Well I've been And for anyone interested in my humble opinion, and who isn't averse to some spoilers if you havent seen it yet, here it goes (or some of it as least, I'll save you the full extent!!)........
Firstly, trailers didn't let me down and fulfilled a lot of their promise, hurrah! Whilst the sound and visuals were a little lacking from the original (Vangelis"esque"; less intriguingly seedy urbanscapes...) they did a good enough job of taking me back in the BR world. And, whilst I felt it was more of a film that attached itself to its genesis, rather than extended it (despite hard working plot lines to do so) it was, I reckon, a topnotch scifi in its own right, and a pretty fair attempt at a sequel for a iconic stand alone original. I enjoyed the pace and the tone a lot.
Pluses include:
Robin Wright - absolutely superb character in Lieutenant Joshi, excellently played by Wright! Some overtones of Zhora from BR1. Gritty, pragmatic, a genuine part of the cynical, Bladerunner underworld.
Ryan Gosling - really well cast. My favourite moment of the film is when K finally loses his shit when he meets the memory maker. At moments he looked incredibly like young Dekkard. But at the same time always retained his next gen character for himself. I really struggled with his "relationship" with AI Joi, which (to me) felt insipid and was overlaid with so many throwbacks to "1950s housewife / perfect companion for husband". As her "character" was only ever trained algorithms, it only ever felt like he was in relationship with himself (treating the other/lesser as he would wish to be treated himself by others/superiors to him, or so a friend argued). The dynamic between himself and Mariette was sparkier, with more potential for conflict, so more "real". And, of course, the issue of what is "real" is significant to the film.
Which was another plus. A little overworked, but the degrees of "realness" (human/old replicant/new replicant / AI) and the conflation of reality, hope, dream, memory, fantasy did get extended thematically from the original. The scene in which Wallace confronts Dekkard with "Rachel" was flawed by Wallace (who was, with rather heavy handed irony, the 'least human' looking and least humane character, even though one of the few confirmed humans in the film). But Harrison Ford played it beautifully, and the question posed - what if he had always been programmed to connect with Rachel?- rippled really validly for me into questions about how far any human can trust our perception, memory, beliefs, and free will. How far have our genes predicted choices we make long before we make them?
ANyway, lots of other good stuff I enjoyed.
BUT! BUT BUT BUT! I have a major issue with this film. Maybe it's Denis Villeneuve I have the issue with? And the issue is that, with the exception of Wright's character, practically every female character in the film was totally over-sexualised and appeared to be part of creating a never ending array of female sexual fantasy figures. From the superimposing of Joi onto Mariette, to the 100ft nude hologram, the Vegas statuettes, the Amazonian Luv, the dreamy incarcerated memory maker, the list just went on and on. And was particularly evident in contrast to the total lack of sexualisation in any male character.
I get it that the human proclivity for fantasy is integral to the film (the replicant rebellion comment on how they all fantasise about being "the child" no matter how unlikely) but I felt I was getting bludgeoned by the obiquitousness of the perfect female form by the end of the film, with none of the taintedness the original offered (those yellowed teeth of the coca cola girl. Fantastic!)Though it's striking me now how sexually intense the original film can be, and how little of that mood was present in BR2, which was much more sentimental.
Anyway, well done if you've made it this far. Just one final note before I give it a rest: fantastic dog casting Great character. Great line: "Is he real?", "I don't know. Ask him"
Thanks for that. So a thumbs-up, but with a mild scowl. ;-)
I’m not sure i’ve seen the original, but will probably get round to seeing both.
Odd that there’s such overt and gender-scewed sexualisation...Sounds a bit old fashioned. Pity. Speaking personally, sexualisation in movies I tend to find a bit off-putting these days. I do take pleasure in looking at attractive and healthy people, and as a hetro-male, especially so women. But overt sexualisation of the type you describe (100ft nude hologram...?) detracts from things for me.
Just got around to seeing this. I'll give my opinion in reverse so....
What I didn't like; Way too long with unnecessary padding and slowness, especially in the first half. The film failed to surprise at any point. It didn't manage to keep the menacing feel of the original. Wallace was a very disappointing character, supposedly human yet the most flat and robotic appearance of the film. Not a touch on the originals head honcho.
What I did like; Visually it was in keeping with the original and expanded on it. The story it had to tell was a natural enough progression and tied in well. The second half moved along at a better pace and was more satisfying for it.
Standing on its own it was entertaining enough but it had one hell of a cult reputation to live up to. For a thinkers sci-fi (a la Dune) though, there wasn't enough to think about. This was where it fell down mainly for me, neither action nor exactly thought provoking or even demanding your avid attention.
As already mentioned it was a more sterile or "perfect" depiction than the original. However, I'm still glad that I've seen it, basically flawed but enjoyable.
Comments
Has forgotten this was in the pipeline.
So a thumbs-up, but with a mild scowl.
;-)
I’m not sure i’ve seen the original, but will probably get round to seeing both.
Odd that there’s such overt and gender-scewed sexualisation...Sounds a bit old fashioned. Pity.
Speaking personally, sexualisation in movies I tend to find a bit off-putting these days. I do take pleasure in looking at attractive and healthy people, and as a hetro-male, especially so women. But overt sexualisation of the type you describe (100ft nude hologram...?) detracts from things for me.
I seem to remember a little time was spent learning to measure distances using metric units...
;-)
What I didn't like;
Way too long with unnecessary padding and slowness, especially in the first half.
The film failed to surprise at any point.
It didn't manage to keep the menacing feel of the original.
Wallace was a very disappointing character, supposedly human yet the most flat and robotic appearance of the film. Not a touch on the originals head honcho.
What I did like;
Visually it was in keeping with the original and expanded on it.
The story it had to tell was a natural enough progression and tied in well.
The second half moved along at a better pace and was more satisfying for it.
Standing on its own it was entertaining enough but it had one hell of a cult reputation to live up to. For a thinkers sci-fi (a la Dune) though, there wasn't enough to think about. This was where it fell down mainly for me, neither action nor exactly thought provoking or even demanding your avid attention.
As already mentioned it was a more sterile or "perfect" depiction than the original. However, I'm still glad that I've seen it, basically flawed but enjoyable.