Opens up the universe, but no masterpiece.

Rating: 8/10 (9 October 2017)

Blade Runner 2049 is a worthy sequel. 2049 opens up the universe, but for me felt like it just went from setpiece to setpiece. People that give the movie a 10/10 have rose colored glasses on. Maybe biased or nostalgia is clouding their judgment. The movie opens up the universe, but never feels as good as the original. Plus there is no awesome badguy like Roy in the original that was always looming from the dark(cat/mouse game).
It's gorgeous to look at, has interesting characters and factions, but never fully fleshes out some characters.
Pros: + Gorgeous visually, plus detailed scenery. + Music: even though Hans Zimmer made the music last minute, it worked. But sometimes sounded like a lackluster VanGelis remix, yet it works. + Feels like a living universe. You feel immersed in the world. You could feel the tension between Replicant and human Blade Runners(whenever K passes a human Blade Runner, he looks to the ground) and normal humans vs Replicants. + K and Joi's 'relationship'. + Deckard returns, but only the last 45 minutes. + Never gives us too much answers, and opens up new debate about Replicants + AI.
Cons: - Story could have been more open. Not much room for debate about certain characters or actions. - No 'Blade Running' or interrogation by Blade Runners after first 10 minutes. - Sometimes felt like it went from setpiece to setpiece, with little information. Get information-X, go to location-Y, rinse repeat. - In said setpiece, characters pops up with information with a couple of lines and then vanishes for the rest of the movie. It felt like there was another sequel coming or a tie-in game in the making. - Lackluster bad guy(Wallace) + woman(Luv). While Luv's actress can act(as she has to kill people, be a killing machine whilst crying), her character never felt fully fleshed or even menacing. She was just bad because her maker told her to be, nothing more. Roy in the original felt menacing, but we felt for him, because we knew why he did what he did.
Worthy sequel. 8/10.