A Miracle of Cinema

Rating: 10/10 (1 November 2019)

"Blade Runner 2049" is a minor miracle. A sequel no one was asking for, it follows up a beloved classic sci-fi film that was genre changing in its own day. How could anyone thing that it needed a follow up?
Thank goodness they did, because this is one of those rare instances where the remake, reboot, sequel, soft reboot, re-imagining, or whatever you want to call it, actually turned out to be not just as good as the original, but in it's own contemporary context, as effective as the original in its original context.
This film follow K (Ryan Gosling, "Drive") as he tries to find a specific replicant which has eluded capture so far. This particular replicant may be the first of its kind, a replicant that was not manufactured but born. Of course there are forces at play that want to stop him, help him, and use him as he conducts this search and unraveling of the various plots at play but the heart of the film is K's search for meaning, since he is a replicant himself.
Just as in the first film, the questions at play are really about what makes us human, sentient, or alive. How unique are we? K struggles with this because his life seems pretty straightforward. You do what you were created to do. When he starts to suspect that he may not have been created by a person it brings up issues of destiny, choice, and action. Now that his choices are his own, what will he do with them? Were they always his own even though he didn't realize it? How much of what has transpired was the invisible guiding of another person and how much was his own?
Story wise, this film is not that impressive. The plot is simple with a couple good revelation moments but most of the story beats are seen coming a mile away. This is ok, though. The movie spends the most time on what it should be spending time; the character complexities and philosophical questions of the audience watching. Languorous takes, stunning production design, eye watering color, and cinematography with texture give this film a feel that you want to wrap up in as you contemplate your own existence.
If I had gone to see this movie with the expectation that I was about to see the next 'chapter of the blade runner saga," I would have been disappointed. The world is not much expanded, though some changes are hinted at. Frankly, if that's what anyone went to this movie for, I'd have to ask them if they even saw the first film. It is very similar in tone, pacing, and interest as this one.
But, since, what I was hoping for was a meditative sci fi epic which muses on the reality of being, existence, and life in the universe, I was not disappointed in the slightest. This film was everything a cinephile could ask for in a blockbuster summer release from one of the big studios even if it was an unusual one.