Beautiful and haunting, but too long.

Rating: 8/10 (10 January 2018)

Blade Runner 2049 is a visual masterpiece. This cannot be debated. Roger Deakins is probably the best cinematographer working today. The shots themselves are beautiful, and the CGI is pretty great too. There is a scene almost midway through where the main character K (brought to life by Ryan Gosling in an awesome performance) where he has a threesome with his holographic girlfriend Joi and a replicant prostitute. This scene has incredible yet subtle effects, and after reading the behind the scenes, it's even more impressive. There's so much going on in this scene thematically, other than the sex scene.
I also have to give major props to Denis Villeneuve for retaining the feel of the first film. This definitely feels like it's set in the same universe, yet it doesn't have the "sequel feeling" that something like, Marvel, would have. This is its own movie. It doesn't try to set up another movie. That was great. I also have to commend the score. I'd listen to anything Hans Zimmer composes. Yep, I'm a fanboy. Sue me.
And again, Ryan Gosling's performance was awesome. Yes, he is noted for staring intensely at something apparently, but he's someone to look out for. He acted really well. Especially in the scene with his memory of the toy horse and whether or not he's a human or replicant. I loved it. And it's pretty obvious at this point, but Harrison Ford was amazing too. The guy's a legend for a reason.
That being said though, this movie has issues. Much like the first movie, it also feels slow. Makes sense, given we have so much to take in, but 2049 also feels a little bloated. It's quite long, at 2 hours and 43 minutes. Despite that, some things are not resolved. The replicant revolution doesn't have that big of a role in the movie. And we don't know much about the villain, Niander Wallace (Jared Leto). I feel like some of the wrong stuff was left in the editing room. And sadly, Denis has said there won't be a director's cut. I do also have an issue with another scene in the film, though this may be just me. When Lt. Joshi (Robin Wright) confronts K about something he did, I feel the scene ends a bit too quickly. It should have gone on longer, and more consequences should have arisen out of that. I feel some of this was edited out as well.
Overall, I think this is a great film. I liked the first Blade Runner better, but this is nearly as good.