Blade Runner 2049

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Jared Leto, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks

Year: 2017

Genre: Sci-fi, mystery

Set 30 years after Ridley Scott's original science fiction classic 'Blade Runner', 'Blade Runner 2049 follows officer K (Gosling) as he investigates a dangerous mystery.


Despite the length of this film, it manages to captivate the audience from the beginning and keep them firmly interested in the plot. The plot itself, without giving away any spoilers, is complex, diving into memories and discovering new, haunting elements of '2049's dystopian society. Most terrifying of all is how society feels almost plausible with the way our world is going. Intense consumerism controls the world with gigantic holographic adverts on every gargantuan building which looms meancingly over the ominously dark, grimy streets of LA. (Ironically this is also where the film chooses to present its own product placement). Despite the filthy aesthtic of the city, Roger Deakins (director of photography) masterful cinematography makes every single shot magnificently beautiful and jaw-dropping. The streets feel authentic, claustraphobic and heavily populated. The skys are expansive, polluted and full of lifeless architecture. The colours are vivid and at some points striking. The lighting is perfect, with no scene ever feeling too bright or too dark to see anythingm

The plot itself paces itself perfectly. It knows how to insert action and speed up the pacing, yet does not rush through plot details or character development. Here it takes its time, with it either wanting the audience to focus on the characters or the world Villeneuve has constructed. All through this, no scene feels weighed down with exposition or randomly put in. Nor does any scene feel wasted - it all serves a purpose in the film. It knows how to gradually progress through the story, giving little hints, enough to keep the audience interested and eager to find out more, but not too much that it is easily figured out. The film follows Officer K as he rebelliously investiagates some leads he discovered from a case he was working on. This guides him into some dangerous areas in which he meets some dangerous people who want to manipulate or kill him. Gosling pulls off a stellar performance of an almost emotionless K whose only satisfaction in life comes from Joi (de Armas), his A.I. partner. Any more information will give away the confidential details of this concise plot; however, in terms of acting, Ford is great, returning as old Blade Runner Deckard (all his plot line cannot be ventured into at all, for risk of spoiling anything). Additionally Leto is menacingly brilliant as the blind founder of Wallace Corporations, Mr Wallace. His character is arguably one of the antagonists, along with his fierce, violent, frightening assistant, Luv (Sylvia Hoeks).

Hans Zimmer is in charge of the brutal, harrowing soundtrack which emphasises the dystopian atmosphere of '2049's world. It intensifies almost every scene it is in with its ominous booms and roars, almost mimicking an enormous machine.

Ultimately, 'Blade Runner 2049' is an excellent sequel to the original film. Structurally, it feels very similar as well as tonally. Also, there are many other homages and references to the original and it succesfully manages to retain the same atmosphere of the first.

Verdict: 10/10