‘Blade Runner 2049’ is a Hypnotic Meditation on What it Means to be Human
It’s such a rare wonderful thing when any film lives up to an iconic predecessor. Even more so when that film happens to be one of the best and most influential films of all times. Blade Runner 2049 is that rare wonderful thing.
I had high hopes for Blade Runner 2049. The original 1982 movie Blade Runner is my all-time favorite film.
What director Denis Villeneuve did with Blade Runner 2049 is create a film that doesn’t just follow-through with the world and story of the original, but actually deepens the mythology, the themes, and the beauty, while still being an original offering and a showcase of the director’s own unique vision.
At nearly three hours, Blade Runner 2049 is a hypnotic film, that blends symbolism, sparse dialogue, stunning shots, an intricate plot, heavy concepts, and masterful sound design into a powerful experience.
Blade Runner 2049 is a story set in a divergent future Los Angeles where officer K “retires” synthetic androids named replicants. At the beginning of the film he discovers an old crate that contains artifacts that his boss, Lieutenant Joshi, is convinced will shatter the delicate balance of the world. It’s his mission to make sure that no one ever discovers the secrets contained in that crate.
The Director
Denis Villeneuve, who has built an impressive resume of films over the past few years, including Enemy, Prisoners, Sicario, and Arrival, was the perfect choice to direct Blade Runner 2049 (and the upcoming Dune revival). He’s demonstrated his ability to give us symbolism and ethereal storytelling before, but it’s on full display here.
Villeneuve's shot selection, his artfully crafted sound design, and his ability to make you believe you’re inside one character’s head is integral to making this film work. Very few directors could have made this film. Even Ridley Scott was afraid to approach this world again. Only an auteur could have been so successful.
The Writers
The director had some serious help though. One of the key elements to doing this right was nailing the story. The writer of 1982’s Blade Runner screenplay, Hampton Fancher returns to write the story and the first draft of this script. He was joined by Michael Green (Alien: Covenant, Logan) who was brought in to tweak the script to play to Villenueve’s own strengths, versus Ridley Scott, who was originally slated to direct.
Fancher, who turned the fascinating ideas of Phillip K. Dick’s book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep into a superior story for Blade Runner, was the perfect choice — the only choice, to do this story. He understands this world and this style of movie so well, and gave us a seamless continuation of the tale.
Cinematography
Roger Deakins, won an Oscar for this film’s cinematography and rightly so.
It’s hard to think of a film with such a broad and lovingly-forged palette of light and colors onscreen. Blade Runner 2049 might be the most beautifully shot film of all time. I’m not being overly dramatic, or trying to start a fight here. It’s just that damn good.
You could literally turn off the sound and just enjoy how gorgeous this film is, but if you did, you’d miss another key element of its success.
Soundtrack and Sound Design
Benjamin Wallfisch (Dunkirk, It) and the venerable Hans Zimmer (Dunkirk, Intersteller, Inception, The Dark Knight, etc. etc. etc.) play homage to the brilliant and haunting Vangelis soundtrack of Blade Runner, but also expand and minimize their output to fully comport with Denis Villeneuve's style.
If you pay attention to Villeneuve's movies you see a recurring pattern of using sound as another integral part of storytelling. In Blade Runner 2049 there’s music, and then there’s booming, sometimes arresting, sound that permeates the thick fog in the film.
Some moments are deafeningly quiet where you can only hear the deep breathing of officer K in a tense moment. Other moments are swathed in the cacophony of a busy street.
You would be rewarded by just listening to this film with no picture.
The Cast
This is a cast with everyone, including the smaller players, are giving everything to solidify their moment. But this is clearly a film that lives and dies by the performance of Ryan Gosling.
Gosling’s officer K is a dichotomy, in that he is supposed to be even-keeled at all times (they call him Constant K), but beneath the surface he longs to love, is a tortured soul and is in way over his head. Ryan Gosling manages to bring all of those nuances to his character, in a compelling and genuine way.
Ana de Armas, who plays Joi, is a hologram girlfriend who desperately wants to be real, and the unfiltered love and curiosity she brings to her part is the perfect foil to Gosling’s tight-jawed delivery. She’s wonderful.
On the other end of the spectrum is Sylvia Hoeks, whose replicant antagonist Luv is manipulative, scheming, menacing, and arrogant, while still being sympathetic at times. I also think her reactions to certain situations are incredibly profound.
Almost everyone is great here, including Dave Bautista, Robin Wright, and Mackenzie Davis. Jared Leto, less so, but his contributions can be forgiven due to the nature of his role.
But guess who gives the performance of his career? None other than the original Blade Runner Harrison Ford. He’s never been this good, this nuanced, and this real. He’s always been incredibly charismatic. We’ve loved Harrison Ford because he’s got the ability to give us that cocky smile like no one else. This time out, his performance is broad and gifted. Much of the most important parts of this film would not work without Ford’s portrayal of Rick Deckard.
The Themes and Symbolism
Blade Runner 2049 wants you to pay attention. If you’re not paying attention then you’re going to be missing a lot. I’m not going to tell you how to watch a film, but if you’re the type of person that likes to solve a film like you would solve Hellraiser’s Lamenting Cube, then you’re in for a treat.
I’ve seen the film twice already, and I’ve spent entirely too much time picking apart what I’ve noticed so far. I feel like I will gladly spend the rest of my life pondering on Blade Runner 2049.
I don’t want to solve all of this for you, and I don’t want to give away too much. I just want to point you in a few directions and let you help me to figure it all out.
One recurring theme that is omnipresent is slavery and freedom. We see it in officer K, and Joi, who both struggle with their roles and being dehumanized.
We see that Luv has freedom where Joi does not (love and joy).
The tone that plays every time that Joi is activated is from Peter and the Wolf, a symphonic play about breaking the rules.
Rick Deckard’s first lines are from Treasure Island and were spoken by a character who has been marooned for three years, and ended up having the treasure in his cave.
The baseline for officer K (a sort of android check-up, to see if he’s operating correctly) is poetry from the book Pale Fire by Nabokov, a book that K has in his living room. The phrase is part of a poem within the novel,
Cells interlinked within cells interlinked Within one stem. And dreadfully distinct Against the dark, a tall white fountain played.
Officer K is meant to be thinking on the themes of that book, and how his life mirrors that of the book’s character John Shade.
Niander Wallace is convinced that he’s a new God who creates angels, and he doesn’t hide his Biblical references. But he’s not alone. Sapper Morton speaks of a “miracle” and it’s highly suggested that K is a chosen child.
Almost every character in this film is trying to define or redefine what it is to be human.
I could go on. There’s much more, and really I’ve only started looking.
Final Thoughts
Speaking practically, if you haven’t seen the original Blade Runner, you don’t like films that are gently-paced, or long, or weird, or science fiction, then this is not the film for you. That’s okay. There are plenty of other films out there for you.
But if you like to be challenged. If you like to be dazzled. If you like films that are intelligent, and stunning, and poignant, and experimental, and fucking amazing, then this is it.
Blade Runner 2049 lives up to its classic predecessor and in some ways exceed it (in some ways it doesn’t).
It’s one of my favorite films ever.
Hello, my name is Dirk Hooper. I have a deep passion for writing that has led me to win a few awards. I’ve had work published at Huffington Post, Slate Magazine, Business Insider, Quartz, The Sporting News, and much more.
In addition to writing, I’m a professional photographer and artist, a consultant for adult marketing and branding, and an audio talent.
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