Firstly, the film is visually stunning. The special effects are breath-taking and there is so much detail involved, despite there being so much development in CGI technology it’s still hard to believe just how immersive and real it is in this film. However, looks aren’t the only thing that count here. One of the most important things that made the first film become so well-loved was the philosophical questions it posed, and ‘Blade Runner 2049’ does just the same. It approaches themes of identity and slavery in a way that isn’t meant to be comforting. There’s so many scenes in this that are so incredibly sad, and they’re done in such a well-crafted way that it doesn’t feel overdone. This can be put own to both the amazing writing and performances; everyone gets their time to shine, even Jared Leto’s character Niander Wallace despite not being in the film much. He might not get as much screen time as everyone else, but in what time he does have will still manage to make your skin crawl.
This film is unusual as it can be considered a blockbuster in the sense that it had a huge budget along with an A-List cast, but it gives the impression that the creative forces behind it had a lot more artistic freedom than you would expect from any other blockbuster; it’s drawn out and isn’t all about the spectacle of the action, but the depth of the characters and ideas and themes conveyed in the film. Furthermore, the length of the film doesn’t hold it back – not once did I think that I wanted it to end or that it was going on too long. The pacing was perfect and the characters, unique settings and the mystery in the story were enough to keep it interesting. ‘Blade Runner 2049’ is good on every level I can think of, and is actually really difficult to criticise (not that I’m complaining). Denis Villeneuve has once again proven that he is an incredible director, and in 50 years’ time I’m certain he’ll be one of the greats that will be talked about in film schools.