The Resurrections of "Blade Runner"

Returning to the world of Ridley Scott's 1982 science-fiction noir "Blade Runner" was a tall order, not only because the film is so highly regarded by its fans, but because it remains such a niche classic, only really beloved by the cinema geeks. Denis Villeneuve not only had to live up to the lofty technical and aesthetic triumphs of the original, but to make it accessible to a wider audience. The "TRON" sequel from a few years back was faced with a similar challenge and stumbled. "Blade Runner 2049" fares better, but only up to a point.

Decades after the events of the original "Blade Runner," the bioengineered humans called "replicants" are still being made, but have been redesigned to be more compliant. Still, a few of the older models are still being chased down by a "blade runner," a replicant named K (Ryan Gosling), who works with the LAPD. After one assignment, K discovers the remains of a replicant who has given birth, something which should be impossible. He is charged by his superior, Lt. Joshi (Robin Wright), with finding and destroying the child. Meanwhile, sinister replicant creator Niander Wallace (Jared Leto) sends out his own replicant agent, Luv (Sylvia Hoeks), to locate the child for his own purposes.

Most of the major characters in the story aren't human beings, and tend to behave terribly stoically, though there are indications that they have wants and hopes similar to humans. Perhaps the most expressive character is Joi (Ana de Armas), K's hologram girlfriend, who is eager to provide all types of affection despite not having a physical form. However, we spend the bulk of our time with K on his investigation, slowly exploring the fascinating dystopia where "Blade Runner" takes place. Though Ryan Gosling is very good in the role, K is simply not a particularly charismatic character, and the narrative is so slow-paced, that it takes a long while to set up the stakes and build up any real momentum.

The main pleasures of the film, then, are in observing the film's worldbuilding. With cinematography by Roger Deakins, "Blade Runner 2049" is full of absolutely astounding visuals. The visions of the murky, urban Los Angeles futurescape are reimagined and expanded on, and we get to visit drastically changed versions of San Diego as a vast garbage dump and Las Vegas as a desert wasteland too. There are also several beautifully conceived and executed set-pieces that show off the film's effects work. One involves a woman whose job it is to design replicant memories. Another involves a love scene with holographic Joi superimposed on top of a flesh and blood woman. Yet another involves a fight scene that takes place in the midst of a malfunctioning holographic stage show.

The film's best trick, however, is resurrecting a character from the 1982 "Blade Runner" in a manner that "TRON Legacy" attempted, but didn't quite get right. It's a feat that viewers of the original film will best appreciate, though, which I suspect may hold true for nearly everything about "Blade Runner 2049." Denis Villeneuve has done a marvelous job of bringing the "Blade Runner" universe back to life, and tackling many of the same themes and ideas from the first film in new and interesting ways. However, I'm not so convinced that it stands on its own as a separate entity. Narratively, it feels like a connector piece, at its best when it's either directly evoking the past or hinting at possible sequels. I never thought I'd be comparing the structure to "Inherent Vice," or all things, but in the end, so much is similarly left unresolved, unanswered, and unremarked upon.

And yet, I really do love many things in the film - Ryan Gosling and Sylvia Hoeks' performances, the design of Wallace's offices, and the impossible, unforgettable landscape shots of a crumbling future civilization. There's nothing here to equal Roy Batty in the rain, but there's no shortage of memorable ideas and surprising risks taken. The respect and admiration that the filmmakers clearly had for the original film is apparent in every single frame. I was skeptical about a "Blade Runner" sequel, but while I have my reservations, this is a far, far better result than I was expecting.


---