Rating of
3.5/4
Blade Runner 2049 - Review
Matthew Brady - wrote on 10/09/17
"Pain reminds you the joy you felt was real".
Wow! WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW! And another WOW!
"Blade Runner 2049" is a fantastic follow up to the first and fixes a lot of the issues people had with the 1982 film. Without any director or extended cut. It's everything a sequel should do. Hell, you can watch this without watching the first and wouldn't get lost. Something "Force Awakes", "Jurassic World", and "Finding Dory" should take notes on. This is the type of film that will inspire young film makers out there to pick up a camera and make art. It's that great.
As I said in my "Arrival" review, Denis Villeneuve can release a movie every year and be close of making a masterpiece. This is the masterpiece. When "Prisoners" and "Enemy" was released, a lot of people saw great promise for him in the future, but never has a director live up to that praise. You can see the love and respect he has for the original without cheating out by playing on your nostalgic to win you over, not with Blade Runner. He also brings something new to the universe and made the whole thing thought-provoking.
Roger Deakins continues to out shine himself with every film his apart of, however this might be his best work yet. The beautiful imagery, framing, the use of darkest and neon lights really adds to the amazement of the world building. It's one of the most good looking films I've this year and nothing will top it. I swear if this doesn't get him that long and well deserved Oscar, then nothing will. I lost respect for the Academy a long time ago, but this will make them look spineless.
The performances from everyone were all fantastic. Ryan Gosling and Robin Wright are great as always. Harrison Ford gave probably the best performance I've seen from him. And Jared Leto redeeming himself after the garbage fire that was "Suicide Squad", despite the small screen time. I finally saw him playing a character, not a try-hard 'look at my method acting'.
The score was incredible and has this blasting roar to it that the speakers at my cinema literally vibrated every time. I didn't see it in IMAX, it's that effective.
What surprised me more is how engaging the story was and how emotional it got. By the end, I felt a tear coming down my eye. Little CGI was used in certain aspects as it went for a more practical path with it's effects. The final result is remarkable.
Overall rating: Villeneuve nailed what many thought was impossible. My eye for his next movie has gone up sky high. Please go support this.
