Blade Runner 2049
I’m glad this movie exists. ‘Blade Runner’ has always occupied a kind of weird limbo that hasn’t been adequately explored. It’s the combination of a lot of talent that, nevertheless, hit with a whimper instead of a bang. The original came out in 1982, back when Harrison Ford could make a movie of himself playing with crayons and we would have all rushed to see it. ‘Blade Runner’ was rated “R,” and for a 7 year old, an “R” film is the equivalent of buying alcohol. But dang it, if there was another franchise starring Han Solo/Indiana Jones, we were going to watch it.
Man, the visuals were spectacular, and I don’t mean just Daryl Hannah. In a world of ‘Star Wars‘ it’s tough to have your own look of the “used” future, but ‘Blade Runner’ pulled it off. The original makes their effects work with a lot of fog and rain to cover up what the existing technology couldn’t achieve, but it turns out to be a great stylistic choice. Also, I like how they’ll show you flying cars, and the next scene is set in a dingy trailer with people sitting on folding lawn chairs. The images are in conflict, but you never think, “oh, this isn’t the future anymore,” instead you are just made painfully aware of the disparity between the haves and the have-nots.
‘Blade Runner’ exists in an interesting niche of science fiction films, one focused on a miserable future Earth. There is all this technology, and all this chaos and overcrowding, but there are humans left behind on the home world who aren’t allowed to spread out. It’s cramped and uncomfortable.
‘Blade Runner 2049’ did a great job of recreating the visual look of the original. This is very much the same universe, enhanced and better and it’s an interesting place to spend three hours. I will say that this film certainly fits into the category of movies you have to commit to. There’s no watching either of the ‘Blade Runner’ movies casually. It’s not “Transformers” that cuts from person to person twenty times in a two second conversation, or zooms in on a robot’s eye coming out of a head due to a round-house punch to the face. This is a film with establishing shots that linger for what has become a cinematic eternity (like close to 10 seconds). You need a big screen, a good sound system and you have to let the film swallow you (no checking your phone). If you do that, you’ll be hypnotized into a kind of melancholy place which will allow you to meditate on some fairly essential human issues. It’s good for you.
Ryan Gosling does the heavy lifting in this film and he’s an effective choice. He’s always been a bit of a pretty boy, but Gosling is capable of impressive dramatic intensity and he doesn’t disappoint here. Harrison Ford is in this film as well, as the character that is basically at the end of a quest (sound familiar?). Ford’s contributions are actually necessary to the plot and make sense (he wasn’t just wedged in to add more star appeal). This is the template that J.J. Abrams should have followed when making ‘Force Awakens.’
The essential question of ‘Blade Runner’ is a meditation on whether clones are “human” or not–although the film is never so crude as to actually come out and say so (there’s no stupid faux-moralizing scene like in ‘The Last Jedi‘), and, of course, this theme opens up debate on all levels of prejudice. The conflict is ever present, and most of the characters in this future world simply accept the inferiority of replicants, even the replicants themselves. To some extent, ‘Blade Runner’ is a bit like ‘Huckleberry Finn,’ the characters know something is wrong, but they’re too busy forcing themselves to conform to society to stop and think.
Oh, and I have to mention that ‘Blade Runner 2049’ does not have the horrible voice-over that plagued the 1982 film. The story I heard was that Harrison Ford was so opposed to the voice-over that he did it as poorly as he could, hoping the studio executives would come to their senses and remove it. I’m not against voice-overs on general principle (‘Goodfellas’ uses one to great effect), but when they’re tacked on as an afterthought because executives are afraid audiences are too stupid to understand a film…then they’re a problem. There do exist “Director’s Cut” versions of the 1982 film that are much improved, get one of those.
I can see why ‘Blade Runner 2049’ got such high reviews. It even manages to pay homage to Rob Zombie’s “more human than human” line (correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s not in the 1982 film is it?). It’s a beautiful meditative cinematic experience that’s worth watching just for how they play with light. I’m sure there are snobs who will be critical of the script, but I always appreciate it when a major Hollywood release at least attempts to engage the thoughts that you typically only see stimulated in independent films. The Rottentomatoes aggregate rating is 87% positive for the critics and 81% positive for audiences–meaning THIS is the science fiction film you’re looking for. However, I still find it absurd that the critical consensus is that ‘Last Jedi‘ is a better film (it’s not).
But, again, please watch it on a very large screen with the lights turned off and the volume up high. Let the movie take you, pay attention to the visuals, and feel it. This movie tries to respect its audience, return the favor and you’ll be rewarded.
