Blade Runner 2049 [Blu-ray] [2017]

Both myself and son are huge fans of the original. Having now watched 2049 three times we have come to understand what an achievement this movie is.Up until seeing it we kept ourselves away from spoilers and plot line. The big question from the time the sequel was announced “how on Earth do you follow the original”? And that’s why it took them so long to make it.It’s a really terrific story that in its own way; like the original, is open ended and will leave you pondering on it a long time.Thing to bear in mind is how much has moved on in the 30 years since the events of the original. It’s really worth watching all the extra short films that describe the major events leading up to 2049.Bought the download version on day of release and then the Blueray. The DTS-HD master sound on the blueray is awesome!!! Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack phenomenal!

As a stand alone film this was just okay. If, like me, you loved the original, you'll be sorely disappointed. The visual spectacle I expected didn't really unfold, and I wasn't able to invest in any of the characters. In the original I felt sympathy for Rutger Hauer's character, even though he was the "bad guy", but in this one I didn't even care about Ryan Gosling's character. This is not to criticise his performance; I thought he was really good...he just wasn't given that much to work with. The plot didn't do justice to the world of the original, and had moments of purely gratuitous violence...what the hell was the point of the scene with Niander Wallace and the new replicant? And this is from someone who enjoys a good violent action film. But it has it's place, and that scene wasn't needed. And the female nudity was necessary because...why? The actors on the whole earned their money...there wasn't really one bad performance, but they, as I said, had little to work with. Finally, the end fight scene was hugely disappointing, taking place where it did and becoming blurred and confusing and leaving me asking what just happened. It felt rushed, and as if the director didn't feel confident enough to direct a scene like that while showing events clearly. Not exactly a waste of two and a half hours, but if you want to enjoy it as a new Blade Runner film it'll disappoint.

The original Blade Runner of course was visionary and still stands as an absolute classic in so many ways. The atmosphere of that film is so thick that you believe every second. This sequel tries to emulate that and comes close to succeeding despite being longer and less action-packed. The music for me is probably what does it, it's the pulse of the film and instantly places the film in the same world as the original.I had a strange experience with this film. I watched the film in 2D first and thought it was OK, a bit overlong maybe. But watching it a second time in 3D I was amazed to be sucked in to the film's world the way I was. It isn't even that strong a conversion, with many scenes shot in such a way that the 3D struggles to make much of an impact. But simply having depth and volume to people and objects, having flying cars actually flying out in a 3D space, well that makes all the difference and delivers the immersion that a 2D viewing just can't.I haven't had such a transformative experience in a long time and it's 3D I have to thank for that. Watching movies like this in 3D is like living in the future, after doing that you just can't go back to 2D without feeling a great sense of loss.

There's so much wrong with this film it's hard to know where to begin. For one thing, the fact the director thought it needed three prologues tells you a lot about how confident he was in the script - not very. As it was, they added nothing as the story was so badly told, twenty prologues wouldn't have shed any light on the confused mess. As for the script... it was just plain stupid. Characters poorly drawn, whole sections completely redundant, and none of it made any sense. The villain had everything he needed but we had some ridiculous search that was simply an expense for a series of dire set pieces. The film was about an hour too long for its content, so much in love with itself it kept disappearing up its own backside. There were absurdities that did nothing to forward the plot (bees in a sand-blasted Las Vegas? a dog?). A police chief murdered with no apparent hue and cry. A rebellion we hear nothing about until the last reel. A 'genius' villain who couldn't even produce a decent likeness of Rachel. It really was trying too hard and ended up being a B movie with slightly superior special effects that we had pointed out to us whilst the rest of the film looked cheap with Harrison Ford phoning his performance in. As for the ending - it was clear someone was angling for a whole series of sequels so we had no resolution, nothing. Waste of time. Waste of money. There was one redeeming feature and that was the music, courtesy of Zimmer and Wallfisch. Buy the ost CD, forget the rest.

Breath of fresh air was this. I was sceptical given Hollywood's usual heavy-handiidness, but this was thoughtful, beautifully shot and thoroughly effective.It doesn't quite live up to the overall look and sound of the original - mainly due to Vangelis' timeless score - but this sequel has worked out far, far better than it should have done. I'd even argue that on many levels it's actually a superior film to Ridley Scott's 1982 classic.A cult classic in the making. Looks and sounds exceptional on Blu-ray too of course...

I'm writing this as someone who loves Science Fiction but didn't really enjoy the original Blade Runner... I know that it's almost criminal to insult the first film, but whilst I remember liking the start, I ended up getting really bored and uninterested in the last act. However, this version by Denis Villeneuve is incredible. The acting is amazing, stand-out performances from Ryan Gosling (as always) and Ana de Armas, with the rest of the cast also doing a great job. The special effects are what you would expect in this day and age and the story is really intriguing and entertaining... what more could you want from a movie!