Curious observations of Blade Runner 2049 you'll find interesting

Rating: 8/10 (6 October 2017)

Spoilers due to references and descriptions of scenes in the movie.
Let me get this out of the way first. 1) Watch BLADE RUNNER (1982) first, if you haven't, before watching BLADE RUNNER 2049. You'll understand it better and enjoy it more.
2) Out of the traditional Hollywood four stars rating system, I'll award 3 stars out of 4, which means, GOOD, so yes, you will like this movie, especially if you've already seen the first BLADE RUNNER (1982). I could be tempted to give 3.5 stars but am not certain so at least I am comfortable with a solid 3 out of 4 stars.
BACKGROUND: Los Angeles County in 2049 has changed little since 2019, only to get worse. LA still looks like the gloomy, rainy British Isles. In fact all of southern California looks like it. Even San Diego city and county no longer exist except to be massive garbage dumps. The multicultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-language universe of Los Angeles is highly emphasized and there are no scenes of first generation Asian immigrants overrunning metropolitan Los Angeles on foot and on bicycles as was seen in 2019. Everyone seems to be multi-lingual or bilingual with English as the first language. People can speak a foreign language or the highly developed street slang while switching to normal English spoken with no dialect or inflection. Los Angeles looks to be a crummy place to live but people still want to live there and it may look like population has in fact increased. Mass commercialization through high graphics technology is all around. The skyscraper illuminated video adverts from 2019 are still around but in 2049 have been supplemented with holographic advertisements all over the place and on the streets, with holographic scantily clad women suddenly appearing next to pedestrians and shoppers like hi-tech, colorful ghosts selling something or themselves. FDA standards of advertising seem to have been abolished decades ago. Much of the hi-tech skyscraper adverts and the holograms show female nudity and apparently everyone is okay with it including parents. In fact 2049 Los Angeles is a feminist' nightmare. While women can still reach career positions as demonstrated by the female police lieutenant, but the female body has become extremely sexualized for commercial and pleasure purposes and is displayed in your face with innumerable, brightly lit video and holographic ads around the city. More, it's because prostitution has been legal in Los Angeles (California) for decades from 2019. Los Angeles is a run-down Sodom in the high-tech 21st century still awaiting its final judgment.
If you've seen the 1982 BLADE RUNNER you'll know what I mean. Replicants are bio-engineered humans, long the stuff of long past science fiction movies. So in essence they're people, just stronger, faster, more agile, and of at least, above average intelligence. You start to realize that the latest generation of human replicants has achieved what mad scientists, insane dictators, and eugenicists have long sought...an improved human being. Yet the biases from the real humans remain from 2019. Replicants are still called, skinjobs. If the replicants took over the world, the world would still be populated by humans, just stronger and smarter ones.
If you're a science fiction fan like me, you can't help notice parallels in BLADE RUNNER 2049 from past science fiction movies, whether that is coincidental or by purpose which would make some of BLADE RUNNER 2049 derivative. a. I see the parallel from Star Trek's, 'Khan', where 20th century earth science eugenically created stronger and more intelligent humans that became dictators and brought about world war three. b. I see the parallel in urban Los Angeles to the brightly lit, commercialized and highly sexualized city shown in, 'Artificial Intelligence. c. I see the parallel in the personalities of the replicants to the bio-genetically in-vitro altered humans in, "Gattaca". The Blade Runner world of replicants have the same mental and emotional stability that results in a flat personality that makes them speak and converse like Mr. Spock. d. The special effects did a miraculous job in replicating (no pun intended) Rachel from the 1982 Blade Runner. I can only assume that CGI was used. Similar effects were used to recreate the youthful-looking 1984 terminator played by Arnold Schwarzenegger for the 2014 Terminator. I think I noticed this 2049 Rachel replicant having a somewhat wider face than the 1982 movie's Rachel, played by actress Sean Young. Still, it was excellent. I don't hold any of this against the movie.
My final judgment. Go watch the movie but only if you have already seen the 1982 BLADE RUNNER. If not, go find the DVD or live-stream the movie on the Internet and watch it. Then go see BLADE RUNNER 2049. You won't be disappointed. The two hours plus went by fast. There's really no slow point in the movie to get up and use the restroom. You'll miss something but have someone next to you tell you what you missed.