Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

REPLICANTS are bioengineered humans. Designed by Tyrell Corporation for use off-world. Their enhanced strength made them ideal slave labor. 
After a series of violent rebellions, their manufacture became prohibited and Tyrell Corp went bankrupt. 
The collapse of ecosystems in the mid 2020s led to the rise of industrialist Niander Wallace, whose mastery of synthetic farming averted famine. 
Wallace acquired the remains of Tyrell corp and created a new line of replicants who obey. 
Many older model replicants — Nexus 8s with open-ended lifespans — survived. They are hunted down and 'retired'. 
Those that hunt them still go by the name... 
BLADE RUNNER

Have you ever been in an institution?
Cells.

Directed: Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Arrival, Sicario, Dune & Dune: Part 2)

Inspired by: Philip K. Dick (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?)

Writers: Hampton Fancher (Blade Runner) & Michael Green (Logan)

Original Score: Benjamin Wallfisch (Hidden Figures, IT, Shazam!) & Hans Zimmer (12 time Oscar nominated composer)
Cinematographer: Roger Deakins (O' Brother Where Art Thou, 1917, No Country for Old Men, Shawshank Redemption, and so much more)
Editor: Joe Walker (Arrival, Sicario, 12 Years a Slave)
Production Designer: Dennis Gassner (1917, Skyfall, Big Fish, O' Brother Where Art Thou, Truman Show)
Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
MPAA Rating: R, For violence, some sexuality, nudity and language
Starring: 

    Ryan Gosling as K

    Ana de Armas as Joi

    Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard

    Sylvia Hoeks as Luv

    Jared Leto as Niander Wallace

    Robin Wright as Lieutenant Joshi

    Dave Bautista as Sapper Morton

Do they keep you in a cell?
Cells.

When you're not performing your duties do they keep you in a little box?
Cells.

Plot

After the Blackout of 2022, and the return of Replicant kind in 2036, we arrive in 2049 Los Angeles.
We follow the story of K, a Replicant of the new era as he goes about performing the duties of a Blade Runner, chasing the Nexus-8 Sapper Morton for retirement. What he uncovers on this routine mission has catastrophic implications for the world humanity has created for themselves.

If you'd like to see some supplementary material for the movie, feel free to check out those links for a few shorts that fill in the gap in years from the first film.

This movie is not a perfect film, however I will proudly proclaim it to be the perfect sequel. I highly recommend, for the love of god, please watch the first movie before you watch this one and read my review of it here. The sequel pulls very heavily from its source material and was made with love by devout fans of the original movie and novel. This is not a problem for fans of the series, but does pose an issue for your typical audience that hasn't seen the 35 year old prequel and knows nothing of Replicants or the Blade Runner known as Deckard; no doubt a large reason for its financial failure at the box office. It also made the mistake of its predecessor by marketing itself as an Action / Thriller of sorts when it is far more heavily leaning Sci-Fi / Mystery Noir. 

The other advice I have is to sit down and watch this movie in the dark, put away your phone, and give it your full attention. When the action does happen in this movie, it happens very quickly. The characters are given a lot of time to breathe in their scenes, lingering on their expressions and letting the actors express a range of emotions, albeit quite subtlety for the most part as this world breeds a sort of hardened stoicism in its characters. If you intend to view this movie as a background viewing while you do something else, you might find yourself missing out on the little moments that make this film great. 

I know that's a lot of pressure to place on a film, even more so to place on you as an audience member. That being said, if you find yourself in the right frame of mind, this movie can be a truly masterful experience that can be worth every second of your time.

What's it like to hold the hand of someone you love?
Interlinked.

Did they teach you how to feel finger to finger?
Interlinked.

Soundtrack & Score

Unlike its predecessor, 2049 includes soundtracks that were licensed for use in the film. Never at any point are any of these songs the focus, but this is still Earth. The songs are subtle and every scene they are a part of was made better for it. I was delighted hearing Elvis and Sinatra in this neo-noir future. While more of an accent piece than a soundtrack, it's a wonderful treat for the audience. 9/10

Reznor and Wallfisch have their work cut out for them in this movie. Trying to stay true to the source material and honor Vangelis' original vision while also making the music your own? Any composer might understandably find this task as difficult, risking isolating the fanbase, or worse; unoriginality. The composers of this film's score are god damn artists, and I do not say that lightly! In my first watch through of this movie, I was not aware that Vangelis was not involved in the score at all, save for a song that was brought over from the original film, which speaks to the amazing work by Reznor and Wallfisch and I am not surprised at all that once again they managed to miraculously bring this world to life, and honor Vangelis in the process. 10 out of fucking 10!

Do you long for having your heart interlinked?
Interlinked.

Do you dream about being interlinked?

Cinematography

This category is the weakest point of the previous movie, and who better to correct that mistake than Roger Deakins. His art has always been a silent blessing to Hollywood with his work spanning too many films to even accredit to him above. But Deakins really takes it up a notch for this movie. The editor (Walker) has to receive some of the credit for letting Deakins' shots do much of the talking for this film. Every frame is masterful, and I am happy to say that I got my wish I had previously made; that the entire thing be burned into my mind forever. Deakins deserves his Oscar win for film, 10 out of 10!

What's it like to hold your child in your arms?
Interlinked.

Do you feel that there's a part of you that's missing?
Interlinked.

Final Thoughts & Overall Rating

Blade Runner 2049 is the sequel that the original deserved, but not the one audiences needed. It demands a lot of the audience, with a run time of 164 minutes stretched by its slow pacing. Length and pacing are almost never a problem for audiences, as long as they are engaged throughout the film with something, anything to grab their attention. Blade Runner 2049 has very few engaging scenes. Most of the movie has no conflict or obstacles; many scenes span entire minutes longer than they need to, or can be explained much quicker than portrayed. As I mentioned earlier, the conflict that does happen is over very quickly, with many deaths that happen on screen being unceremonious and meaningless. 

Blade Runner 2049 ultimately leaves a lot of ungratifying conclusions. It lacks the positive fulfillment most people wish to see, and is therefore unconventional. The emotional journey K and the rest of the characters undertake is subtle, and easy to miss behind the stoicism every character portrays nearly at all times. Do not be fooled, this is a deliberate choice: the directors let the characters breathe and exist in this bleak world and the actors worked with every second, but to some, I imagine it isn't the recipe for an engaging story. 

However, that is what I love about the movie. I love it so much and I deeply wish it appealed to a wider audience just so we could get more of this tantalizing world. I hope (like it's predecessor) you can look past its flaws and look at the larger story and the questions it poses. I think it is a beautiful continuation of the original, giving even more meaning to the Replicants of the previous film, and putting even more weight behind the questions already posed. As for the future of this series, I'm not sure a studio is going to risk further sequels for a while, it just hasn't proved profitable. Amazon Prime has announced plans to begin a series that takes place in 2099, and I will remain cautiously optimistic about its possibility. 

Within cells interlinked.

Undisputed 10 out of 10!

Beaux Score: "Ooh I really like it! Solid 9."

¡Tierra de Aguafiestas!

(Land of Spoilers)

I can't tell you how

I knew - but I did know that I had crossed

The border. Everything I loved was lost

but no aorta could report regret.

A sun of rubber was convulsed and set;

and blood-black nothingness began to spin.

A system of cells interlinked within

cells interlinked within cells interlinked

within one stem. And dreadfully distinct

against the dark, a tall white fountain played.

- Vladimir Nabokov

I have obsessed over Rutger Hauer's delivery of the Tear's in the Rain monologue from the first film since I first saw the film as a child. I have the entire speech memorized, even down to the cadence; the little grunt and smirk Batty gives before trying to explain the impossible to Deckard. 
2049 does not have a moment like that, outside of the mad grandiose ramblings of Niander Wallace. But there are lines of dialogue that stick out to me, acting as the foundation of the soul of the film. My wife who performed Shakespeare on stage would refer to these lines of dialogue as a "spine line", indicating them as the central point in which an entire character's personality revolves around.

"You newer models are happy scraping the shit... because you've never seen a miracle."

Delivered by the replicant Sapper Morton in the first 10 minutes of the film, they set the tone for K's entire journey, and ultimately it would seem all of Replicant kind as well. Bautista's brief but compelling performance here is beyond perfect. However, there is a better one that affirms Roy saving Deckard, and K's entire journey through this movie; ascribing their lives with valuable, filled with potential and worth. A line that leaves me wondering, maybe there is nothing as sanctimonious as true consciousness. Maybe...

"Dying for the right cause is the most human thing we can do."