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True, but tackling the angle of the humans vs. Replicants would be very interesting. I wouldn't mind seeing a new cast come in, sans a couple of returning characters, to finish things up.
Having said that, if we never got a third film, I'd be OK with it. While 2049 is a bit open-ended in terms of the overall story, it feels quite complete at the same time.
Rebellion is just getting started
Deckard just got back in action
Wallace is still at large
And not to mention there is more to explore in this universe.
I like how much ambivalence they managed to put also in this sequel. People complained about Wallace being too one-dimensional, but he is so beautifully deluded. As are the resistance group of replicants too. They are very quick to want a rebellion on the base of one of them giving birth to a child. Now imagine: They are possibly more in number than the original humans. Imagine they take over. Then they discover Rachael was the only one fertile. Then after 30 or 40 years they die out. What a way to end a rebellion. This gives the scenes where K meets them a nice openness.
http://www.indiewire.com/2018/04/blade-runner-2049-dvd-blu-ray-sales-top-seller-2018-1201951120/amp/
As long as I have the remote in my hand to turn the volume up and down accordingly, I have nothing against the official score, which is btw not by Zimmer alone, but also by Benjamin Wallfisch (if that makes any difference).
Nevertheless, I too would be very interested in hearing Jóhannson´s music for the film. Perhaps there is enough music to be released somehow some day, better sooner than later.
I didn't get on with the first film either so it wasn't surprising.
These films are just not films for me.
Your time would be much better spent watching the original Blade Runner.
But 2049 is a beautiful film to look at and let wash over you. If you are going to invest the time, I recommend watching it late in the evening in a calm and relaxed state on a big screen and with ample whiskey to help motivate a contemplative state of mind.
If you know the basic happenings of the first one, I'd give this a go, but would still recommend checking out the first one beforehand. The original can't be topped, but the sequel is still excellent. If anything, you should at least see it to admire Deakins' work.
@Mendes4Lyfe, like others I think you should give the first one a go before taking on the sequel. It's much shorter and I feel more dynamic than the sequel, which is slower paced. Essential viewing imho. I recommend seeing both in the best format you can get your hands on though. These are beautifully lensed films. Visual feasts.
Get you the original on 4K if you haven't yet. Honestly, it's like watching it for the first time - the amount of detail and subtleties I picked up on was simply stunning.
It's more than worth it, hopefully you can pick it up soon. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the overall presentation of it.
Having seen that film dozens of times, including a theatrical viewing of the final cut, having read the book as well as the making of, ... BR2049 fulfilled all my hopes and expectations of a sequel. I didn't want things clarified or answered. I didn't even need "myth building" or some such thing. All I wanted was to enter a sacred temple of visual and atmospheric marvels, and that's precisely what I got. It still is a "future noir" event, taking wild liberties with unclear symbols and metaphors so that we can interpret things and emotionally connect with things any which way we like. I tend to gravitate towards such films, which no doubt explains why BR and 2001 are my favourite films of all time.
I'm not saying everyone should love and embrace BR. The original and its sequel remain fairly "niche". I'm also well aware of the cruel fact that a film "you will only like upon multiple viewings" isn't a very inviting one. In fact, it sounds a lot like developing a smoking habit. ;) All I can say is that after my first viewing of BR ever, I decided never to return to this jolted mess again. Within a month, I found myself yearning for a return to it. The DVD boxset allowed me to watch several versions of the film, which I have, multiple times. The film jumped from "huh?" to "wow" to "this . is . amazing!" in no time. I always thought a sequel would be impossible to make, but when I left the theatre last October, I felt satisfied, happy, excited. And much like the original, the sequel has kept growing on me with multiple viewings. It differs quite a bit in tone and content from the original too, so I don't have to slavishly repeat the Internet mantra "yeah, well, it's not the first film so I'm going to hate it". In some ways, this "sequel" isn't exactly a sequel. It's mostly another character's story, set in a different era and visually expressed--or rather "impressed"--in a different way by Villeneuve than Scott.
I love both films, but I can understand why the first and/or the second BR has the power to push people away.
The first time I thought it was average, I didn’t quite understand it, I respected it but didn’t think it hit what it wanted to
Second viewing and I fell in love with this film and universe. I understood the story and themes better and really enjoyed it. It moved from a 6- and 9 out of ten
Now while I still like the film and think it’s a great showcasing of special effects and a universe and its fun to rewatch. I didn’t realize how bloody slow this film is until this viewing and I mean really slow. I don’t know why i didn’t find it so the first. Anyway it’s still a 9 but it’s moved to the category of films that are really good but also really slow
Sort of like a tortoise, if you know what that is.
You do know what a tortoise is, don’t you, @JamesBondKenya?
As much as those two films have similarities, they are quite different films indeed. I´m not sure if liking or disliking the original film says anything about the reception of BR2049. Both films are similar in that you just have to watch them and then let them sink in and see if anything keeps coming back. I wasn´t too fond of BR2049 after two viewings at the cinema, but then after a while when the br came out, I wanted to see it again. And even then, I didn´t manage to watch it from start to end at first. But it kept coming back, and now I´m in love with it.
When Villeneuve was tasked with making a sequel, he was wise to make a film which is as much a sequel as it is a standalone experience; he was, in fact, very wise to bring back the very thing that rolls off people's tongues first when they mention BR: "oooh, slow movie but great visuals". Had Michael Bay made a BR sequel--and I will happily defend Bay anywhere else--with loud action and a teenager's idea of a good story being told like in his Transformers films, I would have gone berserk. But I had every bit of confidence in Villeneuve that he wouldn't let me or other BR fans down. And that's precisely the reason why I wasn't expecting this film to bring home much more than 200 mill at best. BR 2049 just isn't that kind of a movie. It will have done its job when in 15 years from now, people who were a tad too young to see the film last October will cry out how much they love it. It wouldn't have been a good BR sequel had it made 800 million at the BO because no "good" BR film has the power to generate those returns.
Lastly, I'm a failed BR fan in some ways too. The source novel just doesn't do it for me. But then most works by PK Dick don't do it for me, apart from a few short stories. I'm more into Asimov and Clarke than I am into Dick. His drug-induced egg yolks of stories are almost inaccessible to a sober guy like me. I'm at least very happy that Fancher and Peoples translated his Electric Sheep allegories into something filmable and, in fact, into a different experience entirely. BR has little left of what Dick put in his novel, and I'm glad for it. So I'm altogether not ashamed to admit that DADOES left me cold both times I read it. The film adaptation has surpassed the source novel, the starting point as it were, with considerable ease for me. Also, when you think about some of the ideas they were exploring before finally settling for Fancher and Peoples' script, it's amazing we actually got what we got. At one point, BR was in its entirety going to be two guys sitting in one room...
I did end up editing Blade Runner 2049, with the goal of rescoring the movie with new music by Vangelis. It's not necessarily an improvement on the original movie, just a new take on the material. Here's a trailer:
More info: https://ifdb.fanedit.org/blade-runner-2049-new-vangelis-cut/
If anyone wants to watch, just shoot me a PM.