Run, even sprint, to see "Blade Runner 2049"

Rating: 10/10 (14 October 2017)

Denis Villeneuve
This is a name to look out for. Sicario and Enemy are two fascinating films. Further, in the last two years, he has managed to make two sci-fi classics.Think of films like The Day the Earth Stood Still, Planet of the Apes, 1954's Godzilla, and even Pixar's WALL-E, each in its own way held a mirror up to the human condition. In a similar vein, last year's Arrival delves into the potential breadth and depth of communication. Now we have Blade Runner 2049, a movie about what it means to be human. A movie smart enough to ask the questions and also smart enough to know these clear questions usually have no clear answers.
In the year 2049, humanity has found a new form of slavery. The ability to make lifelike people except with enhanced strength. These people will be called replicants. Sometimes replicants will go rogue and that's when a blade runner is called in. Blade runners hunt rogue replicants.
One of these blade runners is K (Ryan Gosling). He is tracking down replicants and finds himself diving down the rabbit hole left by the first movie. However, it's handled in a creative way giving you some surprise when you realize it's going that way. One of the characters is K's girlfriend who is a computer program. You might think that means she isn't real, but if she's not real does that mean the replicants aren't real either? She could be just as real as a replicant just without a body. These are just some of the ideas thrown out in the first act of the movie. Additionally, throughout this movie's over two and a half hour running time those ideas will not stop.
I won't dive into the story anymore, but it is really secondary here. That's not to say it's not engaging, because it is incredibly so, but the movie revolves more around the questions of what is humanity and what does it means to be human. Therein lies the heart of this film.
1982's Blade Runner created a fantastic world, but I found the story extraordinarily dull. Nevertheless, BR 2049 takes that world and explores it in all the logical ways it should. Ideas brought up in the original are fleshed out here. Further, as is often the case, asking the question is more powerful than answering it. This is what Ghost in the Shell missed earlier this year.
Blade Runner 2049 is one of those rare sequels I enjoy better than the original. I have no problem calling it one of the best sequels ever made.The question of whether or not it will be more respected than the original in 35 years will be an interesting one to see answered.