Blade Runner 2049

In the New York Times' anatomy of a scene, director Denis Villeneuve painstakingly narrates the scene where Ryan Gosling's K or Joe is about to find and meet his screen forbear, the original Blade Runner Deckard, played by Harrison Ford.  Villeneuve informs us that he reminds Gosling to walk slower, how the garden of giant naked statures of boobs or whatever is designed by some guy, and the sound effect of the buzzing bees and how very careful he selects the music and hence the significance of it for that scene so on and so forth.  Without his explanations, me philistine wouldn't be able to enjoy his movie.

None of this really matters to me except Gosling sure keeps walking slower and slower the entire movie, which is quite an effective way of putting me to sleep.  Thanks to caffeine and the upright cheap seat, I was able to stay half awake through out this 3-hour plus long snooze fest disaster that is called Blade Runner 2049.

In general I am OK or even like Gosling's phlegmatic puppy faced performance.  I imagine it is even an apt for his character, a meek replicant, android, a non human who can't say no to an order.  Ford plays a caricature of his own character whom he played some thirty five years ago.  Ford nowadays just plays any characters he used to play with some mirthless smirks and call it a performance or a day.  I can't wait to see him play Han Solo in the never ending upcoming Star War Episode XXX.

Blade Runner 2049 is pretty much over when it kills off its most potentially interesting character Sapper played by Dave Baustista in the first fifteen minutes of the film.  Me waited thirty five years for this.  Thanks to Denis Villeneuve, the same director who brought us Arrival (2016)-duh!