Saw Blade Runner 2049 a few days ago, and had a slow experience to realize that I kind of am in love with this movie... so like the first one, again?
It is a very somber and lyrical film that takes its time and rewards attention and minimalist storytelling despite being a plot-driven 2.5 hour epic. This is a bit at odds with itself, but it is also glorious. A giant immersive experience unbeholden by the desire to just slavishly offer fan service like other recent legacy sequels (turns a side-eye to Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and others), nor is it exactly a purely standalone experience. It builds off what came before for a dense, rich experience that days later I am mulling over there aspects I didn't notice while leaving the theater.
I do not think it is a masterpiece. I do agree it could have been trimmed some (but not the Joi subplot that some detractors point to, those scenes were magic), and I was a bit disappointed with the score. When it was just mimicking Vangelis, it was beautiful, when it was Zimmer's recent obsession with tonal sound walls, it was mostly there.
But overall, it is a great film that I think like the original will develop a devoted audience for decades to come. That ending, where the stakes were both so small and intimate yet so profound with the water coming in, and the way Deakins lit the brightness from the downed spinner vs. the blackness of encroaching death/night? Wow.
The fact that it underperformed is just another reminder that this is why we can't have nice things, at least not this nice on this big a budget. Unless it is made by Christopher Nolan nowadays, audiences expect expensive movies to be unchallenging. Unfortunately that also means you will not get something as rewarding again for a while like Blade Runner 2049 from an intended blockbuster.
