Film: Blade Runner 2049

GENRE: Sci-Fi Mystery

RATING: R for violence, nudity and language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 44 minutes

STARRING: Ryan Gosling (La La Land, Drive, Half Nelson, Fracture)

Robin Wright (House of Cards), Harrison Ford (Star Wars, Blade Runner)

DIRECTOR: Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Sicario, Prisoners)

WRITERS: Hampton Fancher (Blade Runner) & Michael Green (Logan)

PLOT: A young blade runner questions his memories and tracks down former blade runner, Rick Deckard.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Felt the first one was interesting but slow.

STORY STUFF: It’s a well-made mystery that has some significant insights on memory, love and technology. Unfortunately, the pace is incredibly slow. Like snail pace. Which matches the first film but can be difficult to watch. Villeneuve relishes watching Gosling and other actors think. Don’t watch the late showings; you might drift off. I also recommend watching the first one or else you might be a bit lost.

ACTING STUFF: Great acting all around. Gosling, despite his slow thinking face, is a treat to watch. Ford brings gravitas for a few scenes but keep in mind he’s only in the last quarter of the film.

ARTISTIC STUFF: The cinematography is incredible. Roger Deakins (Shawshank, Coen Brother films) finds beauty in the depressing future (so much rain). The sets are large and mesmerizing. I found the sound annoying. It’s a mixture of absence of sound (not ideal when eating in the theatre) followed by deafening speaker-shaking single notes (time your crunches accordingly). Along with the cinematography and set design, the wow factor for me was the way they used holographic images. It is both captivating and creepy at the same time. Amazing stuff.

VERDICT: Three stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You liked the first one and like Gosling’s thinking face

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Thor 3