Blade Runner 2049 – Movie Review

Blade Runner 2049 – R
Release Date: Fri 06 Oct 2017

Denis Villeneuve directs this sequel to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner starring Ryan Gosling as K, a Blade Runner who hunts down rogue synthetic humans called replicants. Scott’s blessing in the form of a production credit is among the first text shown in the film.

Villeneuve and cinematographer Roger Deakins breathtakingly realize Scott’s vision and tone for Blade Runner. Deakins insistence on light having a source based in reality and the movie’s smart downplaying of setting everything in a glitzy city makes the world of 2049 Los Angeles feel more lived in, bleak and lonely.

Gosling and the rest of the cast is remarkable bringing in an ensemble of talent rather than focus on a few meatier characters. The use of returning actor Harrison Ford is smart and not a cloying nostalgia trip or an excuse for some unearned emotion.

I do not share the affinity for the 1982 movie that many do. I am happy to report that Blade Runner 2049 feels to me like the movie so many ardent fans of the original say that one is. It’s a worthwhile sci-fi experience and it’s 163-minute runtime flies by. Recommended to fans of sci-fi and the work of Deakins and Villeneuve.

Chris, Cal and I saw it in the theater and had a discussion in the car: