Blade Runner 2049 ( SPOILERS ! )
interpolator
Not gaming related.
Just saw this in the cinema, I was a big fan of the first one and loved this one. Have you seen it? What did you think?
I thought the cinematography in this film was outstanding, worth watching for that alone IMO, soundtrack and effects too, a cyberpunk fan's wet dream.
Just saw this in the cinema, I was a big fan of the first one and loved this one. Have you seen it? What did you think?
I thought the cinematography in this film was outstanding, worth watching for that alone IMO, soundtrack and effects too, a cyberpunk fan's wet dream.
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also there's this real pet peeve with films in which beloved character X from the previous movie makes an appearance, usually to cash in on some actor's pull. star trek for me leads the lameness charts for doing that. always makes me think of the film as a product, streamlined and engineered for maximum asses-to-seats-yield. harrison ford is a repeat offender!
But I'm still really pumped about this movie. I'm a massive cyber punk fan, and I have high expectations for this movie.
There's no way it will be as influential or iconic, but this is one of the best sequels ever made, I think Denis Villeneuve really pulled off a miracle.
I think any fans of the original, or fans of cinema, sci-fi, or great visuals in general owe it to themselves to see it on the big screen. I ope I have a chance to see it a second time before it's out of theaters.
Just because the movie is showing it, doesn't mean its agreeing with it.
But what do i know, I haven't seen it yet.
Anyway, this film was dope as fuck. I want to see it again already.
Misogyny wise, I don't follow any debate about it, but when it comes to its mature themes it doesn't shy away and I think it deals with them in a mature way. I don't think that the sexualised women in the film were glorified by the film, by that I mean I don't think the creators intended for people to think that this is the way the world should be. It's a world full of pain and negativity, so it resorts to gross over-indulgence in a true noir fashion... Women, alcohol and cigarettes.
Moving on, the visual cues drawing from the original were great. Unfortunately, I did really miss the big flame pyres from the first one, and this latest one felt even more congested, but that's to be expected since a few years have passed. The cold neon lights in the rainy streets, Vs the warm muddy hues of the Wallace corporation were a direct mirror of the first film.
This is the only cult-classic sequel I've heard of, that has critics and viewers loving it. Most of the time it's "they shouldn't have touched it!", But I am so glad they did. This is truly a great sequel to blade runner.
And I'm going back to the damn cinema, going to begrudgingly buy more popcorn and cola and will unashamedly enjoy this film again.
(Not a slathering fanboy but the original is one of my all time favorite movies)
Also it's good to see a proper sequel with some thought process behind and not just trying to cash in on the first of the series.
Everytime those spinners were on screen, just a sonic "BWAAAAAMMMMM."
Sublime movie.
I think Blade Runner is either a love it or bored to tears type of movie with little in between. I really didn't like the first one and that held true for the sequel. Visually they both are outstanding movies, but the movie itself for me personally is a slow burn. That seems to be the big split if people like it or not is if this style of glacially paced movie is for you. I really want to like these 2 movies, but I just can't get into them. Maybe on my next flight I'll try again where there is little else going on and I can really focus on the story.
The overwhelming US audience is male and over 25, so they missed the bigger demographic there.
In the movie, Deckard is a replicant and Roy Baty is a replicant. Both show empathy. Replicants have empathy...ok. We don't learn anything about what separates a human from a replicant. In the book, Deckard is human and we read about his growing to empathize with the androids.
It's nice (and a bit exhausting) to see the new one to be also slower then the usual movie.
But I'm now a big fan of both!
Even though I have to say I would love to see more battle sequences as they're quite cool in the new one (even as there aren't many)
I guess this cyborg-body-is-superior and future-tech-is-freaky mood 'ghost in the shell' (the anime) showcases could be expanded a bit more.
Also I really would love to see more about the technology of the cyborgs. Beside the fact that they can "print" atomic numbers on every piece they produce there is not much info what they are, how they work, what they need to survive (do they need to eat?) and what does kill them (they do breath!?)
Edit: If you haven't you should defenitely whatch the 3 official short films before watching the movie
The budget was "only" 150 million, so they'll probably be profitable after the international box office is calculated, plus then DVD/streaming sales. I hope so anyway.
In a lot of ways, its sort of mirroring what happened with the original. It released, flopped at the box office, then over the next 10 years, people realized it was brilliant.
Are they cyborgs? I thought they were just like GMO humans, genetically engineered but organic. They don't seem to explain it much. In one scene that woman comes out of the bag and is 'born' fully matured, but then there's talk about them giving birth.
They are just super-human slaves, made for particular tasks(and in the original, they only live for 4 years). Combat, sex-slavery, domestic servants, police, mining, etc. Because they have a tendency to go violently nuts, in the first film, they are illegal on Earth.
also inb4 someone makes a straight-to-video prequel to 2049 and messes the whole thing up.
I need to watch it again, they did some sneaky things with Joi throughout the whole film, but I don't want to start up with spoilers here. She was an amazing mirror to the whole story.
If you haven't read it yet, I love this write up on Joi, spoilers for those who haven't seen it yet.
Also spoiler: at the end why cant wallace just track officer k down on gps or track the vehicle that sank in the sea and retrieve its data or use surveillance to see them going into the memory making business etc...it seems like a guy like Wallace would have access to these things. We see them track down K via a computer in the police station earlier in the film and everything seems to be being watched and recorded and Wallace owns that memory business so it makes sense he would be watching it. Just seemed like a sad ending in so many ways because I dont see how this could ever end well in the next hour that we dont get to see when the credits roll.
So anyway, I don't think it's a given that Wallace would be able to track them. I'm sure he could send someone out to do some detective work and figure stuff out, but I don't think he would be right on their heels. He didn't even know what Luv was doing most of the time.[/spoiler]
Review: 4.3/5 - A great movie all told and gorgeous visuals. Story was ok, nothing ground breaking. Acting was great as well. The movie could have been about 45mins shorter though. Long pauses and looking into the distance felt like padding and served no purpose. The soundtrack was a let down. Long ambient drones are my bag, but they just didn't seem to fit with the visuals in parts and just felt too stark. I'm not just being nostalgic, I love Zimmer's work... But then Vangelis' OST is absolute perfection...
The original for me is just perfect when it comes to audio and visuals working together. The new one just doesn't quite have the same balance beautiful visuals but lacks the audio part.
Still loved it though.
[spoiler]I didn't think about it at the end because I thought it ended well but my wife got the impression there will be another movie because Wallace is still alive and the bad guys need to be killed for a movie to end right?... I dunno but I do like the idea that we might see more.[/spoiler]
The new one (this link keeps getting pulled down I think so not sure how long it'll last.)
And this is the 2002 Esper Edition of the original. The most "movie accurate" version available.
https://kotaku.com/the-art-of-blade-runner-2049-1819757867
I'll be getting the art book for sure.
Roger Deakins, the DP, has answered numerous questions on lighting setup, format, grading, and other cinematography-related things on his personal forum, but there's supposed to be a larger selection of information in December's American Cinematographer magazine if you're into that.
Artbook sounds great!
Soundtrack - didn't like the repetitive whooms and booms. It seems Zimmer took many cues from Johansson and Villeneuve's earlier work. It's not something I could listen to all by itself at work. Probably my least favorite part of the movie.
The other thing that annoyed me were the replicant leader and her followers - this just cries for a Michael Bay-esque action laden sequel that will hopefully never ever get made. I loved the much more open ending of the final cut - that gave you something to think about.
The soundtrack was decent but there are only a few tracks that I keep coming back to. Like 'Sea Wall'
Also, I was a bit confused on why Wallace would want replicants to be able procreate. Wouldn't this botch his business? Sure he could choose which replicants have the ability, but I feel like it would be impossible to completely control. Then there's the effect that would have on other replicants' emotional stability...
Did the daughter implant her memories in each of the rebels, as a way to organize them? Was K the only one to get her horse memory? Or did they each get the same, and he was the only one to be in the right place to actually find the horse?
Lots of nice touches in this movie. Loved how the Luv's ending moments echoed how she lived at full intensity.