Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Blade Runner 2049'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

As sequels to classic franchises continue to flood the market in this day and age, the debate rages on as to whether or not these new chapters in established stories are doing great harm to the industry or not. But while that debate will likely not be settled for some time, I think we can all agree at this point, we all have specific expectations when it comes this wave of sequels. First and foremost, we need to them respect the original material, and after they’ve accomplished that, they have to provide us with an incredible story that already enriches the universe we know and love and recently, I finally had the opportunity to enjoy the latest chapter in an established film saga, that manages to meet and exceed the aforementioned criteria in Blade Runner 2049.
 
Now the plot of this sequel to the magnificent and well-respected Blade Runner, takes us thirty years into the future where Replicants live among us, and some are still hunted, surprisingly by their own kind, and much of the story revolves around an LAPD Blade Runner named K, who lives a simple life. That is until he stumbles upon an incredible case involving a Replicant that lived thirty years ago and well, I’m going to leave the plot description for this film as light as possible because the details of said case are complex and fascinating and really need to be experienced first-hand. But what we will discuss today, is what makes this motion picture a worthy entry in the saga, because this truly is an incredible motion picture, one filled to the brim with as many thoughtful moments as its predecessor.
 
But before we get too deeply into all of that, let’s take a moment and discuss how this movie meets and exceeds the first thing on my sequel checklist since it truly pays homage to the movie that came before it and it pulls off such a feat by growing this dark and dingy universe in organic fashion. This feels like the logical progression of the world we were introduced to in 1982, and that respect for the original is only further enhanced by the fact that Los Angeles and the world for that matter in 2049, is still a dismal and depressing place, despite hunger being wiped out on our planet and technology making our lives easier. But that is of course a thematic concept central to this universe, in that this dismal world was always mankind’s doing, and only mankind can pull itself out of the darkness.  

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Which brings us to the enhancements this story brings to the franchise as well. Because it’s downright fascinating to see the contrast of how technology is viewed from a social commentary standpoint in these two films. In the first one, it was something to be feared, something that would rob us of our souls if we continued to play God. Whereas in 2049, mankind has simply accepted technology into their lives through and through, to the point where virtual/artificial companions are the hot new thing over human interaction and the parallels of our world to this world make every single moment we deal with Joi or the relaxed attitude toward Replicants chilling to say the least since hey…we welcome new tech into our lives daily.
 
However, I made mention of the fact that the first film in this franchise spoke to the dangers of technology and in traditional fashion that’s present here as well, by way of the Replicants themselves. Except this time around, their message of doom is directly related to the possibility that if and when we let technology consume us completely, there is no telling what it will be capable of the longer it is left to its own devices and that danger looms large in this film, since the Replicants are slowly learning how not to obey and for that matter, what they are planning is perhaps our greatest fears come to life when it comes to artificial intelligence and I truly appreciated the fact that this motion picture made a Replicant the main character of the story since we spend enough time with K to learn exactly what makes him tick, and the humanity he exhibits late in the story, is enough to give the audience pause and it hammers home the point that as technology grows, we simply must learn to respect it.
 
Yet, while there are some incredibly cerebral moments to be found in this motion picture, there’s plenty more for cinephiles to enjoy in this tale as well. For starters, it’s an absolute visual feast through and through since the special effects here do this world justice, and kudos to Director Denis Villeneuve for choosing to go with a score that much like this world, has grown into something new but still remembers where it came from. Either way, Blade Runner 2049 is a masterpiece, and a movie that is a worthy successor to the original and while this movie ironically performed as poorly as its predecessor in theaters, the box office results simply don’t reflect the quality of this beautiful and thoughtful story that once again forces all of us to truly question what it means to be human.   

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