Blade Runner 2049
The major new release in theatres this weekend is the sci-fi thriller, Blade Runner 2049 starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford. Set in a future where human looking robots exist, Gosling’s cop is in the midst of searching for valued targets when he comes across a mystery roughly 30 years in the making. That stretches back to the time of the original Blade Runner (1982) which also starred Harrison Ford and was directed by Ridley Scott (who did not direct this film due to him making Alien: Covenant). Visually this film has a lot to offer with credit going to cinematographer Roger Deakins (who has 13 Oscar nominations for cinematography in the last 22 years), and director Denis Villeneuve who takes the time to expertly craft nearly every frame in his films. Clocking in at 2 hours and 43 minutes (46 minutes longer than the original), one will benefit from getting wrapped up in Gosling’s limited dialogue yet facially strong performance (see him also in Drive, Only God Forgives, and The Place Beyond the Pines), and the expert computer animation (there are some things to look forward to in this possible future). Filmed primarily in Hungary, the movie shows a portion of what life may be like for California residents, while not giving a lot of development of any of the characters. Seemed like the ones who got the most screen time had the smallest arcs and the ones who had the least time where the most interesting. Fans of the film or not, there is more than enough material to debate about the existence, importance, and lives of androids (thanks to Philip K. Dick’s novel which inspired both films, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?).
2017, 14A, 2h 43m
Distributor – Warner Bros.
Budget / Worldwide Box Office (in millions) – $185 / (new release)
Cast & Crew
Director Denis Villeneuve last made Arrival (2016 sci-fi starring Amy Adams, and got his first Oscar nomination for Best Directing), Sicario (2015 action crime with Emily Blunt), and two starring Jake Gyllenhaal in 2013, Enemy and Prisoners. The screenplay was written by Hampton Fancher (who also co-wrote the original) and Michael Green (co-writer of Logan in 2017 and Green Lantern in 2011). Ryan Gosling was recently in Song to Song (2017 music romance with Rooney Mara), La La Land (2016 musical with Emma Stone, he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar), and will next be seen as astronaut Neil Armstrong in First Man. Harrison Ford was last seen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015 sci-fi by J. J. Abrams), The Age of Adaline (2015 romance fantasy with Blake Lively), and will next be seen in an untitled Indiana Jones project (directed by Steven Spielberg). Also appearing is Robin Wright, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Jared Leto, and Dave Bautista.
Links
Spoilers
(please do not continue reading if you have not seen the movie and do not want to read a spoiler)
A good friend of mine who I saw this film with and who loves the original shared that this film was great but maybe did not match the same feelings of the first one and that it also started slow but picked up. I found that the beginning, with Gosling’s agent K (not entirely unlike the demeanor of Tommy Lee Jones’ straight faced “do not have a sense of humor we’re aware of” agent Kay in Men in Black, 1997) alone against Dave Bautista’s replicant (would’ve like to see him beat more on Gosling like he beat on Daniel Craig in Spectre, 2015) to be a well paced beginning to the film. He is a detective, and while more dangerous than a human, he has to worry somewhat about the physically bigger, yet outdated model, protein farmer target. Coming back to the police station and reporting to Lieutenant Robin Wright (coming off hits with Wonder Woman and House of Cards), answering the rapid fire questions (a great- what is going on? oh wait, I get it, just took me a moment- moment, which also setup for the second question period he failed later in the film), and exploring his relationship with the hologram Joi played by Ana de Armas (now I understand the glitches of the opening title cards from the production companies), set this film on a course to be respectful to the original’s noir detective story set within a bleak futuristic sci-fi world. Glad I saw the film on opening day to really appreciate the 6.10.21 date (October 6th was the wide release date). Worthy of mentioning is Jared Leto who wore contacts that actually kept him from seeing, Edward James Olmos cameoed (who was also in the original and made an origami sheep- as in “Electric Sheep” the title to the original novel), the threesome (getting in synch never looked so one-on-one, quite inventive), composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (who worked on Villeneuve’s recent Arrival, Sicarios, and Prisoners) was replaced during production by Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch, and the fact that in the bible, Rachel (the name of Sean Young’s character, also in the original) gave birth to Joseph (Joe being the name given to Gosling, the “son” of Rachel). Here’s a tip for you theatre goers, sitting next to D-BOX seats gives all the motion and vibrating without the extra cost.