"Blade Runner 2049"
As one of the greatest works in the history of science fiction, "Blade Runner" was actually not unanimously recognized by the audience when it premiered in 1982. As a pioneering science fiction film, "Blade Runner" has a dystopian future setting (Los Angeles, which is known for its sunny in reality, is dark and always raining in the movie), the core of film noir. (Detectives, female companions, gray moral guidelines, these typical elements are all stepped on in the original), the elusive plot and narrative method (filled with the criticized narration of the original version, and as many as 7 different later The composer Van Gillis' provocative but epoch-making electronic soundtrack, and the extremely slow plot advancement, could not win more focus and attention when the film was first released. The dismal box office reflects the reputation of "Blade Runner" in the early days-with undeniable extremely high-quality innovative elements, but it is destined to be unable to enter the public eye.
The polarization of the critics also cannot allow more viewers to watch this flawless but profoundly philosophical work in the days to come. Of course, this is closely related to the seven different edited versions of the movie mentioned earlier. After all, in the 80s and 90s when the Internet was underdeveloped, how should fans recommend the version of Blade Runner he saw to others was probably a very difficult task. It wasn't until 10 years later that the creator Ridley Scott had the opportunity to edit the real director version of the film with the opportunity of videotape, making it easier for the film to finally enter the audience's attention. Of course, the 2007 Final Cut (The Final Cut) is probably the best material for viewers who want to watch it, although the difference between the two versions is minimal. At this time, the critics’ evaluation of "Blade Runner" has been unanimously praised, including the most famous American film critic Roger Ebert’s evaluation of the film since 1982, which has a lot of complaints about the 3-star evaluation. In 1992, the director's version had a lot of praise and 3-star evaluation, and finally in 2007, the final version received a 4-star perfect score and was included in the change of the "Great Movies" list. Ebert's evaluation of "Blade Runner" slowly warming is probably the most true portrayal of the audience's understanding of this film.
The world of Blade Runner is still stunningly beautiful
Today, 35 years later, the belated orthodox sequel "Blade Runner 2049" finally arrives as scheduled. We once again step into this familiar dystopian future: Los Angeles in 2049 will still be raining dirty and heavy, and the fog will make people feel uncomfortable even across the screen. The neon lights and the huge female advertising portraits are still the same as the previous works. Filled with every inch of land the protagonists walked. Also familiar is the appearance of the previous characters: the old Harrison Ford returns with the protagonist Blade Runner Dyke of the year, and even in reality the aging cloner Rachel plays Sean Young. Computer special effects have been restored to the original appearance.
But "Blade Runner 2049" does not require the appearance of old characters to satisfy fans like other sequels popular nowadays. On the contrary, the creators and protagonists of the new work have actually been completely replaced: Ryan Gosling, who is riding the "City of Philharmonic", plays the protagonist of the new work-the new blade runner K; the former villain Tyrael Group It has closed down, replaced by the more villainous Wallace Group led by Wallace, played by Jared Leto. And most importantly, of course, the director is Dennis Villeneuve, who has finally rectified his name in recent years. Leaving aside the original Ridley Scott seems to have the stunting stunt of destroying the previous work by the sequel (see "Alien: Contract" etc...), Villeneuve has already passed the recent "Prisoner" and "Border" "Hitman" and "Arrival" announced to the world his unquestionable ability and the vision and possibility of upgrading ordinary genre movies to classics. The deep theme and the slightly slow pace are the most prominent and praiseworthy features of "Blade Runner", and these are also the characteristics of Villeneuve's masterpiece "Arrival" last year. Because of this, most of the fans and movie fans of the original work expressed optimism when they learned that he would take over the new work.
The facts have also proved that this optimism is correct. "Blade Runner 2049" not only did not abandon the shining points of the previous game-including the slow but thought-provoking narrative rhythm and deep philosophical thinking, it also achieved the task that every sci-fi sequel should complete-in the original work On the basis of deepening the construction of the world view, and once again expanding the philosophical discussion, it even makes the original work more full.
Yes, "Blade Runner 2049" has done it, and it can undoubtedly be listed as the best in the sequel movie. In a sense, the perfection of "Blade Runner 2049" requires not only the inspiration of the creators, but also their courage. Unlike many smashing restarts and sequels that have become popular recently, "Blade Runner 2049" does not just focus on serving fans and nostalgia. Instead, the themes discussed in previous works are used as the basis for extension. The 169-minute duration makes this work even more ambitious. You must know that this is an out-and-out miracle in today's film industry for large-scale films. Because of this, the "Blade Runner 2049" dedicated by the creators can be said to be one of the most philosophical and challenging works in the history of science fiction movies. It will not explain too much for you, because it is convinced that you can understand the most basic human nature presented in every perfect picture.
It is a pity that even if "Blade Runner 2049" completes the task of the sequel perfectly, it cannot change its bleak box office fate like "Blade Runner". The production cost of up to 150 million U.S. dollars is reflected in every gorgeous picture from the first second of the opening, but the box office of only 31 million U.S. dollars in North America in the first week of the screening is as bleak as the ending of the movie. .
Dennis Villeneuve
In 169 minutes of flawless images, "Blade Runner 2049" has a long game with the grand theme of "What is the definition of human being". This echoes with the previous work that redefines future science fiction films, but it also allows viewers to resonate more easily from a more direct perspective. For "Blade Runner", Dyke may be regarded as the protagonist, but I think that the real hero of the movie should be the villain who gave the classic and touching "Tears in the Rain" monologue at the end, Roy Beatty. For this reason, the shortcomings of "Blade Runner" are probably one of the rarest scattered and vague narratives, right? There may even be viewers who think that the original story is really without logical basis at all. But as a black-and-white movie, it makes movie fans feel understandable, and even the reason why Dyke, who is the protagonist, survived in the end is just luck. It should be a reasonable setting for the audience who watched more black-and-white movies.
And in "Blade Runner 2049", the protagonist and soul of the movie, and even the emotional sustenance of the audience are all borne by Ryan Gosling's cyborg Blade Runner K. This non-distracting setting makes it easier for us to track the progress of the story and also have more time to substitute ideas into K's perspective. We tracked his mental journey and walked into his world, knowing his sorrow and yearning for mankind, knowing that he is a man-made man; we ventured with him, step by step discovering his difference, and even believing that he is the chosen one. Son; after the excitement, we will also receive the bad news that is denied, and think about what makes people human, so we make the final key choice.
In my opinion, the path set by Villeneuve and the screenwriters in "Blade Runner 2049" for K to take is a perfect realization of what Dyke could not accomplish in "Blade Runner" journey. Due to the setting of the story, Dyke in the original work has never really finished thinking about and responding to the question of what is a human being. It is for this reason that, as mentioned in the previous article, the robot villain Roy Beatty in the original work is the more compelling character-he has completed the thinking about himself and the definition of human beings from the negative side, no matter the most At the beginning, it was merely a desire for the continuation of life, or at the end to give up the pursuit of Dyke and leave her own poignant last words in the chaotic rain. Betty can be said to be the most human and fullest and complete character in the original work. When it comes to "Blade Runner 2049", K has also gone through such a path. He went from being an ordinary slave, to believing that he was special, to the disillusioned learning that he was just a member of an ordinary man-made, to finally make a choice of human nature because of his self-awareness and compassion for others. This is what a movie character wants. The most perfect and the most dramatic road traversed.
The creators headed by Villeneuve also tried their best to present this main line to our audience from different aspects of the film. For example, K's name after thinking that he is special-Joe (Joe). This can be considered as a foreshadowing of K's true identity as an ordinary man-made person, because of the way Average Joe (ordinary person) in English speaks; it can also be considered as a more subtle hint of K's status in the whole story. You need to know the card. The name of the protagonist in Fuka's novel "The Trial" is Joseph K, that is, Joe K.
The film also describes the journey K has completed visually and audibly. For example, the poignant ending and the reference of the original work—Betty, who was crying in the rain, understands the true meaning of humanity better than human beings, and 30 years later, K stretched out his palm in the snow to welcome the soft snow, finally in life At the last moment, I experienced the human nature full of soul; K, who was about to end his life outside the door, experienced the touch of life in the real snow, while the dream maker inside the door was confined in a confined space as a real person. Playing with false snow; and the most touching thing, of course, is full of new soundtracks, but at this last moment, the original classic "Tears in the Rain" was used, and it was presented to the audience again without any change. For fans who are familiar with the original, or ordinary audiences, this delicate and moving soundtrack can be said to be the perfect choice.
K's companion virtual person Joe's setting is fascinating
In addition to K, other characters in "Blade Runner 2049" are equally brilliant, and they also add a different depth to this fictional science fiction world. Naturally, the protagonist Dyke of the previous work did not say that, the white-headed Harrison Ford, who is over seventy years old, gave the most entertaining performance in recent years. Rachel’s remorse but disdain when he copied the person, or the touch at the end when he finally met his closest relatives, Ford gave a full-point performance.
But the most outstanding supporting role in "Blade Runner 2049" is undoubtedly K's partner, the virtual person Joi (or Joy) who is one level lower than the cyborg. As an unreal existence, many scenes with Joe in the movie can be said to be fascinating and incredible. This includes the scenes of constant dress-ups at the beginning, and the scenes of being paused while kissing. But the most surprising thing is that there is no doubt that she and another cyborg (played by Mackenzie Davis) are in close contact with K, which is a sexy scene that has never been seen on the screen (2013 Her masterpiece "She" has a similar segment, but it is visually incomparable), which makes us feel unavoidably uneasy and horrible. In the end, when K met Joe's virtual human advertising portrait on the dark road when he was frustrated, the attentive audience should finally find that Joe was actually just a perfectly programmed software. Her existence is only to satisfy K's existence, to affirm K's feelings, and to be anxious for K's missing love. What is love, and whether Joe is true or not, this is not only a question that K needs to consider, but it also makes us as audiences start to think.
As for the photography, sound effects and soundtrack, as well as the artistic design of the film, it is still as impeccable as the previous work. The jaw-dropping orange and blue images created by the legendary photographer Roger Dickens, who was nominated 13 times for Oscars, are impeccable and at the same time, like most of Dickens’s works, they show the characters in a huge environment. The smallness of the image and the beauty of the backlit outline picture are beyond compelling. Because of this, this work should finally become his masterpiece, right? When it comes to sound effects and soundtracks, although it is impossible to surpass the milestone predecessor, the existence of electronic music and the sound effects that are often caught off guard still make it easy to enter this chaotic world. As for the design of movie scene art, it once again surpassed all the sci-fi works of the same period and continued to fill the world of the fire-breathing tower created by "Blade Runner".
A beautiful sci-fi world of orange and blue
Regarding the soul, K’s boss said to the man-made: “You can live well without a soul.” The soulless K and the soul and purposeful K make "Blade Runner 2049" continue the previous work. A legendary discussion about self-understanding, a discussion about survival, a discussion about memory, and a discussion about whether memory can affect our past and future. K may have no soul, but "Blade Runner 2049" undeniably has the soul and unique voice that mainstream big-production movies lack. I am convinced that this is a movie that needs to be watched at least twice, once to give the god-given picture and fascinating sound effects, and then quietly think about it for a few days, and then watch it again to give meaningful philosophies and echoes with the previous work. As a non-mainstream slow and deep mainstream work, this work can be said to be a near-perfect sequel far beyond the expectations of movie fans. And for Villeneuve who produced such a close-to-perfect work, we are even more looking forward to his future development in Hollywood.
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