Review: Blade Runner 2049

            People usually cry while watching movies for two reasons: they’re happy that the central couple have overcome their difference & fallen in love or they’re sad because a beloved character is meeting a heroic end before the journey is complete. Then, there’s a recent discovery I made about myself (and I hope I’m not alone on this): I cry after movies that I find to be marvelous. Some motion pictures are so spectacular that a verbal response is not enough to express the magnitude to which I am overwhelmed with joy. That reaction has happened to me three times in my life: 2011’s Hugo, 2015’s Spotlight and 2017’s Blade Runner 2049.

            I would usually summarize the movie I’m reviewing in this paragraph but Warner Brothers & Sony have asked that we don’t mention certain plot elements so I’m just going to say that Harrison Ford does return as Deckard & Ryan Gosling is the titular Blade Runner. Now, onto my unfiltered praise of Blade Runner 2049.

            There are few motion pictures that are as gorgeous as this one. The most impressive thing you’ll notice is the individual color palates designed for each of the separate locations. The dazzling blue & purple of rainy downtown Los Angeles gives it a look of hopeful despair. The police station has a black & white aesthetic gives the proceedings a more serious turn. The halls of the Wallace Corporation have this grand gold tint to them, showing off the success & wealth of the company. My personal favorite are the opening shots of the Vegas sequence, which tweaks the Wallace gold & adds brown & orange to create dazzling works of art that deserve to be hung next to your family photos. Kudos goes out to the entire set design team & legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins, who if he doesn’t win at the Oscars this year there might be a coup. The sound design rocks the theatre in a good way and the score by Hans Zimmer & Benjamin Wallfisch pays homage to Vangelis when warranted while holding its own a vast majority of the time.

            Dazzling visuals only go so far. A movie needs to have a compelling story. There will be some who say Blade Runner 2049 is too slow. That is true but screenwriters Hampton Fancher (co-writer of the 1982 original) & Michael Green (Logan, Murder on the Orient Express) make it deliberate & delicate. There are reasons we spend so much time w/ K & Joi. We linger on a scene in Wallace Corp with a new replicant model because every scene has its place. These kinds of scenes also invite future viewings to see just how complex & deep the themes go.

            Blade Runner K is in about 95% of the movie so whoever was to play him would have to be the rock to keep the picture stable & Gosling is more than up to the task. It’s not his best nor his most Oscar worthy performance but Gosling able to add just enough facial complexities to K. Ford shows that he still has “it” & still cares about the performances he gives. Leto is weird per usual but also effective in his genius role.

            We live in the era where the female badass reigns & Blade Runner 2049 might have the best on this side of Furiosa. Sylvia Hoeks plays Luv with an elegance that many bigger names couldn’t pull off while also being the CEO of Wallace and the “Head of Security”. K’s boss in the LAPD is Lt. Joshi played by Robin Wright who couldn’t give a bad performance these days if she tried. There are three other actresses who are great in their roles but describing them would probably spoil too much. Ana de Armas plays Joi, Mackenzie Davis is Mariette and Carla Juri plays Dr. Ana Stelline.

            All of this is supervised by Denis Villeneuve, whose two previous films Sicario & Arrival are beloved by everyone but yours truly. This feature, however, makes me question why I’ve been hesitant about looking into more of his work. Villeneuve has created something that not only expands on the ideas of 35 years ago but also makes them accessible to those who are patient enough to let the movie work on them. Those who make it all the way to the end are rewarded with an ending that is not just a delight for the eyes but for the mind, heart & soul.

            From this point forward, when I refer to cinema as art, Blade Runner 2049 will be my first example. There is a picturesque elegance to it that bigger or more Oscar-y features could never touch. The sprawling screenplay heightens an already expansive world into a dystopian wonderland. The acting, especially by the women you don’t see in any marketing, is sublime. I’m calling it: I will not see a better movie in 2017 than this.

*****