October 13, 2017 - News Post

I saw Blade Runner 2049 this week.
(A spoiler-free discussion)

I knew the original film was old, but I had no idea I missed 2047 sequels.
(I never said it would be a good discussion)

I truly enjoyed this movie. I thought it was better than the original.

To be honest, I was never madly in love with the first one. I have many friends who are obsessed with that movie. The 1982 movie was visually stunning, and I appreciate how mind-blowing it must be been at the time, but I found it to be somewhat slow and lacking in plot. For all the stunning visuals and amazing world-building, the story wasn't particularly riveting, and Harrison Ford's character was boring and unsympathetic.

I liked the original. I didn't love it.

Still, the world was fascinating, and I have fond memories of playing the 1997 Blade Runner video game.

So when I saw ads for 2049, I was moderately interested, but I didn't allow myself to get too excited. It looked like yet another cash grab sequel to an out of date creative property. I was so happy to be wrong.

The main thing that dragged me into the theater was the director's name on the project. Denis Villeneuve made Sicario and Arrival, two of my favorite movies in recent years. Those movies are dramatic, thought-provoking, and beautiful to look at. Blade Runner 2049 followed that trend.

To be fair, the 1982 movie did all the hard work of creating the world, but the new movie took everything great about the original, expanded upon it, and gave us a better story. The plot was compelling, the characters fascinating, and the visuals were stunning. I almost skipped this one, but I'm so glad I went to see this movie.

Now for a disclaimer:

I said I'm glad I went to “see” the movie, I didn't say anything about hearing it.

About an hour and a half in, the sound in our theater cut out. This happened during a scene with subtitles. At first everyone in the theater was okay with it, feeling as though the sound would come back a few seconds later. Then the scene ended, and the grumbling started. The sound stayed out for 15 minutes.

A theater employee reassured us that they would rewind the movie when the sound was restored. People got up and used the restroom, I started playing with my phone, but then the sound came back, and no rewind occurred.

At this point we were nearly 2 hours into the movie, and the plot carried on with or without sound. We made the choice to remain in the theater. About an hour later, during the climax of the movie, an employee came in offering to rewind. But by then, it was too late, the movie was ending.

The theater was kind enough to give us a refund (and I will likely have to re-watch the film to give you a full and accurate opinion), but from what I did see and hear, it was great.

Go see the movie. It's tanking at the box office, which I can only assume is because of my theater giving everyone their money back. Still, I want intriguing, clever, engaging, interesting films to do well. Don’t you? The world doesn't need another Transformers sequel.

Please go see this movie.

-Jeff