Super slow, like watching paint dry for 3 hours - way overrated

Rating: 3/10 (15 October 2017)

Blade Runner 2049 is already in the top 100 movies by rating, and this is very undeserved. I had to warn people that this movie is way, way overrated, and not deserving of all the gushing praise.
First, the best points of the film are there are some good futuristic city designs and special effects, with flying cars (finally!) coming to America, and it doesn't look too CGI and fake, like in so many other films these days. They were true to the spirit of the first movie in this aspect, which is a good thing. Though its hard to understand why its always raining in L.A. in this future, which is weird, and feels artificial to give a depressed tone to the movie.
There are several huge negatives going on within the film that make a terrible impression. The movie's biggest problem is the cast. The main characters are mostly played by actors who are charisma-free black holes at the center of the film.
Ryan Gosling is one of them. It's really hard to care what's going on or to not have your attention wander with this guy getting so much screen time, and in so many scenes sucking the life and energy out of the movie. Another one is Jared Leto, playing one of the lamest villains seen in years. This is another guy who has no screen presence whatsoever.
The other huge issue is the plot. It's both boring and uninvolving, and the pace is glacially slow. This will be one of the longest 3 hours you spend in the cinema in a very long time. Everything moves as slow as molasses, with some scenes being ridiculously long and drawn out, and for no apparent reason - no good reasons anyway.
The movie only picks up a bit at the conclusion, when Harrison Ford makes an appearance, and he brings some much needed energy to the film at a very sprightly 75 years old. But it just serves to remind the audience how bad, charmless, and low energy the other actors are in the film.