Blade Runner 2049 is a sequel to the 1982 hit flick under the same title, which redefined the sci-fi ‘neo-noir science fiction’ genre. But the comparison ends there as the sequel refrains from taking a leaf from the original title. Yet it’s a deep, dark and mesmerising ode to the original movie.
At the beginning, the movie establishes the definition of a blade runner as the one who ‘retires’ old replicants; he himself is a manufactured and programmed individual.
Ryan Gosling as Officer K together with the hallmark direction of Denis Villeneuve takes the audience fast forward to the chaotic world of Los Angeles in 2049 where it rains acid. There are large buildings that boast holographic AIs that seductively and submissively promise to be everything their masters want to hear/see. Worms and maggots are farmed for ‘protein’.
The opening scenes from the 2017 remake are replete with hues such as grey, duns and browns. Needless to say, the universe inside Blade Runner 2049 is a realm of far-flung dystopia, permeated by what you could call ‘techtopia’ because each character is only but manufactured and the little of what memory he/she retains has been instilled in them by someone else.
However, the movie, unwinding in a slow pace (so much so that the audience is fidgety), takes a swerve when Officer K, during one of his missions of ‘retirement’ unearths a trunk full of fossils and upon close examination, the fossils reveal what could topple their world. They begin questioning. The female AI’s death was apparently due to a complication during delivery but technically, it’s impossible for an AI to mate and to repopulate.
Then, it is the boss of Officer K, Lieutenant Joshi (Robin Wright) who takes it as an omen, a threat precisely to the orders of the civil society and summons Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) the ‘Blade Runner’ of the prequel. Dechard finds himself engrossed in a series of harrowing events and the swarming AIs. Also enters Neander Wallace (Jared Leto), the evil, blind trillionaire who smells business in the idea of repopulating replicants who could ultimately substitute the humans.
The movie reaches its climax with a showdown between the protectors (Lt. Joshi and Officer K) and the colonisers (Wallace) and his secretary Luv (Sylvia Hoeks).
Beyond the seemingly coherent story line and the grandeur of cinematography, only a keen eye can catch the metaphor and philosophy behind it. The movie may also claim to have a feminist message, throwing in ass-kicking ladies who are capable of love, lust and vengeance.
Yes, there is no denying that the glass-ceiling has been broken in the movie as it places women in higher positions. But what really happens in the story is something else. Female AIs are manufactured to quell a man’s needs and not vice versa.
Through Officer K’s relationship with his boss, the holographic wife and most importantly, himself, the movie says a lot about humans, their inevitable stream of emotions and the way we channel them. The writers of the movie, Hampton Fancher and Micheal Green, have created a plastic body, but given it a real, pulsating heart that beats with every possible human emotion.
The main downside of the movie is that the momentum kicks in only an hour or less to the end of the movie. The background score is more or less the loud buzzing of a hornet, which is pretty jarring.
Also, the movie’s attempt to breathe in emotions and its multifarious aspects are all crammed into a single narration. This is quite complicated and the audience may find it hard to follow along. Other than that you are left wondering: What happens to Harrison Ford’s dog?
And, for that, you will have to watch the movie.
Movie: Blade Runner 2049
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Actors: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Robin Wright, Jared Leto, Sylvia Hoeks
Screenings: QFX Cinemas
