I saw the new Blade Runner yesterday with a good friend! It has its flaws and it's not for everyone—the guy next to me in the theater said "well that was way too fuckin' slow" when the credits rolled. Some parts went at a snail's pace and it felt like it had a very slow buildup. But its pacing was also one of the movies' strength: it gave the movie the breathing space to explore characters and scenes. There were countless lingering shots which allowed me to absorb all the world-building details of a scene before moving on. Even the action scenes felt much longer and intriguing than any regular movie, especially the final conflict.
Visually it's one of the prettiest movies I've seen in quite some time. I loved how they continued the now-retro style of futurism from the original and how convincing that made the entire world seem. Hans Zimmer did a good job, which I wasn't really expecting. Someone pointed out that they reused Tears in the Rain, and me not really noticing that is probably because the rest of the tracks sounded so much like it.
The acting was great as well. I haven't seen Suicide Squad so Jared Leto didn't bother me. While the plot itself wasn't bad (I didn't see the twist coming at all, I was totally convinced K was their son) it wasn't phenomenal. Its slow pacing, beautiful visuals and music and good acting made for a lot of memorable moments, from the opening fight right to the final shot. The movie didn't shy away from going off the beaten path and I liked it better for it. Still, I think of the film mostly as a bunch of memorable bits strung together by a thin plot. (Having a numb protagonist didn't really help. The scene where he crashes his ship into the literal garbage dump that is San Diego (LOL) felt devoid of emotion because he didn't seem to care and Joi isn't real.)
Anyway, did anyone else watch it and what did you think of it?
I saw it the other night and I thought it was great. Blade Runner 2049 spoilers ahead, obviously:
I really liked that they preserved the pacing and feel of the original. The pacing was an essential part of the atmosphere-building in the first one. Lots of modern blockbusters dump this for whatever reason and end up feeling hollow or rushed.
I didn't feel like the plot was somehow lacking. It was a great exploration into how one is defined by memory, and the humanity/artificiality themes were handled in a persuasive and not overly ham-handed way. The emotionlessness was thematically important. For K, the numbness was mainly a facade that you get too see crack in the scene with that memory lab thing. For Joi, it's easy to see her as entirely unreal, yet Joi's story arc mirrored K's with the self-sacrifice and all. In the end, it doesn't really spell out if there was anything other than a desire-fulfilling program in Joi, or any genuine uniqueness or individuality. If there's a sliding scale of artificiality-to-humanity, she's on the less human side, yet K relates strongly to her for obvious reasons.
I thought both the aesthetic and music were done excellently. Definitely in league with the first, even if the soundtrack doesn't have as much replay-ability as Vangelis', which is totally understandable.
posted 2384 days ago