Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Blade Runner 2049 (2017) – D. Villeneuve

Capturing the feel and appeal of the original 1982 film (or perhaps the later “Final Cut”), this is one sequel that does not disappoint.  Ryan Gosling is suitably cool and affectless as the heir to Harrison Ford’s Deckard (evoking detectives of bygone eras, but notably Delon's hitman in Melville’s Le Samourai, 1967). He is a new version of the replicant, now built by Jared Leto’s Wallace Corporation, a model designed not to lie or to resist orders (supposedly).  His territory is the same desolate Los Angeles that we saw in the earlier film, perhaps a bit more burnt out, but with the same enormous animated neon signs and the logos for alternate reality corporations (such as Atari or the CCCP).  At home, he has his own A. I. girlfriend (Ana de Armas) who has no corporeal form but seems to have an independent consciousness.  As before, the film foregrounds the struggle with identity (are they real or not real?) felt by both Gosling’s “K” (later Joe, but not Josef) and de Armas’ Joi.  K recalls memories but feels that they are only implants -- until a politically charged case starts him questioning.  The plot slowly starts to come together with a few surprising moments of revelation that I won’t spoil but director Denis Villeneuve (and cinematographer Roger Deakins) takes more pleasure in evoking the ethos of Blade Runner slowly and carefully rather than putting flesh on the bare bones plot (co-written by original screenwriter Hampton Fancher, extending Philip K. Dick’s source).  Still, the themes are there for contemplating, if you like.  Seeing this in the theatre, with its massively boosted electronic score and noticeable surround sound effects, likely produced a more visceral impact on me than the home viewer would receive.  The occasional fight sequences, particularly with the chief replicant villain played by Sylvia Hoeks, also break the otherwise moody atmosphere.  In the end, what we have here is a carefully constructed evocation of the earlier film that manages not to screw it up and which uses the latest in filmmaking techniques to add value to the presentation; highly enjoyable, but let’s hope the franchise ends here.