Monday, April 29, 2019

1066. Blade Runner 2049

Blade Runner 2049
2017
Directed by Denis Villeneuve








I am at the mercy of my Amazon Subscriptions, as I am picking out what movies to watch based on what's available for free. This would definitely not have been a top pick for me. Personally, I like my science fiction to come with a little humor, Douglas Adams- or C3P0 -style, otherwise I find it rather dull. Now I fully recognize that this is simply a matter of taste, and I resolved to be as objective as possible with this film. But sweet Jesus, it was 164 minutes.

Ryan Gosling plays K, a replicant tasked with "retiring" older models. He discovers a box on one of his missions that contains the remains of a replicant who died during a c section, thus proving that replicants can reproduce. K is ordered to kill the child to hide the truth. K also has a special sweetheart, a la the movie Her. A movie I haven't seen yet, but imagine is quite superior to this.

I will spare you my unabridged rant on the endless remakes and reboots that Hollywood is hellbent on pursuing, but suffice to say, I saw no real reason for this story. I suppose the effects are better, but just like the original Blade Runner, it was a total snoozefest, with boring, handsome actors looking grim for hours. I would guess the running time is exceptionally long because every character takes a dramatic pause before they speak. I suppose this is a way of giving weight to dialogue that is supposed to be mindblowing but is actually rather mundane.

Just totally unnecessary. Harrison, man. Have a some self respect. You're not a mascot.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Because his character was blind, Jared Leto wore opaque contact lenses. So I guess he is pretty bad at acting then? God, that guy is obnoxious.

A much longer take of the Pale Fire scene was filmed, where Gosling read out loud an eight minute staccato dialogue, but it was cut. Oh thank Zeus.


3 comments:

  1. Yes. Bad, boring, grim, just NO.

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  2. Hi Amanda.. This could be something that bonds us.. Yes, this was a tedious leaden lump of a film .. or divide us as I like the original.

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  3. I actually liked this one. But then, I am also a huge fan of the original Bladerunner. I only have two complaints: that super annoying need in Hollywood to make sequels of anything and that I watched it on a tiny screen on a plane. Not the right place. There is a lot of ambiguity, which it has in common with the original.

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