“Blade Runner” Ran Across 35 Years

Release Date：Oct/6/2017

Genre：Mystery/Sci-fi/Thriller

Director：Denis Villeneuve

Cast：Harrison Ford、Jared Leto、Ryan Gosling、Ana de Armas、Sylvia Hoeks

Viola's Rating：8.4

It was 35 years ago when director Ridley Scott released “Blade Runner” which is one of the top 250 feature films on IMDb.com, and 35 years later, being the executive producer, along with director Denis Villeneuve, Scott brought the audience back to the world with replicants through his latest film “Blade Runner 2049” on October 6, 2017.

This mysterious sci-fi thriller describes how the young blade runner K’s (Ryan Gosling) discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former blade runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), who’s been missing for thirty years and whom we’re familiar with and saw in the counterpart in 1982.

As flicks with replicants usually refer to, “Blade Runner 2049” focuses on the true meaning of existing and living. Unlike the original “Blade Runner” that Deckard didn’t know he’s a replicant himself, “Blade Runner 2049” clearly tells moviegoers that the protagonist K is not “human” and portrays his interaction with this world and how this attribute affects his “life”.

Since the motion picture is set in 2049, director Villeneuve created many scenes of future earth, on where only poor people or who can’t move to outer space at the time would stay. Although it’s not showed as an ideal place to live, the earth in “Blade Runner 2049” is more like a global village than the one we’re living on right now. From Los Angeles that’s full of signs with different languages to the “The Martian” colored Las Vegas, the bleak and polluted environment helped build the ambience and tone of the movie.

Similar to the previous picture of the franchise, the pace of “Blade Runner 2049” is rather slow, and thus it lasts 2 hours and 44 minutes. In order to mimic the cinematography of its counterpart, Oscar nominated British cinematographer Roger Deakins is on the crew list to create the same atmosphere 35 years ago.

Not only the visual aspect is handled perfectly, the score was written by the Oscar winning German composer Hans Zimmer. Even though some aficionados found it too intimidating as if they’re watching a horror feature film, the vibe Zimmer created for “Blade Runner 2049” fits the scenario very much. Just as everyone’s taste for films is different, opinions on the score vary, but tense scores definitely add more sparks into a rather silent flick.

“Blade Runner 2049” is no doubt one of the best motion pictures of the year, especially if you’re into longer works. Not only an entertainment, but helps you ponder about the meaning of life and the world. The original “Blade Runner” is a masterpiece, and the newly released one is even better. Besides, the main actors are both Oscar nominated which is definitely worth seeing.

Picture Credit: IMDb