By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

The biggest buzz in science fiction is the two minute, 30 second Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer that was revealed Monday night. Within hours, viral videos were created, in which detailed frame-by-frame analysis was provided by Star Wars fanatics. Clocking in at nearly three hours, Blade Runner 2049 has created less buzz in the social media.

Released 35 years ago during the summer of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn and Tron, Blade Runner was released to glowing reviews with a tepid box office. Through VHS and various re-releases and director’s cuts, Blade Runner grew into a cult phenomena, in which much attention was given to every nuance and cinematic detail. 

With the release of Blade Runner 2049, history is repeating itself. The new film opened to good, but not great, box office. According to Rotten Tomatoes.com, urban elitist critics rated Blade Runner 2049 better than the ticket buying public. The new film is not likely to make back its production costs during the first run, but Blade Runner 2049 is likely to be a science fiction, cult film for the next 35 years.

The film takes place 35 years after the events of the first film (a deliberate parallel with reality). The environment is still a mess. There was a massive electrical blackout and rogue replicants (cyborg slave labor) are still being terminated by blade runners. The film opens with K (Ryan Gosling) terminating Sapper Morton (Dave Bautista), who claims he witnessed a miracle.

With the help of his superior officer Joshi (Robin Wright), K investigates this “miracle,” which involves carbon life from a cybernetic organism. Through many detours, K’s investigation leads to Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a retired blade runner in exile. 

Harrison Ford’s character does not arrive until the final one third of Blade Runner 2049, which may have strained the patience of the cultists who want answers to the questions that were raised by the first movie. Instead, more ambiguity is served which seems to be the major theme of the Blade Runner movies.

With echoes of a Stanley Kubrick movie, Blade Runner 2049 is too long for its own good. Taking away the Harrison Ford subplot, the detours that blade runner K goes on are interesting and raise questions about individuality, relationships and the meaning of life. Blade Runner 2049 is a film to ponder.