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Sunday, October 22, 2017

Sheep Movie Review: Blade Runner 2049

Blade Runner 2049
October 6, 2017
Directed By: Denis Villeneuve
Written By: Michael Green, Hampton Fancher
Rating: R (for violence, some sexuality, nudity, and language)
Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Produced by: Warner Bros. Pictures.
Runtime: 164 minutes
Based on characters from the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
by Philip K. Dick.
Official Sites: http://bladerunnermovie.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/BladeRunner2049/

Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years. 

I remember going to the movie theater in San Diego, California with my husband to see Blade Runner, starring Harrison Ford, in 1982. We had both enjoyed the science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott. This time, 35 years later, my husband and I returned to a movie theater in Midlothian, Virginia to see a film set 30 years later.


Since the original film, a new, more obedient type of replicant has been developed by a corporation led by a tech visionary (Jared Leto). The blade runner (police who go after errant replicants--synthetic humans) K, finds a long-buried secret, plus some memories have been resurfacing which make him question if are they implanted or the real thing. K sets out on a quest to find former blade runner (who is human) Rick Deckard (still played by Harrison Ford) who hasn’t been seen in 30 years. He may hold a key to those secrets and even his memories. There is a possibility of a child, who may bring on a revolution led by replicants.

Visually stunning and its narrative satisfying, it answers the question of what happened to blade runner Deckard since he flew away with replicant Rachel at the end of the original, classic film Blade Runner, while still being an impressive filmmaking achievement in its own right. It proves a sequel can be just as good as the original. And though there are no spaceship battle special effects or fast-paced excitement, this is still one of the best films I’ve seen this year. It keeps you interested until the end. The world building and its effects are super. You can believe in the smoky neon-noir dystopian atmosphere of Los Angeles and California in 2049. There is some great action, not every moment of the movie, but when it happens, it is a heart pounder. Ryan Gosling does well as K, at first tough and robot-like with one smile, then growing more human as he searches for the truth. Harrison Ford still works for me as Deckard, gruff and loveable, though less of the touch of Deckard we remember in Blade Runner and more like Indiana Jones to me. But he shines well in his role, revealing that maybe age and love of Rachel has softened him. Jared Leto is creepy as genius-industrialist Niander Wallace, but it is Wallace's assistant Sylvia Hoeks, who steals the show as the vicious replicant Luv. Even Ana de Armas as K's AI companion, Joi, has the film’s poignant role. This is not a film like The Avengers or Star Wars, instead, this will make you think and ponder of the role of the replicants in this future and who or what is truly human. Most of all, it is an enjoyable film, a carefully engineered narrative puzzle, and its power dissipates as the pieces snap into place. Though its predecessor is a classic, I think this one holds up well and is worth a look while it is on the big screen.

I give Blade Runner 2049 4 ½ replicant sheep.


Pamela K Kinney

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