I’m watching Bladerunner 2049, and even though it’s only two years old, the premise feels as dated as if it were from the early 80s.
Gee, I wonder why that could be…
I have mixed feelings about Westworld (2016-?), but so far, Bladerunner 2049 desperately, fervently wishes it were Westworld.
Bladerunner 2049 seems to be reveling in an aesthetic that was fundamentally based in satirical criticism of the society that it depicted. It’s not a look that’s aging well, and I mean that in the sense of “This was already out of date before it was made.”
When you retread an early 80s idea of a dystopian future 35-years later, it begs the question: do you understand that it was a dystopian satire? Or do you actually just like the idea of a capitalistic hellscape featuring widespread slavery?
Look, Short Circuit (1986, comedy) was a more nuanced exploration of questions surrounding AI than the original Bladerunner, and Bladerunner 2049, in spite of being 30 years newer, seems to be even LESS interested in handling its central premise seriously.
The whole point of Bladerunner is: if you can’t tell the difference between a robot & a human, there isn’t one.
Bladerunner 2049 asks the viewer to accept that after 30 years, the society its exploring hasn’t had even a glimmer of catching up to the idea the 1st movie ends on.
Where is the resistance? Why hasn’t there been a wholesale revolution of replicants? Also, why is this girl suddenly up for having Ryan Gosling’s AI mirror her as part of some sex fantasy for him? Were the writers of Bladerunner 2049 replicants themselves? No? Just white men? Ah.
“Many is the night I dream of cheese. Toasted, mainly,” spoken in Harrison Ford’s deep rumble.
Well, Bladerunner 2049 hasn’t been totally pointless then.
I do kind of enjoy watching Harrison Ford punch Ryan Gosling.
Aw geez, Harrison Ford isn’t onscreen anymore. My interest in Bladerunner 2049 is plummeting again.
Bladerunner: if you can’t tell the difference between a replicant and a person, then they’re a person
Bladerunner 2049: if a replicant can have a baby, then they’re a person
This is a huge step backward.
In the 80s, “what if you can’t tell the difference between a robot and a person?” was an interesting question.
We’re past that now. The interesting question now is, “WHEN you can’t tell the difference between a robot and a person, what happens next?”
Ah, Bladerunner 2049 is now asking the question that only rich, aging white men are interested in: what if you could be given back the wife you had 30 years ago, unaged and identical to how she was?
The answer? If her eyes aren’t quite the right color, shoot her in the head.
Dang, the most interesting scene in Bladerunner 2049 is whatever was about to happen when the credits started. I guess the writers didn’t feel up to tackling a scene with the kind of emotional complexity it would have involved, especially since one of the characters is a woman.
Bladerunner 2049 is a movie that should have failed at the elevator pitch.