"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."
SHORT VERSION:
Blade Runner 2049 is less a mystery and action film than a return to a complicated world of questioning morality, life, and what makes us human. Director Denis Villeneuve tells the story at a deliberate pace, giving time to be immersed in the world and ponder its vagaries. Some may be put off by it; I was immersed in it every second of the journey.
LONG VERSION:
I wrote
about Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner
recently when writing about the Summer of ’82. It
was a failure upon release with viewers and
critics unsure of what they were seeing. In similar fashion, I think
this is happening as well with Blade Runner
2049, based on many reactions from those
who’ve seen it.
It makes me wonder what they expected from the sequel to Blade Runner?
Blade Runner occupies a unique place in film history, as it has had FIVE different versions available to watch since its release 35 years ago. They each have a different take on the story, both great and small. So the myriad of mysteries and interpretations have been debated and analyzed by fans and scholars alike for some time. As someone who has been lucky enough to see all five versions, I believe that Villenuve, Fancher, and Green are continuing not only the story from the first film, but the open nature of what it “Means” to the audience.
This isn’t an action film, even though it has action scenes. This isn’t a mystery film, even though a mystery propels the characters forward.Director Denis Villeneuve is very deliberate in the way the story unfolds, slowly and with no intention of rushing. With a script by Hampton Fancher Michael Green (Fancher is also one of the screenwriters of the original Blade Runner), I doubt that was accidental either.
Instead, the film has everyone questioning their uniqueness and place in the world, personal beliefs and souls, while moving through a dystopian world of human and Replicant making. By questioning our place in the world, but not necessarily answering it, Villeneuve leaves long moments as the characters wind their way through the world to let the audience decide for themselves their own answers. This kind of audience introspection should not be a surprise from Villeneuve, as last year’s Arrival also leaves a great deal directly answered for the audience.
Ryan Gosling plays K with a calm façade that rarely cracks. Whether this is him acting or just playing himself depends on what you think of the actor. Harrison Ford is wide awake and full of melancholy at what has happened since we last saw him with Rachel (Sean Young). He and Gosling work well together. Jared Leto tries for aloof menace as Wallace, managing it sometimes. I felt Robin Wright, Ana de Armas, and Mackenzie Davis went by me as I was following what was happening, but I see return viewing will open up their internal lives be more for me. The real outstanding person for me was Sylvia Hoeksas Luv, Wallace’s assistant. She’s equally calm and menacing, easily stepping forward as the character the most interesting character to follows.. I like that rather than just functioning to move the story along, everyone seems to have their own story going on before we see them here. And I want to follow them all.
I highly recommend that if you are interested in seeing it, you see it in the theater. Villenuve’s direction and cinematography by Roger Deakins is absolutely worth seeing on a big screen for immersion in the world. Like Ridley Scoot’s original, the film’s visuals are there to help in establishing the world, rather than simply be eye-candy. And while not completely necessary, a trip through Los Angeles circa November 2019 will pay off nicely for the viewer, as there are more than a few nods and appearances from the original Blade Runner to watch!
(I prefer it with Harrison’s V/O narration - but don’t tell anyone!)
