Blade Runner 2049

I am still trying to find my way in the first installment because I hid my indisputable intellectual outbursts in a too one-sided narrative. Now Hampton Fancher and Michael Green are turning such a concept upside down and subtly unfold countless philosophical and psychological motives behind each seemingly clear scene or line. How much resonated within me even after a simple advertisement or a glance into the distance. To make viewers wait so long for someone they are already eagerly trembling for, according to the poster, can't be done just by anyone, and it surprises me how much depression lies behind that waiting. In Denis Villeneuve's rendition, the year 2049 has heaps of pain in its corners, but paradoxically awakens long-forgotten joys, hidden in memories "someone experienced." It wrenches an unwavering desire to live or exist from the depths of the soul and proves that the new Blade Runner is definitely not cold, and those who say so perhaps didn't even perceive it that way. Ryan Gosling was born for roles full of hidden emotions, so I experienced that inner turmoil and rising resistance with him to the very last drop. In my case, it was an intense, extremely emotional experience thanks to ethereally light and resonating music when the story cut me somewhere in the heart at unexpected moments, conjuring bitter tears. The only thing that was cold about it was the snow, the rain, and the mood of the world in which it took place. (06/10/2017)

A visually intoxicating sequel that should earn at least Deakins an Oscar. Villeneuve prepares the ground in the first half and takes us back to the familiar world from the mind of Phillip K. Dick, where the bullied Gosling is trying to do his work. The offering to racist roots works better than 12 years in chains. Digging about in the past is another tribute to old school detective movies and Elvis steals the show in the Vegas sequence. Heavy ruminations about the nature of artificial beings, about what is reality and what good is and is not good. A fantastically negative Leto who, in this memorable role, fundamentally means well. Ford’s return to Deckard’s shoes is expedient, not just a cheap promo. He’s still got it in him. Zimmer’s music again thunderous. Interlinked. (09/10/2017)

A place of deep melancholy shallow landscaping. Instead of a simple noir story, this an incredibly supple and unfortunately desperately transparent story about the search for meaning in a world of vanishing memories. There is about the same difference between the original and this one as between a physical experience and the nicely painted backdrop. At the same time, Blade Runner 2049 well documents the impotence to which Hollywood has condemned the current fashion of resurrecting icons. Blade Runner was as much a tribute to history as engaging visions of the future world. The second part is just a blank canvas, where Villeneuve and Deakins apply a few new contours, but at the same time they can't break out of the familiarity of the old ones. Sure, that's not even the goal. But instead of a vision, the result is a sterile museum. And unfortunately, by far the worst directing moments that the brilliant Canadian has been part of. It is the same in key moments as the Chinese finale of Arrival. Paradoxically hurried, unfinished and explicitly simple in terms of script. The original Blade Runner had a secret. These are just transparently literal symbols. A fleeting thing that will only be remembered in 30 years as a testament to a time that has become entrenched in its own memories of visionary times. The epoch of replicants with a time fuse. I am betting a synthetic kidney. (10/10/2017)

The promising start and the entire first half of the film draw the audience into the great atmosphere embellished with design gems and monumental sound. Unfortunately, the plot development lags behind in terms of originality and sorely lacks space for the main villain, who was supposed to be the movie’s most powerful character, a threat to what remains of civilization and the system that has left the world on life support. And the usually great director Denis Villeneuve gets rid of him after just a few scenes, during which we learn nothing about him. The famous android musical theme “Tears in the Rain” in the ending brings us closer to understanding the feelings of the young Blade Runner and arouses nostalgia. But that’s not enough for a 160-minute film whose slow, almost sluggish pace doesn’t correspond to the depth and complexity of its plot. In other words, Blade Runner 2049 is an audio-visually stunning empty bubble. (13/11/2017)

There's probably no bigger fan of the original Blade Runner than me, so, first of all, I don't think a movie like this needed a sequel at all. In terms of the story, it's like The Matrix. There, the mythology was developed in the other two episodes, here, the story is developed in a way that makes sense, but does not enrich the original film. In terms of pure craftsmanship, it's a solid piece of filmmaking, but I didn’t feel the atmosphere of Scott's gem, that "Babylonian" mix of cultures and peoples with a predominantly Asian element where you could easily become an anonymous figurehead. Deakins does magic, yes, but the atmosphere is missing, and anyone who says otherwise has failed to feel the subtle nuances of the first Blade Runner. I missed an interesting character like J.F. Sebastian and his electronic toys in the prequel, I missed a fateful character like Pris, I missed a strong villain like Roy Batty whom you both hated and pitied. There's none of that in Villeneuve's film, just a terminator in a skirt and a bland Leto. Thanks at least for the holographic Joi, probably the only interesting character in the film. I just can’t avoid feeling slightly disappointed. (08/10/2017)