MAMEWorld Forums - The Loony Bin - Blade Runner 2049 (no spoilers)

Just got back from seeing Blade Runner 2049. It's a must-see, and a damn fine movie.

I don't want to get into the plot (it's enthralling), or the characters (beautifully acted), or even anything about the story at all (solid). Just on a technical/production level.

One thing that so many sequels get wrong is that they spend practically half of the movie going back over the events of the first movie and otherwise trying to fill in first-time viewers. On top of that, many sequels put in way too much effort to keep putting in little winks towards the audience in the form of references to the first movie, as if to say, "Hey! Yeah! There was this first movie! Yeah! You remember the first movie? Hey! Remember what this is a sequel to? Oh yeah, remember that this happened?"

There's none of that garbage in Blade Runner 2049. It's a movie where you essentially must have seen Blade Runner first, because it spends next to no time re-treading old ground, it takes for granted (in a good way) that you've already seen Blade Runner, as a sequel should. The few direct references to the first movie are both relevant to the plot and done tastefully.

When I first saw the trailer I was concerned that it was going to go in a far more action-oriented direction, and I'm pleased to know that my concern was unfounded. It was most likely just a bad day at the video editing station for the person who made the trailer, or it was made by some random marketing person with no real connection to the series. On the contrary, the movie has plentiful moments with zero dialogue, letting you feast your eyes and ears on shots of apocalyptically beautiful future-noir cityscapes and a phenomenal soundtrack. It honors its predecessor in every way.

Overall, it's pretty clear that the writer of the movie was someone who truly loved the first one, Ridley Scott was allowed to do what he does best, and in general it seems like there was little to no meddlesome interference from studio executives trying to get a credit on the movie.

Go see it. I saw it tonight with a group of friends at this one theater in downtown Stockholm that has a balcony. It's great, the chairs are plush and comfortable, everyone gets two armrests, and there's even a bar just outside the theater itself where you can order cocktails, beer and stuff. The balcony tickets cost a bit more, but are so worth it.