Under the lens takes a deep look at films by focusing in on one or two particular areas of the picture that helped to define it for better or for worse. Spoilers will be included in this review.
Blade Runner 2049 is a science fiction thriller from director Denis Villeneuve and stars Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling, and Ana de Armas. It follows a young Blade Runner named K whose discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former Blade Runner Rick Deckard, who’s been missing for over thirty years.
Under The Lens: Relationship and meaning to life
Relationship: A large portion of the picture is devoted to Agent K and his relationship with “Joi” a holographic girlfriend when services your every need and whim. Over the motion picture, we see their relationship go deeper and deeper as the form a physical, mental and sexual connection to each other. This tragically ends when she is “Killed”, Agent K is then devastated when he encounters the giant holographic advertisement of Joi who acts like she knows him and calls him by the pet nickname she had for him “Joe”, K then realizes that the relationship was fake all along and nothing more than her programming. However, the picture asks us if that matters at all though, was the relationship any less real because Joi was a program? Was not K’s feelings and experiences real?
Meaning to life: Blade Runner 2049 is at its heart a science fiction picture, but it also asks many philosophical questions about life and what we are here for. The core of this story is about the hunt by Agent K to discover who he really is and what his place in the world may be, at one point he gets clues that he may be a “Chosen One” of sorts among the replicants. He is filled with hope until those hopes are dashed upon discovering he is not that fabled individual, we as humans are often searching for meaning, we want to know we are here on this earth for more than just reproducing, the motion picture asks us to examine ourselves just as Agent K does. We don’t get a definitive answer to the question, yet are shown that life is valuable and worth living.
Highlights
The picture is beautifully shot
A haunting score coupled with the visuals make this a feast for the eyes and ears
Ana de Armas delivers a tour da force performance as a holographic android who may or may not be sentient
Something to think about
Do you even think we will get to a point where androids are almost indistinguishable from humans?
Conclusion
Overall Blade Runner 2049 is the rare sequel that surpasses its predecessor in almost every way. It’s a beautiful exploration of what makes us truly human and the painful consequences of playing God with creation. It’s a painting that paints a whole world onto its canvas and leaves the viewer with questions and an urge to further explore this new universe. The picture has some minor flaws, most of them around the villain played by Jared Leto, while Leto plays him to perfection, his character was clearly introduced with the expectation of being further developed in a sequel. We get clues as to his identity and motivations yet never get answers to those clues and questions, while its fine to leave a character for a follow-up, in this case, the script should have given more focus on Leto and his interesting villain. Blade Runner 2049 is a motion picture worthy of watch and re-watch, it will leave you breathless with wonder and begging to return to the world.