The original Blade Runner is a movie so loved by movie nerds now, it's hard to imagine what a flop it was at the time. The production was infamously tortured, director Ridley Scott and Harrison Ford were famously contentious with one another, the original cut added a voice-over from Ford that no one liked, and audiences weren't keen on the atmospheric/heady approach Scott and company used. But now that those nerds have all grown up and lionized the director's cut, Blade Runner got a sequel with Harrison Ford back in the saddle, Ryan Gosling in the lead role, and Arrival director Denis Villeneuve getting to play with a big budget. So let's see what we can glean from the first look.
Action/Talking Ratio
If there's one thing that divides viewers of the original Blade Runner it's the film's emphasis on dialogue and world-building instead of fast paced replicant hunting action. Based on this trailer it's kinda hard to tell which way this is leaning. There appears to be a handful of shootouts and explosions but they all seem to be centered around a handful of scenes. While I'm torn about which approach would work best, as too much action may abandon the original film's appeal but too little will create similar problems, but I am curious about the ratio moving forward.
What's The Secret and How Does Deckard Fit In?
Much like the first film, our hero, played by Ryan Gosling, is a Replicant hunting cop of sorts with a mission to uncover a startling secret. Considering the general setup I'd imagine it has something to do with Replicant/human hybrids and/or the dirty deeds of a corporation. While I'm really hoping this is something that's revealed earlier, rather than later, i.e. the M. Night appraoch, I do wonder why Gosling's character is specifically seeking out Ford's Deckard. There's so many questions like why does Deckard have a bobytrapped house, what happened to him after the original film etc. but those are fun hypothetical questions to ask.
Combination of Scott's and Villeneuve Pallets
You can really tell which elements of this film are inspired by Ridley Scott's vision and which portions of director Denis Villeneuve's creation. Scott is an excellent visual storyteller and his Blade Runner emphasized eighties neon and a sci-fi industrialist cityscape. As such the opening portions of the trailer look very similar, including a fight through a wall, the same kind of car, and a giant Atari logo. But as soon as we move out of the city things start to look a lot like Villeneuve's earlier film Sicario with a lot of muted colors and a limited palette. While I have no doubt he can handle the action portions, I'm curious how fans of the original will like the changes to the visual aesthetic.
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