I regret that I didn't go to watch it on the big screen in cinema while I could. Blade Runner 2049 by Denis Villeneuve, premiere in Malaysia at the beginning of October 2017 and it was in cinema for less than 3 weeks! It just got off the "Now Showing" list so unexpectedly fast! Then I was waiting for it to be shown on Astro, waiting for almost 18 months, but to no end. Finally I watch the pirated version last week and it is beyond my expectations.
To be honest I am not one of those hardcore fan of the original Blade Runner. To me, it is just "meh". My first encounter with the original Blade Runner was for a school project. As one of the courses during my uni years, I was required to do a film analysis and Blade Runner was the film to be analyzed. Although it is philosophical and stylized, my general feeling towards Blade Runner was and is still the same - so boring... Without a doubt the film is highly influential, culturally. So when I heard about the 2049, I was expecting the more or less same slow pace as the original, the same philosophical storyline, the same style, etc.. With all said, the actual reason I wanted to watch it is because I just admired the audacity of the director to pick up this project - to make a sequel to a cult classic.
Blade Runner 2049 is everything like the original and more. It is B-E-A-U-tiful and it should only to be watched on the biggest screen you have. It won the best cinematography in Oscar for a reason but it should have won more than just that. I complain about the boring storyline in the original, and 2049 remedies it. I have been trying to avoid spoilers before my first viewing because I want an Experience watching the movie. It is not that hard to avoid spoilers though since nobody has watched it and talking about it. Anyway, during my first viewing, I can say that I totally get the story - every ups and downs, every emotion felt
by K the main character. The feelings really hit me especially hard during the final scene - a medley of
melancholy and bliss, even a drop of tear...
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
Besides 2049, I had also recently watched the Annihilation by Alex
Garland and it is equally good. I'm just sad that great hard sci-fi, or
in general, great films like these aren't getting much attention as they
should. The fact that nobody in my circle is talking about these movies
is just outrageous. For a moment, I hated the society for going only
for movies like MCU and countless obvious
cash-grab of remakes and reboots, while ignoring great movies. But
again, I can understand that these movies are not for everyone. Hard sci-fi is just
not something you can sit down and have a good easy time watching. It is usually thought-provoking and demands some brain power.
I am not a big fan of the original Blade Runner, but to me, Blade Runner 2049 is truly a masterpiece. Sigh... I just hope that people pays more attention to it.
