Why I love Blade Runner 2049

I will begin this blog stating that I am a fan of Blade Runner (1982) since childhood.  I was fascinated by the futuristic, gloomy, tech-advanced vision of the city. The music also had me hooked. As a child, the subtleties of the story went a bit above my head, but as I grew up and understood its ethics and implications, my love for it only grew. So, when Blade Runner 2049 was released, I was over the moon. I know a lot of people had particular expectations - some were disappointed, others were happy - but I wasn't expecting anything, really. I was just glad to go back to this world.

I managed to see it at VUE in Edinburgh right before catching a plane (I had to calculate the film duration, ads, and travel time to the airport, and decided it was a risk worth taking). I came out of the cinema, right to the tram station, right to the airport, with a weird impression on my mind. I had just had one of my best cinema experiences. I loved the story, I loved the action. But above all I loved the cinematography. Roger Deakins (amazing DOP) did an incredible work. You know that feeling, when you're in a museum and you see a painting so stunning you can't take your eyes off of it. I was sucked in those places, the orange desert-like Las Vegas, the dark Los Angeles at night, It was 2 hours and 44 minutes. A weird journey. While I was about to have a physical journey to see my family a few hours later,  I had a psychological, metaphorical one in that dark room surrounded by other people who may have felt like I did (or not).

It's also thought provoking. We can think of symbolism. The feminine power of creation and destruction is represented in the giant statues and in the search of human-like replicant reproduction. Orange that could mean arrogance, pride, or death according to how we consider it, is found in the desert, but also in the Wallace Corporation building hall with the stairs and the replicants in the jars. The dark blue neon lights, the grey depressing fields. The snowy city, life is fragile. Humanity is a failing moral compass - in the end, atrocities are committed by humans - but also something to reach or transcend. 

I'm rewatching both films regularly. Never disappointed.