Touching rather than moving

Rating: 6/10 (10 October 2017)

This is a good film by mainstream Hollywood standards. The drama is well written and paced. There is genuine suspense. But when compared to the first film it was mediocre, I'm afraid. The cinematography was bland. Too much light in the interiors. The original was very dark, which is extremely difficult to film but fascinating to watch. Whereas here you see everything and the actors are put in these silly little rooms. Why would you flood those rooms in light if there's an energy crisis? Too many American shots -- not surprising as you have no options in these tiny rooms. It's like they were filming it to be watched on mobile devices. I also found Wallace pure comic book nonsense, spouting cod philosophy. Why make the inventor of replicants a replicant? We don't learn anything about his motivation, other than he's mad or fanatical. Why? What's driving him? The first film was in mode of classical Greek tragedy. Sacrifice and redemption. This film is rather too Hollywood, about a father who loses contact with his child and wants to see her again. The replicant becomes the conduit or plot device for a family reunion. It's not a story that moves me. But overall it had some touching moments.