I really, really loved how less was more with this movie. It felt so surreal to go to an almost 3-hour long feature where it felt like a more prudish writer/director/editor/studio could've cut at least 30 minutes of footage off of the movie, and yet so much here is instead left lingering, adding emphasis to subtle visual cues, cinematography and atmosphere. The fact that this was such a non-wordy movie and yet so long in spite of that added onto how much of an oddity the entire movie is, and I think that vague nuance is something Villenueve gets so right when it comes to following up BLade Runner. Among so many haphazardly written elements, so many cuts that change the entire movie, the original Blade Runner still managed to become a legendary piece of work, and this is a movie where it feels like the creators understood
exactly what it was about the original that worked, as they consciously built everything around that. On those terms, I wouldn't hesitate to say this is a
much better movie than the first once you can get over the initial movie's legacy. I really do think "Godfather 2" is a wholly apt comparison here, mostly on the case that while some people will point at the original movie and say that one had the more "iconic" moments, the sequel could arguably be considered a much more effective, better piece of film making.
I really enjoyed the way the movie nailed how Deckard is incredibly pathetic as far as being an anti-hero goes. It takes all the questionable traits about him from the previous movies - particularly the tenuous relationship with Rachael - and puts them on display. Ryan Gosling as K is an inspired casting choice, I remember saying a year ago that he's the kind of actor who would perfectly be able to blur the line between human and replicant (in the case of the movie wanting to open up that bag of worms again), so I wasn't too surprised when it was almost immediately confirmed that he was the latter. His relationship with Joi is fantastic since it's equal parts charming and uncomfortable. I just really love how it's a movie that doesn't pretend to have all the answers, rather gives the audience something to think about, while still being able to round out some character stories in a satisfying way. Another "twist" I really loved was how Joshi actually looked out for K's best interest despite setting her up as being a hard-ass who was motivated to keep the Replicants/Humans divided. In spite of it's narrative, Blade Runner is at it's best when it's character driven. It gives just a smaller taste of what's beyond the scope of the original movie, but still keeps it modest.
In just about every way I think I'd be more eager to rewatch 2049 than the original. It's really damn good. Also I can't be the only one who thought Ryan Gosling was evoking his hardest Drive-impression by the time the final scenes rolled around. Like, literally, it felt like they looked at Drive for reference when they decided to figure out how to handle the finale lol.
What happened with Deckard/Rachael Clone/Wallace scene with the gun shot?
I got distracted by a lady walking in and sitting down next to me and I asked her what showing she was expecting and she was actually wanting to go in to the 3d one, I was in the 2d!
She obviously left and went to the right one, but I didn't see what happened
I also scared the shit out of her as I tapped her shoulder when the gunshot went off....oops
We laughed about it though.
Someone walked into the movie that late?
Deckard points out how they got the clone wrong (Rachael is supposed to have green eyes) and since it isn't perfect, Luv kills it.