Justice done to a Sci-Fi classic

Rating: 9/10 (2 February 2020)

This movie might have a very slow pacing to it, but more often than not, that just serves as a way of making the important scenes even more stunning and atmospheric. This film ignores the predictable formula of modern blockbusters, and follows more in the footsteps of the original to develop a sequel and a believable follow up to a film which was nearly 40 years before it (not to mention also set in the future, or pretty much the present day based on the original timeline!)
On the acting - Gosling delivers an understated performance as a conflicted replicant. De Armas is captivating as the holographic love interest. Leto plays the psychopathic corporate boss and fits the bill pretty well. Ford resurrects Deckard with his older/wiser outlook and I thought Carla Juri was also superb in spite of her relatively short time on camera.
Is there anything much to criticise? I wasn't sure about the K/Deckard fight sequence with the Elvis songs. I guess some humour was needed somewhere(!) but this didn't quite work for me. It didn't spoil the film though, because 99% of it is a spectacle.
The story follows the replicant K most of the way through. The puzzle develops and teases us as to whether or not he is important, or whether he is just a pawn caught up in a web of corporate greed and rebellion in the blade runner universe. We're led to different locations of the blade runner universe as he endeavours on his search for the truth. The audio flashbacks to what other characters have said earlier in the film is an effective way of creating the feeling of confusion and disillusion e.g 'but you've never seen a miracle'
I've absolutely no issue with the soundtrack unlike a lot of other fans. I actually thought this was delivered perfectly on some key scenes in the film, including the bizarre but absolutely amazing love scene involving K, Joi and Mariette. The sea fight towards the end was also superbly orchestrated. In fact, those are probably my two favourite scenes of the film.
Villeneuve is welcome to direct more visually stunning sci-fi on this scale. I hope to see more films of this calibre in the near future.....
A rare case of a great sequel.