Blade Runner 2049

Blade Runner 2049

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve

Grade: A-

A sequel to the first film this was a gorgeous well-acted movie that I would definitely recommend seeing in theaters (just for the visuals alone.) But I’m not going to lie. There were times when I wanted to yell at Ryan Gosling, “Walk faster! Speed it up a little bit!” And also, “Where is Harrison already?”

I don’t want to say anything about the story because I went into this one completely blind (I haven’t even seen the original in years to be honest) so I was able to be surprised at where it took me. I wish I could remain spoiler free for everything like this but it just doesn’t work.

This is also one of those movies where I was like, “Oh, hey! It’s that guy!” “Is that?” “I didn’t know she was in this…” All for the better to.

I was not the least bit surprised this film was stunning. Roger Deakins, the cinematographer, did an incredible job. For me the visuals alone are enough of a reason to see it in the theaters.

The cast was great. Ford and Gosling had great chemistry (although I admit I spent a little too much time waiting for the part where Ford really did punch him- the only thing I knew about the movie.) A surprise standout for me was Luv (Sylvia Hoeks.)

This is a character who definitely didn’t go where I would have expected when she was first introduced. Superficially I also really loved her wardrobe.

I did think it was a long one though. After previews this was probably three hours in a theater and there really where a couple of times where I just was thinking, “Go faster. Go faster.” I also must admit I didn’t love some of the revelations at the end. I get why they did it. I just felt a tad bit let down.

Recommend: Yes. But in this case it really might help if you have some recent knowledge of the original.