The first proper "science fiction" film with a big budget to come out in a LONG time

Rating: 10/10 (5 October 2017)

Sci-fi is everywhere these days, but real science fiction, the sort that plays with big ideas in a way you've never seen before, is hard to come by... especially in big budget movies. I'm talking about films like the Matrix or the original Blade Runner, which create worlds unlike anything seen before that are built upon scintillating ethical quandaries. There are still shows (like Black Mirror) and books that do this kind of thing, but this is probably the first blockbuster film released in my lifetime to achieve what this on the same scale as the classics. There are a couple of scenes in particular that explored concepts I had never seen before in a way that could never have been done in an earlier or lower-budgeted movie.
Speaking of things were done in the film, the cinematography is absolutely outstanding. For those not in the know, the Director of Photography on this film (Roger Deakins) has been nominated for an Oscar 13 times... and has never won. When you watch this film, you can tell he's pushing real hard for this to be the time he wins. Every single shot is stunning, to the degree where you can almost feel the furious determination behind it. Watching Blade Runner 2049 feels like being punched in the face for three hours by an art gallery with a vendetta. At this point, if Deakins doesn't win, the Academy is being just downright cruel. Even funnier than the sheer madness of the cinematography is the critical reaction to this whole situation; the reviews seem to talk more about Deakins than Denis Villeneuve; the director of the film!
The movie is nearly three hours long and pretty slow paced, yet I didn't feel a minute of it. I was surprised when it ended; I was sure there had to be another hour at least. That's how engrossing the film was. I think people should do their very best to avoid spoilers because the experience of watching the film unravel for the first time was absolutely brilliant. For once the studio managed to restrain themselves, and not give away the whole movie in the trailers. In fact, I was pleased to discover not only that all the cliché dialogue and moments in the entire film had been put in the trailer, but also that those moments had a much less conventional meaning once put into the context of the film. Ryan Gosling in particular had me worried with his completely bland and emotionless face in the trailers, but the in the movie he showed more range, justified the moments from the trailers, and created one of the most interesting characters in the movie.
The only element of the film that I found to be somewhat lacking was the sound design. Vangelis' sweeping soundtrack was one of the most iconic aspects of the original film, creating half the atmosphere of the world. That music is notably absent from this film with one notable exception late in the film. It is replaced by a generic, forgettable, and at times ill-fitting suspense soundtrack with one or two synth sounds thrown in as a vain attempt to recapture Vangelis' magic.
In short, Denis Villeneuve has crafted a true science-fiction masterpiece, a film that somehow manages to rise to the level of the original film and stand alone as an impressive achievement in its own right.