‘Pain reminds you the joy you felt was real…’
Canadian director Denis Villeneuve has arguably stolen Christopher Nolan’s title of the prestige director of his time. Me? I never really got the hype. Prisoners is pretty good and Sicario is probably his best work, but I found Arrival to be dull beyond belief and even Dune left me cold. This, coupled with the fact that I have no feelings either way for the original Blade Runner ensured that my expectations for Villeneuve’s sequel were fairly low, despite the overwhelming critical acclaim that it has received. And two and a half hours later? I’m still not sure I’ve bought a ticket aboard the Villeneuve train…
K (Ryan Gosling) is a replicant who hunts other replicants in order to ‘retire’ them. When he accidentally uncovers something that could hold the key to the end of humanity as we know it, K enters a web of violence and corruption in which the only person he can really trust is Deckard (Harrison Ford) a fellow blade runner who is also deeply embroiled in the system.
I should begin by stating that Villeneuve is undoubtedly the best director in Hollywood right now purely in terms of aesthetics. You can keep Wes Anderson. This is one of the most visually striking films I’ve ever seen. It’s tough to think of a movie as cinematic as this one, and yes, I include Dune in that hypothesis. Elsewhere, Gosling proves again why he is perhaps the finest actor of his generation and Ford really throws himself into returning to one of his most iconic roles, much more so than he ever did with the Star Wars franchise. The supporting cast do a great job as well with the female trio of Robin Wright, Sallie Harmesan and Mackenzie Davis perfectly capturing the icy detachment required when delivering incredibly profound dialogue in a Blade Runner movie. This does, however, hint at one of the reasons why I’ve never truly bought into Villeneuve and his movies. They are utterly humourless. And sure, I understand that he is an auteur and cinema is a serious business, but Christ are his films hard going. That needn’t be a criticism, generally. After all, there are plenty who want their hard sci-fi presented in a way that reflects the importance of the subject matter. Me? I want a couple of jokes thrown in for good measure. A bon mot or two. A cat perhaps.
Blade Runner 2049 is a great movie. It’s beautifully shot, wonderfully acted and the score is magnificent too. It’s also my favourite Villeneuve movie to date. But does it dispel the sneaking suspicion that perhaps he is a little overrated? Not fully, no. And I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe…