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SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board  /  Movie, Television and DVD Reviews  /  Blade Runner 2049
Posted by: Demento, October 5th, 2017, 4:19pm
It was good. See it.

Didn't like that it had Ford's character in it and I thought it should have ended 5 mins sooner than it did. However, all in all, it was really well made and it had really good sound design in some places, so it was nice to see it in a theater and experience that.

Visually it's too dark in a few parts and some of the dialogue is a bit off, but overall it was really good. Worth a watch.
Posted by: TonyDionisio, October 6th, 2017, 4:02pm; Reply: 1
Thanks I'll check this out. The trailers seemed weak.
Posted by: Scar Tissue Films, October 6th, 2017, 6:02pm; Reply: 2
Excellent. Some of the best visuals I've ever seen, great soundtrack. I doubt anyone could have done a better job.
Posted by: Demento, October 7th, 2017, 8:05am; Reply: 3

Quoted from TonyDionisio
Thanks I'll check this out. The trailers seemed weak.


The trailer is misleading. Doesn't show the true storyline of the film.
Posted by: Warren, October 8th, 2017, 12:51am; Reply: 4
Just saw this. Personally I think it's a masterpiece. It looks fantastic, the acting it great, score is top notch. I honestly can't say a bad thing about it. I could have easily turned around and sat through the whole 2.5hrs again. Some really cool concepts and quite thought provoking as well.

It's a definite must see on the big screen in my opinion.
Posted by: Demento, October 9th, 2017, 7:08am; Reply: 5
Shame this didn't do well at the Box Office. Somewhat expected though :(

With this not doing good and Ghost in the Shell I would imagine studios will be way more wary of producing big budget "smart" sci-fi movies. These movies are generally oriented to a more mature and male audience. While that may be good enough for smaller movies, these 100+ million dollar movies need to get younger people in the theaters.
Posted by: Warren, October 9th, 2017, 3:44pm; Reply: 6
As an example, it is completely ridiculous to me that a film like The Fate of the Furious can make over a billion dollars and Blade Runner is struggling to make bank.

Fate of the Furious has minimal to no story; the action is overdone and just stupid. The acting, well, can you even use that word in conjunction with that piece of shit? Thankfully I didn’t pay to see this.

Posted by: Demento, October 9th, 2017, 5:54pm; Reply: 7
That 15-25 demo is really crucial for these 100+ million dollar movies. I think according to statistics, they are forty something percent of the theater going audience.

So, you'll have something like Spider-man Homecoming make 900 million WW and things like Blade Runner, Arrival, Mad Max struggle to make 300.

Those Fast and The Furious movies hit that demo, plus they are easier to sell internationally because they have been on TV for 17 years and it's a known brand. It's interesting, as some of these franchise get fatigue in the US, they slightly grow internationally.

In any case, it probably a good move to keep "smart" plot-oriented movies to a smaller budget.

This movie (Blade Runner 2049) tried to be smart, to have twists, to have action, visuals, to use devices to better explain the plot etc. It tried to balance a lot of things to make it interesting, artsy and try to appeal to a bigger audience. And... I thought it pulled it off.

But in the end, all that and the good reviews didn't help it. Maybe word of mouth will carry it through the next few weeks. However, one has to wonder if even that will help it reach 100 mil in the US and Canada.
Posted by: TonyDionisio, October 10th, 2017, 7:43am; Reply: 8
Carson from another popular script reviewing site didn't seem too keen on the story. For whatever it's worth.


"Blade Runner 2049 is fun to look at for awhile. Its technical achievements are, for the most part, impressive. But as a story, it’s boring. It’s too icy. Too devoid of emotion despite emotion being a key theme. It’s visually monotonous. People will shame you if you dislike this film. They’ll tell you you don’t understand it or that you’re not a fan of movies. But I’m here to tell you it’s okay. It may be time to admit that the Blade Runner premise isn’t strong enough to build movies around."
Posted by: Warren, October 10th, 2017, 5:45pm; Reply: 9
Like everything, you would have to see it for yourself and make up your own mind, but this is definately something to be enjoyed on the big screen.
Posted by: Demento, October 10th, 2017, 5:59pm; Reply: 10

Quoted from TonyDionisio
Carson from another popular script reviewing site didn't seem too keen on the story. For whatever it's worth.


"Blade Runner 2049 is fun to look at for awhile. Its technical achievements are, for the most part, impressive. But as a story, it's boring. It's too icy. Too devoid of emotion despite emotion being a key theme. It's visually monotonous. People will shame you if you dislike this film. They'll tell you you don't understand it or that you're not a fan of movies. But I'm here to tell you it's okay. It may be time to admit that the Blade Runner premise isn't strong enough to build movies around."


What utter shit.

This movie was shot by a cinematographer most working cinematographers study. His lighting and shots are deconstructed in workshops around the globe. To call his work here visually monotonous is beyond ignorant and ridiculous.

Look at this gem.

Quoted Text
I’ll just say it: Denis Villeneuve is too minimalist and his imagination is too limited.
Posted by: Warren, October 10th, 2017, 6:30pm; Reply: 11

Quoted from Demento


What utter shit.

To call his work here visually monotonous is beyond ignorant and ridiculous.




Agreed 100%.
Posted by: TonyDionisio, October 10th, 2017, 7:26pm; Reply: 12
Now I'm seeing it. Thx.
Posted by: Heretic, October 11th, 2017, 10:08am; Reply: 13
I went opening night. Full crowd in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Sounded like some hated it.

I think it's a strong companion to the original. Villeneuve is towards the Michael Bay end of things, for me -- a director whose style takes precedence over content, regardless of whether or not it fits (not an insult; I think they're two of the best big North American directors). The plot is essentially as obvious and telegraphed as any blockbuster, but it does its job as a skeleton for an ambitious attempt at real, honest-to-goodness science fiction.

Anyway, for gosh sake, see it in theatre! See it for all the stuff that makes people love movies in the first place...the world-building, the staging, the set design, the cinematography, the sound design, the score! Visual monotony is Marvel, DC, Star Wars. This thing is pure cinema.
Posted by: Demento, October 11th, 2017, 6:35pm; Reply: 14

Quoted Text
According to PostTrack, 65% of the film's audience was made up of males and a whopping 77% was moviegoers over the age of 25, meaning the film failed to breakout of its core fan base.


Goes to show how important young people are to the box office success of a blockbuster.

With the raise of VOD platforms older audiences are staying more at home and theater admissions are going down. Which is why all these big movies are in 3D.
Posted by: TonyDionisio, January 18th, 2018, 4:24pm; Reply: 15
Saw it. Visually stimulating. Nothing new story/plot wise.
Posted by: Dreamscale (Guest), May 17th, 2018, 2:24pm; Reply: 16
Finally saw this on PPV for $2.99 last night.

My girlfriend bowed out very quickly, saying it was "too syfy".  I stayed with it, but found myself getting groggy and losing interest, sorry to say.

Visuals were amazing for sure, but for me, much too dark and drab, as many futuristic movies tend to be portray society and life.  Shots and lighting, again, were brilliant, but also, again, too drab of a color palate for me.

Character and humanity were lacking big time for me, but I guess that makes sense, as there were very few human characters.  I just couldn't really get into anyone or even care all that yone's plight.

Story-wise, I thought was rather weak and WY overblown...as in there really wasn't 2 hours and 40 minutes worth of story here, and the way it ended up was also a letdown.

I think my biggest gripe was the pace of the film.  Much, much too slow and plodding.  Most scenes seemed stretched out too long, and lack of real back and forth dialogue and action, made everything seem even longer.

I'm sure this looked and sounded fantastic on the big screen, and this may be why it didn't quite do it for me, but I do have a 65" Samsung and nice sound system.

Unlikely this will get another viewing from me, which is sad, as I really was looking forward to it.

Grade = C
Posted by: Demento, May 17th, 2018, 4:32pm; Reply: 17
The opening for this movie was the actual original opening for the original Blade Runner.

Just a bit of trivia. There were storyboards done. They were in a book about film directing published years ago, I remember reading.
Posted by: Colkurtz8, May 19th, 2018, 4:48am; Reply: 18
Saw it twice at the cinema and if ever a film needed to be seen on the biggest of screens with the bestest of sound systems this was it.

I loved it and the fact that it serves as a worthy sequel to the masterful original says enough about its credentials.

The slow pacing clearly won't work for some though so I get the criticisms. I didn't bother me.

Special mention to Ana De Armas also as Joi, superb performance. When she emanates for the first time and when she is convincing K that he is indeed loved and wanted were two standout scenes.

Profoundly sad as well. That ending with K lying in the snow, knowing that he is not special in the way he thought was extremely powerful, beautiful and moving.
Posted by: DustinBowcot (Guest), May 19th, 2018, 5:58pm; Reply: 19
I watched half of it and got bored. It was a while ago. I like sci-fi. I like the concept but it's old. I couldn't watch Mad Max all the way through either and I loved the originals. Some things are just best left alone. Like Guy Ritchie destroying the King Arthur story. Watching that actually made me angry. How dare he ruin such an epic story, turn it into little better than a farce. It's a story that I've loved since childhood and if I had to pick a favourite story then that would be it.
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