One of the best sequels ever

Rating: 9/10 (8 October 2017)

Never been a fan of the first one, not even after multiple viewings. I always adored its visuality and atmosphere but never connected to the story. In this sequel it worked in both areas. Breathtaking visuality and a fantastic story I totally related to from the first tot he last minute. People complain its long or even over long. I disagree because I think the complex story needed its time to develop in its full glory. Denis Villeneuve is a fantastic storyteller and with almost 3 hours running time he had my full attention. The screenplay was also excellently written. Its a great detective story, I would even go so far and compare it to Film Noir in a SciFi frame. Acting wise it is more than satisfying. Ryan Gosling was the most perfect choice for the leading role. He really embodies everything Harrison Ford had in the original and really made his character relatable. It was also not your stereo SicFi hero character, he really had a lot of depths. Harrison Ford himself was solid enough. I question his believably in those action scenes but he really explored his character further and was adequate doing so. Jared Leto overdid his role and actually the scenes with him were the weakest of the film, yes the character was important for the storyline but generally I did not care much for him here. Ana de Armas had a lot of emotional depth in his otherwise possibly one dimensional character. Sylvia Hoaks was a decent enough villain. Robin Wright a little bit wasted and I really liked David Bautista here. Visual the film could not have been any better. Cinematography was perfection. Visual Effects were perfection (Sean Young's rejuvenation was probably the best version of that effect any recent movie had so far). The score was good and did justice to the original. All in all a great detective tale and for me a HUGE step up from the first one.