Blade Runner 2049 Announcement

[shortylickens]

the industry seems to think anything that doesn't break a record on opening weekend is a flop

You know how I know you didnt actually read that list?

 

[RossMAN]

Is it essential I watch the original before seeing this one?

 

[Perknose]

Saw it. Thought it was . . . tedious. <shrug>

 

[blankslate]

Is it essential I watch the original before seeing this one?

Not necessarily as there is an opening text screen to broadly set the background but it probably helps a lot.


____________

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Lol a box office bomb does not mean something will be a classic. It's never good when something bombs.

I've seen it twice now and can't wait for a third viewing (and to get the Blu Ray). It's an exceptional movie that brainy sci-fi fans will enjoy and talk about for decades. It has its own set of mysteries that fans will debate, just like how they debate whether Rick Deckard is a replicant. It's destined to be a classic.

 

[mikeymikec]

Saw it. Thought it was . . . tedious. <shrug>

Did you like the first Blade Runner movie? (presumably Director's Cut or Final Cut)

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Is it essential I watch the original before seeing this one?

I wouldn't say that it's essential, but 2049 builds off of events from the first movie and it's deep themes might be a lot to take in if you haven't had time to digest and contemplate the themes from the 1982 film. 2049 begins with intro text to get people up to speed on the background information needed to understand what's going on in the world.

Yeah, I'd recommend watching either the theatrical cut (with the voiceover) or the Final Cut (aka the visually polished Director's Cut) of the 1982 movie.

Also, there are three short movies the Director had his friends make to fill in some gaps on what's happened in the world since 2019 (when the original takes place) and 2049, but if you're going to watch those three shorts, you should see the original movie first since they won't make much sense. Otherwise you'd probably have a better experience going in to 2049 cold without having seen the shorts. (Here's a link to the shorts, which take place in 2022, 2036, and 2048. The one in 2022 is an anime by the guy who made Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo and seems like a good subject for its own live action movie.)

However, if you want to try going into Blade Runner 2049 cold knowing little about it, I'd be very interested in reading what you thought as you experienced your "virginal moments" of the Blade Runner world.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I have a little treat for you fans of the original film. Here's a compilation of deleted scenes with an alternate narration that's worth watching. I kind of like much of the alternate narration, actually. The 1982 theatrical release could have been much better if they had polished up and picked elements from both narrations, but I guess they were in a big rush.

 

[Perknose]

Did you like the first Blade Runner movie? (presumably Director's Cut or Final Cut)

Well, that's a key question. Turns out, I've never seen the original, save for extensive clips on the net. My buddy liked the new one, and has urged me to see the original. I think a huge part of my disappointment stemmed from the thinness of the "I'm a replicant and not a human" personal angst in the sequel, which my buddy said is far more present in the original. I expected that to be a key part of this film, and it just wasn't. And . . . the plot holes and unresolved contradictions mentioned elsewhere were huge and annoying for me. You spend all that dough on the sets, spend MOAR on the writers, too, you know?

I probably didn't properly appreciate the coolness and craft in the hellscapes that were presented because I was expecting a far more psychologically deep and insightful movie.

Eh, I'm almost assuredly not the right guy to listen to about this film, as "big shiny surface" action stuff is not exactly my cup of meat. <shrug>

Cliffs: Expected a more psychologically deep exploration on the whole replicant/human, "who am I?" thing. Three hours later, my Ginormo Gulp and Multi-wheeled Tub of Popcorn were exhausted, and so was I.

 

[imported_tajmahal]

Is it essential I watch the original before seeing this one?

Just bought and watched the original a few days ago.

 

[MaxDepth]

One thing to remember, when the first one came out in 1982, it really set the tone and style of dystopias that we take for granted now. Just like the book, the themes were groundbreaking at the time. Sure you already had Star Wars out and people were excited that the following year (83) would be Return of the Jedi. But that was still bright and shiny future.

You didn't see near future distopia like this until after Blade Runner. Then, you get movies like City Limits (Bikes! Robby Benson is the evil lead! 1984), Hardware (1990), Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988), and one of favorite Blade Runner rip offs, Cherry 2000.

So while you may get the moody, noir feel right off the bat, people didn't see or experience that before seeing Blade Runner.


BTW, I just rewatched Back to the Future (1985) with my wife. It's one thing to see product placement in Blade Runner (Atari, AT&T), where the product was merely part of the scene. Ho-boy, I felt like they were clubbing me over my head with all the blatant product placements in Back to the Future. Geez.

 

[Perknose]

Otoh, things I LOVED about 2049:

Someone was still driving a VW Beetle on the streets.
Peugot cop car.
As my buddy pointed out, the nipples on all the giant nude statues were exactly the same.

 

[deustroop]

This unfortunately is a very dull film populated by men who are the epitome of masculine cool and women who are sexualised fembots. Hmmm, can't wait !

The drama here is a neo-noir take on the "horror" of not knowing if you’re real or not. How many of us can relate to that ? One problem is that the replicants are literally incredible given their troublesome history and their source, manufactured by Wallace a mogul who sits atop a vast corporation and talks a lot of New Age gibberish. I think he’s meant to be evil, but he just seems more like a yoga teacher.
In the film’s opening minutes the blade runner locates one replicant but then makes a discovery that might be able to tell him not just who he is, but may overturn all thinking about replicants — but I lost any grasp on a plot from there on since the storytelling is so confusingly Byzantine.

When Ford finally makes it to the screen, it’s such a blessed relief you want to kiss his feet. At least he can do action hero with humour, vulnerability, presence. As for any profundities, if there were any, they passed me by.

 

[JimKiler]

I liked the new movie but at first i missed the themes. Now that i understand Peter and the Wolf music was used for turning Joi on and off as well as more about the book Pale Fire it is interesting to me. This movie is very similar to Enemy and while i am not usually a fan of slow movies since having kids and less free time, i was engaged during this one.

Cells interlinked within cells interlinked within one stem.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I liked the first one but this one not so much.

 

[Thebobo]

Thinking about seeing this but they are only showing it on the bigger screen in 3D $$, is this movie worth the 3D? Last 3D movie I saw was Avatar and that was OK. I generally don't like it though.

 

[JimKiler]

Thinking about seeing this but they are only showing it on the bigger screen in 3D $$, is this movie worth the 3D? Last 3D movie I saw was Avatar and that was OK. I generally don't like it though.

https://www.cinemablend.com/news/1711080/to-3d-or-not-to-3d-buy-the-right-blade-runner-2049-ticket

personally i saw it in 2D and there is enough going on that the 3D maybe distracting.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Why not a new one?

It didn't flow well like the first one did so the story line wasn't cohesive to me but you might like it.

Thinking about seeing this but they are only showing it on the bigger screen in 3D $$, is this movie worth the 3D? Last 3D movie I saw was Avatar and that was OK. I generally don't like it though.

Maybe you can catch it in the matinee and save some bucks. Around here that drops the price by at least 50%.

 

[PeterScott]

Why not a new one?

I am a fan of the original and have watched it at least 10 times. IMO the original is a masterpiece of movie making.

BR 2049 was an OK sequel. It's not a travesty, but it doesn't make good use of screen time, and the villain is an over the top caricature.

Someone asked if you see the original first. I would says, see the original first, or instead. It's the better movie.

 

[mikeymikec]

After the Dune remake thread (which is going to be directed by the same guy as BR 2049), I thought I'd give this film a go. It wasn't as bad as I first thought it would be, but IMO the plot was fundamentally flawed.

Spoiler

I'm not sure which is my biggest problem with this film. I guess the most basic one is the plot is very video-game like: All the NPCs stay put waiting to be triggered by the player character's actions. For what's meant to be the best-kept secret, an awful lot of convenient breadcrumbs are left behind for the protagonist to find. Why wasn't Rachel cremated? Why were her bones carefully cleaned? Why was the sock left in (IIRC) a piano with a convenient non-functional key for anyone to find? Why bother leaving a wooden horse for the protagonist to find when it's BS and he wasn't even vaguely necessary beyond existing? Why wasn't the protagonist killed in a handy accident before he'd even vaguely started uncovering the conspiracy, resulting in potentially concluding any attempt to find 'the chosen one'? Why is the protagonist's girlfriend telling him he's the chosen one? Why are there two opposing groups trying to find 'the chosen one' when their goals apparently are entirely compatible?

Why is 'the chosen one' any good at writing memories? Her childhood would hardly have been typical, and if anything growing up as an orphan and knowing her real history would likely make her a paranoid motherfucker who wouldn't go anywhere near the corporation because they're inexplicably the bad guys. Her (I presume) cover story of being immunocompromised and living in a jar would work for telling some random guy who couldn't give a crap, but a detective? Come on, seriously? There would be a wealth of evidence needed to back up such a claim convincingly, it makes no sense for someone trying to lay low, and an immunocompromised adult would need help, routine medical attention and people dedicated to their well-being, especially in a dystopian world like the BR universe. If she truly was immunocompromised, it makes even less sense.

The protagonist's "has my life been stage-managed from beginning to end" existential crisis bugged me as well, and the film really laid it on thick. I guess if the rest of the movie's plot had been tied off nicely then it would potentially make an interesting talking point amongst fans, but if his life had been managed in such a way and his girlfriend has been in on it then surely she would have been a way to monitor his progress to such an extent that most of his progress could have been abruptly stopped.

'Blade Runner' was a beautiful movie IMO, and I'm not talking in a visual sense. BR2049 was a visually appealing movie and not much else.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Mikey, I think one needs to consider the audience of the time between the original movie and this addition. While there were those that could enjoy a good movie meant to make you think, this one catered to fans, but more importantly, those spending the majority of the cash going to see the film, which were a completely different generation, and, maybe, of a lower intellect. While I greatly enjoy watching movies that make you think, my wife has a difficult time with me pointing out all of the plot flaws, and this film had many. It was with that realization that this wasn't a film for my generation X but for those young people today.

 

[glenn1]

Mikey, I think one needs to consider the audience of the time between the original movie and this addition. While there were those that could enjoy a good movie meant to make you think, this one catered to fans, but more importantly, those spending the majority of the cash going to see the film, which were a completely different generation, and, maybe, of a lower intellect. While I greatly enjoy watching movies that make you think, my wife has a difficult time with me pointing out all of the plot flaws, and this film had many. It was with that realization that this wasn't a film for my generation X but for those young people today.

Last year’s Netflix adaption of Altered Carbon was superior to BR2049 in every respect except for lacking Harrison Ford.

 

[mikeymikec]

Mikey, I think one needs to consider the audience of the time between the original movie and this addition. While there were those that could enjoy a good movie meant to make you think, this one catered to fans, but more importantly, those spending the majority of the cash going to see the film, which were a completely different generation, and, maybe, of a lower intellect. While I greatly enjoy watching movies that make you think, my wife has a difficult time with me pointing out all of the plot flaws, and this film had many. It was with that realization that this wasn't a film for my generation X but for those young people today.

While I semi-agree with what you're saying, the whole point of a sequel from a commercial perspective is to engage the audience that liked the first film (whether or not they're old or young - I was way too young to have watched BR at the cinema), and to do that effectively involves serving up something similar to the first. If it works, make more sequels.

 

[UglyCasanova]

I really enjoyed 2049