Review Of 'Blade Runner 2049'

A.O. Scott's review of Blade Runner 2049 emphasizes the film's visual richness and constant encouragement into deeper thought of its meaning; its "shrewd" storytelling making it unique in the fact that it can't be spoiled. This makes the film ideal for post-viewing discourse, but few will manage to make any progress in their digging. In the current cinematic climate, and particularly the genre Blade Runner 2049 puts itself into, this method of storytelling seems a little out of place, and brings in the need for that masterful visual tactician.

For casual audiences - which I assume, in this case, made up the majority of the audience looking at the way this film was advertised - Blade Runner 2049 might just seem to exist for the sake of being a sequel, profiting off of the franchise. The casting of Harrison Ford and the brief return of Rachael simply verify that the sequel and the original Blade Runner are related, and as Scott describes Blade Runner 2049, "a more docile, less rebellious ‘improvement', tweaked … to meet consumer demand.

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" For fans of the first film, this may have been what attracted them to watch the second one. Unfortunately for them, they still won't get the satisfaction of a clear ending, since we never get to see Deckard's conversation with the memory maker, who K says is his daughter, and are left to assume that K passes on. Scott says, "There is… a fair amount to feel and even more to see." The film establishes a strong atmosphere, engrossing the audience with the artistic value of each scene, and delivering tingling sensations, such as the anxiety of drowning in the final fight between K and Luv or disgust at the birthing scene at the Wallace Corporation headquarters, with help from its brutally industrial soundtrack, something Scott does not even mention, which I consider to be a massive oversight.

The audiovisuals alone almost make up for the more or less incoherent plot, but won't cut it by movie standards - leave that to the books. In two hours and forty-four minutes, why should the viewer have to piece everything together?

Positive recounts of Blade Runner 2049 are likely motivated by what the viewer felt and saw during the film, rather than that gratifying confirmation of a twist they anticipated based on hints they picked up on, the classic happy ending, or the possibility that they took the time to delve deeper into the film's meaning.

Works cited

1. Scott, A. O. (2017, October 4). Review: ‘Blade Runner 2049’ Is an Unforgettable, Hallucinatory Fever Dream. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/04/movies/blade-runner-2049-review-ryan-gosling-harrison-ford.html
2. Travers, P. (2017, October 5). ‘Blade Runner 2049’ Review: Sequel to Sci-Fi Landmark Is an Instant Classic. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/blade-runner-2049-review-sequel-to-sci-fi-landmark-is-an-instant-classic-122188/
3. Scott, A. O. (2017, October 6). Why ‘Blade Runner 2049’ Is a Box Office Disappointment. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/movies/blade-runner-2049-box-office-failure.html
4. Shetty, S. (2017, October 11). Blade Runner 2049: Are critics being too kind to the latest Blade Runner? The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/blade-runner-2049-review-critics-ryan-gosling-denis-villeneuve-harrison-ford-a7992356.html
5. Patches, M. (2017, October 8). Blade Runner 2049’s Credits Scene Is a Microcosm of the Film’s Best Qualities. Thrillist. https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/blade-runner-2049-credits-scene-explained
6. Zakarin, J. (2017, October 6). Blade Runner 2049: A Spoiler-Filled Exploration of One of the Film’s Most Dazzling Special Effects. Inverse. https://www.inverse.com/article/36879-blade-runner-2049-spoiler-atlas-skeleton-effects-explained
7. Brown, T. (2017, October 5). Blade Runner 2049: How its stunning special effects were created. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/technology-41552897
8. Peña, M. (2017, October 17). ‘Blade Runner 2049’ Sound Design: How a Sci-Fi Dystopia Got Its Iconic, Frightening Sounds. IndieWire. https://www.indiewire.com/2017/10/blade-runner-2049-sound-design-oscar-1201882067/
9. Kohn, E. (2017, October 7). ‘Blade Runner 2049’: Denis Villeneuve on the Challenges of Three-Way Sex Scenes and His Very Real Need for a Nap. IndieWire. https://www.indiewire.com/2017/10/blade-runner-2049-denis-villeneuve-interview-1201881639/
10. Beresford, J. (2017, October 12). ‘Blade Runner 2049’ Director Denis Villeneuve on Building the Future. Variety. https://variety.com/2017/film/features/blade-runner-2049-director-denis-villeneuve-interview-1202585823/