A Visual Masterpiece, but not Perfect

Rating: 8/10 (7 October 2017)

Blade Runner 2049 is visually the best movie I have seen in theaters, thanks to Roger Deakins, the best cinematographer in the business who may finally get an Oscar after 13 previous nominations, and director Denis Villeneuve, whose movies are always visually at the top of their game. To compliment the visuals is an interesting and thought-provoking story that continues and expands the ideas initially explored in the original Blade Runner about what it means to be human. There are good performances from all the cast, although some are unfortunately wasted and not given too much to do.
The only real problem with Blade Runner 2049 is the pacing and plot direction of the story. Blade Runner 2049 has a slow pace and a nearly 3 hour run time, which isn't a problem by itself (and I actually enjoyed the slow pace), but somehow rushes the final act of the movie to a somewhat awkward conclusion. I also felt Ryan Gosling's character's initial motivations were left unclear and made his character's development weaker which was a problem since Gosling is in about 85% of the movie. Another problem is that Ryan Gosling is in about 85% of the movie, leaving little time to establish the characters that are after him and what he knows.