I Watched Blade Runner 2049 (2017) On TV Last Week - A Short Review (No Spoilers)

Blade Runner (Metropolis 2020), which was the first of the two, released in 1982, rightfully became a cinematic classic. I personally consider it to be a masterpiece. The score, the cinematography, the acting (in particular Rutger Hauer's unforgettable improvised lines in the rooftop scene) were superb. A defining quality of a masterpiece is thematic richness. The story and symbolism must click in multiple interlocking ways, producing a satisfying experience to the viewer. Blade Runner Metropolis 2020 has all that in spades.

How did Blade Runner 2049 (2017) stack up against Blade Runner Metropolis 2020 (1982)? Well, it looked great and sounded pretty great, too. The focus was, as you can expect, in taking the plot of the original Blade Runner forward. But, thematically, there was nothing new. Sometimes when kids hear a funny joke, they feel compelled to tell it again in an attempt to recreate the comical effect. That rarely works. Rarely is yesterday's dinner warmed in a microwave oven as tasty as the first time, either. At times watching Blade Runner 2049 felt like that. To me, the plot was never a major point of interest in Blade Runner Metropolis 2020. I did not and do not care if the replicants will ever be successful at rebelling against their masters or not.

None of the action scenes in the new movie can match those in the original, either. Yes, they were ok. But the chase scene between Roy and Deckard where the hunter becomes the hunted, culminating in the iconic rooftop scene in the original is completely superior to any action scene in the new one. The terror in Deckard's eyes as he scrambles to get away from Roy, about to reach the pre-programmed termination of his life, playing with his victim and Roy's speech in the end are simply superior acting on part of Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer.

Was Blade Runner 2029 a bad movie? No. I'll give it 3.5/5. It's a well-made sci-fi movie that has no serious flaws. But it is not even close to being a masterpiece.