Topic: Blade Runner 2049
Anybody here see it yet?
BR has always been one of my favorite movies, if not the favorite. I remember watching it on TV as a kid and just being entranced by the world that I saw -- something that was believeable as "real" and yet was so different than our own. I remember being fascinated by the mix of futuristic, 80s and 40s styles. It was intoxicating. I loved the moodyness -- the music, the steady drumbeat of the rain. I did often find the story to be weak and uninspired. But of course, Rutger Hauer / Roy Batty saves it at the end.
BR 2049 to me was a monument of a film. It definitely was built for a BR audience -- not necessarily the general movie goer who may not have had a strong affection for the original. And as a piece of work intended to honor the original and the audience that was fond of it, I felt they did the impossible. They lived up to everything a fan could hope for and more.
I give a tremendous amount of credit to Alcon, the production company on that, because they really focused on making a film that would not be a black mark on a title that has such a strong legacy. Had they been focusing on profit only, they would not have given the team all the resources they needed financially to pull of what they did.
That said, the BR audience was never a mass audience. It required you to essentially be a viewer who could watch something to be intoxicated by the visuals. This is not everyone. And so this follow up has fallen short at the box office, as the new material was built as a follow up to keep with much of the original.
I think however the film is going to stand the test of time like its predecessor. And that the audience will keep building for this film. If there's anyone who has seen the film and/or love the original, I'd love to hear what you think.