Movie Review: Blade Runner 2049
Blade Runner 2049 is a good but also frustrating film. In its best moments it really shines. In those moments the movie is not just a cheap cash grab nor is it trying to simply copy the original. In those moments the film is blazing its own trail. Replicant protagonist K is played with appropriate stoicism by Ryan Gosling. The film is basically a detective story. There are a number of great scenes. The cinematography is fantastic as is the sound design and music. The movie is just so artfully executed moment to moment. It’s also smart as the story plays with great ideas about artificial intelligence, identity, memory, and genetics.
And then in comes Harrison Ford to ruin everything. In comes Harrison Ford taking top billing in all the trailers and posters for about ten minutes of phoned in screen time looking like he didn’t even bother to get in costume. Even his action scenes seem cheap and forced, as if Ford himself insisted they be there to make him look tough. His contribution to the film is to make it overlong and convoluted. The story is so well paced for the first 90 minutes and then just goes down the drain by outgrowing its own carefully crafted frame. It’s a shame because the original was so good in part because the plot was so simple and small in scale. Blade Runner 2049 had the makings to surpass it.
Grade: B-
