When you make a sequel to a 30 year old movie, you better do it right. And unlike a certain other sequel to a 30+ year old film(s) that also includes Harrison Ford, Blade Runner 2049 respects it's elderly predecessor while also giving a good continuation of it's themes and expansion of the universe. It's tone and style by way of it's precise filmmaking, music, and diliberate use of color to convey feelings all do an excellent job of immersing us in the Blade Runner setting again and making something great technically . It definitely nails the atmosphere.
This sequel takes a slow and steady pace and focuses on a new character K, who has an interesting arc himself with an element of ambiguity to who he is. In fact, all the movie's characters have distinct dialogue and reactions. They all do their part to slowly peel back the layers of this mystery behind a replicants child and the potential for the artificial to become the authentic. It constantly reminds you that everything in 2049 from whiskey to romance, is artificial, grounding you in this silent but incredibly important hunt for the truth. It expands the universe immensely with the idea of artificial birth, if replicants can...replicate, the line between man and machine becomes even further blurred than it's predecessor. I dare say it's themes are deeper across the board. It's clear that Villeneuve respected the Blade Runner name and wanted to add genuine depth to the world. At no point are there attempts to undercut the original.
My only criticisms of this movie are very minor. It's been said that the first cut of this movie came out to be 4 hours long. While I certainly could watch something that looks this good for 4 hours, its too long for a standard release and we know that they had to shave off over an hour of footage, which will never be seen again. I think it's a shame that this will (probably) never be released as an extened cut because I think there are some ideas and characters that could have been expanded upon. One example is Jared Leto's character. He puts on a very interesting performance and it would have been great to see more of this and his character's perspective. When every single shot in this movie looks amazing, its reasonable to believe that much of the cut footage looks great too. The actual film that was released is great, but I think it's potential was even higher.
If you still haven't seen this film, do it. It's a worthy follow up to the 1982 classic and it never breaks form. It doesn't rely on the original to tell the story and it also does NOT make the fruitless effort to recreate the original story through unnecessary fan service. It utilitlizes the old characters in meaningful and believable ways, and only as much as is necessary.
This is what film sequels should be.
