blade runner 2049
The stunning sci-fi sequel deserves rewatching.
For a film in which the premise rests entirely on a shaky foundation of ambiguity, there’s sadly little room for interpretation when it comes to Blade Runner 2049’s box-office performance. A worldwide gross of $259m (of which less than $100m was taken in the States) will rank as an underperformance against its $150m production budget. There’s a grimly satisfying symmetry, though, in this failing; it’s one of myriad ways in which 2049 lives up to its epochal predecessor.
Now seen as an all-time great, Ridley Scott’s 1982 film was critically and commercially undervalued on arrival, its stature growing with each tinkered version released. A decade slater sequel for any beloved property is potentially perilous (just ask Indiana Jones), but Blade Runner 2049 fulfils its duties pretty much perfectly; staying remarkably true to the spirit of the original, it pays homage without ever feeling restricted by its legacy.
This sequel adheres to the original’s formula while treading new ground. Embedded in the noirish detective story is the weighty question of what it means to be human. That blend is perhaps what makes director Denis Villeneuve the ideal fit, given his previous form with grizzled ’tecs (Prisoners) and bittersweet sci-fi (Arrival).
At the core of 2049 is Ryan Gosling’s K. Extreme release secrecy hid the fact that – minor spoiler alert – K is a ‘skin-job’ himself, a detail that’s revealed in the film’s opening moments. A replicant without a cause, he ‘retires’ his own kind seemingly without qualm. One such job leads him to a discovery that has huge repercussions for all replicant-kind, as a mystery gradually begins to unfurl at the pace of an artificial snail.
K COMPUTER
As in the original, the artificial lifeforms are more sympathetic than their real counterparts. The most captivating relationship in the film is between a replicant and a hologram, and 2049 arguably exceeds the original for emotional investment in these themes. Gosling’s tough, terse and ultimately tender turn anchors the film, elucidating K’s plight through an abundance of hemmed-in feeling.
Harrison Ford’s Deckard returns to the fold, and his human/replicant ambiguity is mined further, but he’s very much a supporting character here, even though his presence will add resonance for long-time fans.
In minimal screentime, Ford turns in one of the most affecting performances of his career. If anything disappoints, it’s the antagonists. Jared Leto overdoes it as Tyrell replacement Niander Wallace, and his right-hand-woman Luv (Sylvia Hoeks) is charismatically ruthless, but inevitably lacks the depth of Rutger Hauer’s Roy Batty.
The better you know the first film, the more you’ll get out of the sequel, despite its standalone qualities and Deckard’s minimal impact on the plot. Coming in cold, you could still appreciate the jaw-dropping visuals conjured up by Villeneuve and cinematographer Roger Deakins. In one featurette, Villeneuve describes the film’s look as “the same kind of colour palette but made by another painter”. It won’t prove to be as influential as the original’s game-changing cityscape, but it’s an incredibly realised fictional world, even more gloomily oppressive than it was 30 years earlier. From the smog-shrouded metropolis of LA, to a junkyard San Diego and a desolate, amber-hued Las Vegas, it’s an expansive, hostile world.
As Villeneuve and his cast explain, this is a future as extrapolated from the first film’s vision of 2019. Hence the analogue equipment, alternate-reality ads (Pan Am and Atari are projected in neon at various points) and a lack of touchscreen tech. As Gosling puts it, this is a world in which Steve Jobs never existed. The commitment to practical effects adds to the connection with the original – it very much feels like the same world.
And feeling at one with BR 2019 means that 2049 is like nothing else out there; it’s remarkable that so few concessions have been made to appease multiplex crowds. Big bangs, towering set-pieces and merchandising opportunities are nowhere to be seen. And the slow pace and substantial run time seem designed to put off anyone not capable of the investment required. It practically builds a wall around its own cult status.
EXTENDED LIFESPAN
Even on repeat viewings, the slowburn unfolding is anything but a problem. Not only can you luxuriate in the visual detail, but the film yields new treasure with each rewatch, with references, callbacks and cameos to chew over (only the unsubtle use of “more human than human” clunks). While its short-term audience has clearly been restricted, Blade Runner 2049 will age better than any production-line multiplex fodder.
The home-ent release is clearly geared to collectors, with various editions including a steelbook and a 4K UHD version with whisky glasses. The bonus content is solid, rather than exceptional. Featurettes offer the chance to gawp at some of the finer details a bit more closely, the best of the bunch being the 20-minute Designing The World Of Blade Runner, and the short ‘prologues’ fill in some backstory gaps, though they’re more intriguing than essential (and hardcore fans will have watched them already). Perhaps the extras were always going to feel scant on a film that demands and rewards close analysis and rewatching.
It will get plenty of that over the next 30 years.
‘IT PAYS HOMAGE WITHOUT FEELING RESTRICTED BY THE LEGACY’