Set in 2049, a young blade runner known only as K (Ryan Gosling) discovers a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of the Los Angeles society into chaos. This secret quickly unravels, before eventually forcing him to track down the former blade runner, Deckard (Harrison Ford), who has been missing for thirty years. A solid film that has perhaps gone overlooked by many in recent years. Blade Runner 2049 is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writers: Hampton Fancher, Michael Green, Phillip K. Dick
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Robin Wright, Sylivia Hoeks, Jared Leto, Dave Bautista

Stemming from the original release titled Blade Runner (1982), a movie that was reviewed on the website recently, Blade Runner 2049 serves as a continuation of the first instalment, despite coming to our screens thirty-five years after the original Ridley Scott directed flick was released. It’s worth noting, however, that in that time, there has been a wealth of short films adding to the series, with Blade Runner Black Out, Blade Runner Nexus Dawn and Blade Runner Nowhere to Run, all doing their best to continue the story and provide some context for Blade Runner 2049.

One of, if not the most prominent talking point of this picture, would have to be the visuals that were presented to the viewer. From a cinematography standpoint, the filmmakers managed to render a bleak and gloomy feel to most scenes, providing a plethora of impressive special effects in the process too. The soundtrack also assisted in creating the much-needed dystopian feel, complementing the visual aspects greatly.

The filmmakers also managed to seamlessly blend more than one genre throughout the mammoth one-hundred and sixty-four minute runtime, as it’s fair to say the flick borders on being somewhat of a romanticised, futuristic Sci-Fi, where you can’t help but become emotionally attached to a large portion of the characters on display. Not an easy feat when artificial humans are the focal point, coupled with the fact that artificial intelligence on a whole, is an extremely hot topic in todays society.

In terms of the cast, Ryan Gosling commanded a large majority of screentime, adopting the role of the blade runner, K. Support reigned in from various directions with Harrison Hord reprising his role of Deckard from the original Blade Runner (1982), while Ana de Armas appeared as Joi, another android added into the mix. Robin Wright, Sylivia Hoeks, Jared Leto and Dave Bautista were also handed somewhat prominent roles in their portrayal as Joshi, Luv, Niander Wallace and Morton, respectively.

Ultimately, Blade Runner 2049 may not have been the box office hit that many had expected or had hoped, but several years after its release, this stands out to me as one of the finest pictures of recent times. From a purely aesthetic point of view, there aren’t many that can rival the release, while the story and intertwining sub-plots all seemed to hit the mark. It may have been a little slow and methodical for some, with a sparse amount of action throughout, but I’d comfortably say that Blade Runner 2049 serves as an almost perfect sequel to the original, Blade Runner (1982). As previously noted, Blade Runner 2049 is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

“Sometimes to love someone, you got to be a stranger.”

Deckard – Blade Runner 2049