05-10-2020, 05:59 PM
Possible spoilers below, but I'm pretty sure most everyone here has seen these two except for me.
Blade Runner - Final Cut
Truthfully, meh....I just don't see why this movie is so praised. It's too ambiguous when it comes to the world it creates and the implications of replicants. Sure the the opening crawl addresses this at a surface level, but I would have liked to learn more of what was actually going on. The movie wreaked of the 80's in it's odd-ball presentation, acting and soundtrack, which I never really can stomach. It had a similar feeling as movies like Legend but in a distopian future. I'm sure many are getting riled up in reading this. Maybe I'll try and make an amended version of this film that quickens the pace, updates the musical score to mirror the sequel's score and brings down some of the gratuitous violence as found myself skipping through a lot of the graphic scenes. I love Harrison Ford, but even he couldn't save this movie for me. I'm sure for its time it was cutting edge, but I certainly missed the impact of this one. 5.5/10*
Blade Runner 2049
Now this was something entirely different. There were real implications of the existence of replicants and we clearly see how they are utilized in the world. The story of K/Joe was captivating and Decker's inclusion was more than a cameo, it was essential to the story and world. Jarred Leto creeps me out, and he owns up to that creepiness here. I honestly don't know if any of his, Leto's, scenes were really necessary. He thinks he's a god and is bringing about a new genesis of existence, but really he's nothing more than exposition. You don't even know if he's a replicant or a cyborg here. The antagonist probably could and should of simply been Luv. I also found it odd that the story of this movie almost contradicts the implications of the final scenes of the Final cut of the original film. I did like how it is used as a plot device and thought it was clever and impactful. As for the aesthetic, most of it looked great, but much of the film has a hideously orange tint that I'd want to bring down as well as removing the needless nudity and overly sexualized scenes that did nothing for the plot. The story itself was captivating and the look was convincing. 8/10
*I went back and watched some of the original after seeing the sequel and I must say that the sequel definitely improves the experience of the original story line. It's always great when a followup is able to both expand and enhance the source it came from. That being said, I think the best way to watch this would be some hybrid of the theatrical and final cut, basically the theatrical without the narration, as the sequel clearly uses the theatrical ending and implications as its source material.
Blade Runner - Final Cut
Truthfully, meh....I just don't see why this movie is so praised. It's too ambiguous when it comes to the world it creates and the implications of replicants. Sure the the opening crawl addresses this at a surface level, but I would have liked to learn more of what was actually going on. The movie wreaked of the 80's in it's odd-ball presentation, acting and soundtrack, which I never really can stomach. It had a similar feeling as movies like Legend but in a distopian future. I'm sure many are getting riled up in reading this. Maybe I'll try and make an amended version of this film that quickens the pace, updates the musical score to mirror the sequel's score and brings down some of the gratuitous violence as found myself skipping through a lot of the graphic scenes. I love Harrison Ford, but even he couldn't save this movie for me. I'm sure for its time it was cutting edge, but I certainly missed the impact of this one. 5.5/10*
Blade Runner 2049
Now this was something entirely different. There were real implications of the existence of replicants and we clearly see how they are utilized in the world. The story of K/Joe was captivating and Decker's inclusion was more than a cameo, it was essential to the story and world. Jarred Leto creeps me out, and he owns up to that creepiness here. I honestly don't know if any of his, Leto's, scenes were really necessary. He thinks he's a god and is bringing about a new genesis of existence, but really he's nothing more than exposition. You don't even know if he's a replicant or a cyborg here. The antagonist probably could and should of simply been Luv. I also found it odd that the story of this movie almost contradicts the implications of the final scenes of the Final cut of the original film. I did like how it is used as a plot device and thought it was clever and impactful. As for the aesthetic, most of it looked great, but much of the film has a hideously orange tint that I'd want to bring down as well as removing the needless nudity and overly sexualized scenes that did nothing for the plot. The story itself was captivating and the look was convincing. 8/10
*I went back and watched some of the original after seeing the sequel and I must say that the sequel definitely improves the experience of the original story line. It's always great when a followup is able to both expand and enhance the source it came from. That being said, I think the best way to watch this would be some hybrid of the theatrical and final cut, basically the theatrical without the narration, as the sequel clearly uses the theatrical ending and implications as its source material.