A very complex character to fill that seemed more human than replicant. To be blunt, Ryan's performance was basically a home run - end of story there. His superior, Lieutenant Joshie played by Robin Wright, took me a short while to get accustomed too for that role but it didn't take long for me to realize that she was terrific for the part. As for Jared Leto who plays Niander Wallace, the proud new owner of Tyrell Corp, let's just say he did a far better role playing Niander, than he did as The Joker in Suicide Squad. I found he had more depth as Niander and although he portrayed a different kind of dark character (than when he played Joker), he was able to pull off this role quite nicely. Which brings me to Niander's primary trusted henchman, in this case woman, and going by the name of Luv, played by Sylvia Hoek, really made you love to hate this character. At first I felt a tiny bit of sympathy for her but as the movie progressed that sympathy turned to hate - in a positive manner. Simply because she played the part meticulously, especially for the type of replicant she was suppose to portray. And speaking of sidekicks Ana de Armas who plays Joi, a new type of tech or hologram that was more of a friend/love interest to Ryan Goslings character 'K' - as weird as that sounds. The two worked very well together and Ana's performance was nothing short of spectacular.
Most movies I find overuse CGI unnecessarily, and even for the caliber of a sci-fi movie that this was supposed to be, you'd think it might be overdone, yet somehow this movie used CGI exactly where it was needed. That been said the scenery and cinematography was done just right, it mimicked the same world from the original Blade Runner with a right amount of modernization to make you think this is what the world would look like roughly thirty years later.
The only negatives I found in this film is I found it dragged just a little bit, and the sound/score was a little too overdone. Otherwise overall the good by far outshines the bad. This was a solid sci-fi flick that had a lot of elements. From having a futuristic detective feel to it, to an appropriate amount of action, to a zestful of character, to even making you second guess some issues in regards to moral factors. This film had everything it needed and more to not only be a very likable film, but a total win as a sequel.