35 years ago, director Ridley Scott released Blade Runner to the masses. Initially seen as a box office disappointment, the film has gone on to not only become a cult classic, but it has become “THE” benchmark or inspiration for countless films with the same combination of moody atmosphere and striking visuals.
Now if I am going to be honest, it`s taken me awhile to truly appreciate Blade Runner. I don`t mean to offend any fans, but in my opinion, Scott took more time in creating the overall bleak futuristic setting than on character development. That’s why many films have copied the look and feel of Blade Runner but not the characters themselves; other than Deckard or Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer).
With that being said, fans of the first film have been asking what happened to Rick Deckard (H. Ford) and Rachael (Sean Young) for years. No one in their right mind would`ve ever attempted to tell the tale thus ruining this influential film, until now. Quebec’s very own Denis Villeneuve was handed the director chair as Ridley Scott served as executive producer on the film. The film`s script was written by the original Blade Runner screenwriter, Hampton Fancher and Michael Green (Logan) .
After all the rave reviews for Blade Runner 2049, I was a bit hesitant to go see the film. With a 35-year history, the original film has become a staple in the realm of SCI-FI so expectations were high, to say the least.
BR2049 takes place thirty years after the events of the first film and revolves around a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling). With what seems to be a routine mission for officer K, he 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.
After watching the film, I can honestly say that the team of Scott, Villeneuve, Fancher and Green have stepped up and have really made a worthy follow up the original film. I really can`t see many fans being disappointed with this installment. The team has nailed the atmosphere, visuals and have managed to create an intriguing story that not only builds upon that of original film but also makes for a captivating stand-alone work of science fiction.
Everyone in the film delivers some great performances, especially Harrison Ford who plays an older more vulnerable Deckard, Ana de Avmas plays K’s virtual love interest (Joi) and Dave Bautista who play Sapper Morch.
The only problems with Blade Runner 2049 is that the film seems to have some pacing issues and drags on somewhat. Mind you, my take is that: Blade Runner 2049 is trying too hard to impress us with the story and visuals but forgets that it needs to entertain the audience.
Other than some minor set backs I can see this film developing a devoted following just like its predecessor. Blade Runner 2049 deserves a viewing on the big screen.
