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[Darkangel]

I've had it's of a similar pace and style to the original film. It's absolutely a noirish detective story, not an action-thriller.

Probably not.

Kinda boring also fits the pattern of other Denis Villeneuve movies.

I didn't find any of Velleneuve's other movies boring (Prisoners, Arrival, Sicario). There Will Be Blood is one of my favourite movies of all time and it's slow as molasses.

I have nothing against the concept of a slow detective story, I just don't think the first Blade Runner is a very good one. If this movie is basically Blade Runner without the pacing or romance issues, then I think it should be great.

 

[Aurongel]

Sicario is Villeneuve's best film as far as I'm concerned. Kate Mecer is the hero people need, but not the one people want. I believe that's why a lot of people thought she was weak while Alejandro was the true hero by the end of the film.

She's never portrayed as being weak, her arc is one of disenfranchisement and not disempowerment. I always read her as a stand in for America's role in the war on drugs. Initially high as a kite on altruism but slowly and steadily reigned in by reality until the point where she's complicit with what's happening around her.

Ballsy as fuck way to end an American film.

 

[More_Badass]

David Ehrlich

His longer review is up on Letterboxd
https://letterboxd.com/davidehrlich/film/blade-runner-2049/

...suffice it to say that “Blade Runner 2049” tells a brilliant story. It’s the kind of provocative and soulful sci-fi yarn that Philip K. Dick could be proud of, one that more thoroughly excavates the essence of what it means to be alive than almost any other Hollywood film in recent memory (real or implanted)

And yet, for all of those virtues, “Blade Runner 2049” represents another first for the Quebecois auteur: It’s the first Denis Villeneuve film to be boring. Turgid where the rest of his work is exhaustingly tense, this epic mega-sequel never shows any signs of life (natural or engineered).

 

[Freewheelin']

I love Ehrlich but he also loved Kingsman and liked Covenant. Sometimes we just don't agree.

 

[More_Badass]

She's never portrayed as being weak, her arc is one of disenfranchisement and not disempowerment. I always read her as a stand in for America's role in the war on drugs. Initially high as a kite on altruism but slowly and steadily reigned in by reality until the point where she's complicit with what's happening around her.

Ballsy as fuck way to end an American film.

Exactly. Blunt's character is portrayed as highly skilled and motivated, but also by-the-books and moral. What hurts her in the end isn't her being weak, because she isn't, but that everyone else is more ruthless and immoral than her, and willing to use her for their own ends, and her unwillingness to cross those lines

 

[SofNasciment-]

She's never portrayed as being weak, her arc is one of disenfranchisement and not disempowerment. I always read her as a stand in for America's role in the war on drugs. Initially high as a kite on altruism but slowly and steadily reigned in by reality until the point where she's complicit with what's happening around her.

Ballsy as fuck way to end an American film.

Indeed. I wouldn't call it alturism though. I'd say "rule of law".

 

[SofNasciment-]

Exactly. Blunt's character is portrayed as highly skilled and motivated, but also by-the-books and moral. What hurts her in the end isn't her being weak, because she isn't, but that everyone else is more ruthless and immoral than her, and willing to use her for their owns ends, and her unwillingness to cross those lines

My impression is that a lot of people that saw the film perceived this as weakness. And the other characters' ruthlessness and disregard for the law as strength.

Kate powerlessness at the end reminded me a lot of The Wire, only more brutal on a personal level.

 

[tonysidaway]

His longer review is up on Letterboxd
https://letterboxd.com/davidehrlich/film/blade-runner-2049/

'Villeneuve’s follow-up looks more like a steampunk “Inception” than anything else.'

Praising with faint damns.

 

[overcast]

His longer review is up on Letterboxd
https://letterboxd.com/davidehrlich/film/blade-runner-2049/

Sounds good enough to me from ehrlich and certainly not negative enough to damper my hype completely. Good review though.

 

[duckroll]

I don't really see that at all. I liked the movie just fine, and maybe my opinion would improve on rewatch, but my issue with the movie isn't just 'twist for the sake of twist' but that

Spoiler

the first contact story and the story of Amy Adams' child are forced together by this out-of-nowhere 'aliens want to help humans see the future' twist

and none of the way that that plotting is structured worked for me at all. It just felt like two distinct stories that didn't go together, and the connective tissue that was forcing them together felt...well, forced.

But yeah, Prisoners and Sicario are much more intense and move at a faster clip than Arrival.

You're not wrong. I liked Arrival quite a bit but the biggest flaw is definitely how they dramatized the first contact stuff beyond what the original story intended.

Spoiler

In the short story it was based on, there is no grand plan or purpose behind the aliens showing up, no weaponization of language, no convoluted future plan. Her being able to experience time as a memory stream was just a consequence of studying the language, with no intended purpose.

 

[ShemhazaiX]

'Villeneuve’s follow-up looks more like a steampunk “Inception” than anything else.'

Praising with faint damns.

The fact that he's calling it Steampunk makes me want to challenge him to pistols at dawn.

 

[dEvAnGeL]

to anyone that's seen the movie

Spoiler

is rachel in it?

.

 

[Jarmel]

His longer review is up on Letterboxd
https://letterboxd.com/davidehrlich/film/blade-runner-2049/

To put that in further context, he ranked all of Villeneuve's films and I'm not sure he likes him as a director that much.

https://www.indiewire.com/2017/10/d...best-blade-runner-arrival-sicario-1201882671/

He did put 2049 over Sicario though for whatever that's worth.

 

[chefbags]

Ooh some people be asking some spoilers now. Time to be out of this thread and just wait for Thursday night to be here.

 

[Haloid1177]

To put that in further context, he ranked all of Villeneuve's films and I'm not sure he likes him as a director that much.

https://www.indiewire.com/2017/10/d...best-blade-runner-arrival-sicario-1201882671/

He did put 2049 over Sicario though for whatever that's worth.

That list is all sorts of fucked, especially with Arrival at no. 1.

 

[More_Badass]

To put that in further context, he ranked all of Villeneuve's films and I'm not sure he likes him as a director that much.

https://www.indiewire.com/2017/10/d...best-blade-runner-arrival-sicario-1201882671/

He did put 2049 over Sicario though for whatever that's worth.

He gave Sicario a 3/5 on Letterboxd

yeah, it's potent, but it ain't great.

 

[jtb]

Prisoners > Enemy > Arrival > Incendies > Sicario

Still think Prisoners is one of the best films about post-9/11 America out there. Not much competition, unfortunately.

Love Arrival, but the pacing is all off and has a bit of an identity crisis towards the end. that On the Nature of Daylight ending tho

 

[duckroll]

My order would probably be something like:

Incendies > Prisoners > Polytechnique > Sicario > Arrival > Enemy > 32 August


Incendies and Prisoners are his tightest films by far, the character work is amazing, the it leaves a huge impact. Polytechnique is his most personal film, Sicario is loud but effective, Arrival is good but hampered by iffy screenplay decisions, Enemy I appreciate a lot but didn't enjoy, 32 August is a pretty good indie but really unpolished.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Prisoners is really dope but I wish it didn't have that hammy B-movie twist towards the end, and it was a touch too heavy with its symbolism.

I find it hard to rank his movies since I think they're all really good, but they all have something that's holding them back from being great. Arrival is the weakest of his that I've seen, but even that is still very solid. Enemy is probably my favorite.

 

[Not]

I've only seen his two most recent movies.

I'm probably not going to invest in Incendies for a while. What's the remaining one that I should check out?

 

[jtb]

I love Incendies, but it has the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the face. And that's by Villenueve's standards lol

I've only seen his two most recent movies.

I'm probably not going to invest in Incendies for a while. What's the remaining one that I should check out?

Prisoners is standard thriller done well, but is pretty long. Enemy is more surreal, strange - much shorter. Both very much worth watching, so flip a coin or something

 

[Discotheque]

Prisoners is really dope but I wish it didn't have that hammy B-movie twist towards the end, and it was a touch too heavy with its symbolism.

I find it hard to rank his movies since I think they're all really good, but they all have something that's holding them back from being great. Arrival is the weakest of his that I've seen, but even that is still very solid. Enemy is probably my favorite.

Would agree with all of this regarding your sentiment towards his work. Melissa Leo holding up Hugh Jackman at the end was so corny haha

Enemy is probably third for me tho after incendies and Sicario.

 

[duckroll]

I love Incendies, but it has the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the face. And that's by Villenueve's standards lol

But that's why I love Incendies. It's not a subtle commentary on war or anything. It's an intense IN YOUR FACE modern day myth. The entire thing is presented in such a unique way for a modern-ish tale. The title cards, the chapter divisions. It was absolutely the best way to adapt a stage play. I fucking love it.

 

[Trago]

Incendies is definitely his best film I think.

I loved Prisoners, but had literally the worst movie theater experience watching it though. A little bit before I arrived at the theater to see it, I got a Big Gulp from 7-11. So throughout the entire film I was holding in what felt like the biggest piss of my life. It didn't help that the move was suspenseful and intense as hell to watch through.

Sicario is up there.

Arrival was really good.

Haven't seen his other films just yet.

 

[duckroll]

I loved Prisoners, but had literally the worst movie theater experience watching it though. A little bit before I arrived at the theater to see it, I got a Big Gulp from 7-11. So throughout the entire film I was holding in what felt like the biggest piss of my life. It didn't help that the move was suspenseful and intense as hell to watch through.

That's a funny story because it reminds me of how I watched Prisoners at home and it felt so long that I had to pause to go pee twice. Maybe there's something about the movie that really makes you want to go. Lol.

 

[-Plasma Reus-]

That's a funny story because it reminds me of how I watched Prisoners at home and it felt so long that I had to pause to go pee twice. Maybe there's something about the movie that really makes you want to go. Lol.

Pissoners.

 

[Einchy]

I make sure to not drink anything at all hours before I know that I'm going to the theater. I've had to hold my pee real bad a bunch of times but I'm pretty sure I've never actually gotten up to pee.

I WON'T DO IT

PEE WILL NEVER DEFEAT ME

 

[Trago]

That's a funny story because it reminds me of how I watched Prisoners at home and it felt so long that I had to pause to go pee twice. Maybe there's something about the movie that really makes you want to go. Lol.

It doesn't help that the movie is two and a half butt-fuckin' hours long! And I sat through the whole thing!

 

[jack_package_200]

Would you all say Polytechnique is worth watching?

 

[duckroll]

Would you all say Polytechnique is worth watching?

Absolutely? But you should at least know what to roughly expect from it. It's not a movie-movie. It's a black and white docu-drama based on true events, about a school shooting in Canada.

 

[F0rneus]

Would you all say Polytechnique is worth watching?

Of course. Hell it's one of Villeneuve's best movies.

 

[Finaj]

Glad it's getting good reviews. I actually haven't seen the original. Luckily, AMC is having a special showing of the Final Cut on Wednesday.

 

[AuthenticM]

My order would probably be something like:

Incendies > Prisoners > Polytechnique > Sicario > Arrival > Enemy > 32 August


Incendies and Prisoners are his tightest films by far, the character work is amazing, the it leaves a huge impact. Polytechnique is his most personal film, Sicario is loud but effective, Arrival is good but hampered by iffy screenplay decisions, Enemy I appreciate a lot but didn't enjoy, 32 August is a pretty good indie but really unpolished.

You still have Maëlstrom to watch, with the beautiful Marie-Josée Croze who stole Nicole Kidman's Best Actress award at Cannes in the early 2000s.

 

[brianjones]

didn't really care for incendies personally

thought it had kind of a ludicrous twist and I cant see ever wanting to watch it again

I like sicario the best

enemy had the potential to be the most interesting but it never quite elevated to greatness for me

 

[Jedi2016]

I watched the original last night (Final Cut). God, that movie is so damn good.

And stuff like this:

I don't know if this movie can do something like this... something so beautiful and impactful. I never thought I'd see the like again. But I can hope, I suppose.. Probably go see this one as soon as I'm able.

 

[MagicWithEarvin]

Just got my IMAX reserved seating tickets for this Friday. Paid $18 out of pocket, had $15 in Stubs rewards.

 

[jack_package_200]

So I watched Polytechnique.

Maaaaaaaaan. Its been a long time since a movie really unsettled me. I suppose it might be compounded on by the fact something similar just happened in Las Vegas.

Here is my ranking:

Arrival > Sicario > Enemy > Polytechnique > Prisoners

Still need to see Incendies

 

[Geist-]

She's never portrayed as being weak, her arc is one of disenfranchisement and not disempowerment. I always read her as a stand in for America's role in the war on drugs. Initially high as a kite on altruism but slowly and steadily reigned in by reality until the point where she's complicit with what's happening around her.

Ballsy as fuck way to end an American film.

Thank you, so many people don't understand this.

Anyway, just bought tickets to a Bladerunner double feature on Thursday, can't wait to see nearly 5 hours of my favorite genre.

 

[Moonkid]

But that's why I love Incendies. It's not a subtle commentary on war or anything. It's an intense IN YOUR FACE modern day myth. The entire thing is presented in such a unique way for a modern-ish tale. The title cards, the chapter divisions. It was absolutely the best way to adapt a stage play. I fucking love it.

Exactly. I mean the opening scene ends with a shot held for uncomfortably long with a kid staring dead into the camera while being prepped to be a soldier. I also really liked how the film presented its structure.

 

[Ashhong]

Just saw what felt like a full length trailer during The Gifted that was cut with review quotes. I thought it was really good, anybody know which one it was?

 

[tonysidaway]

I wrote here at the weekend:

According to my local cinema in Northeast England, the film is released on Thursday 5th starting with a 2D matinee at 1030 BST (UTC+0100). Wikipedia says there will be a Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday 3rd, with the nationwide US release being Friday 6th.

Because of the massacre on Monday, tonight's Red Carpet for the Los Angeles premiere has been cancelled. The first public viewing of the show will go ahead tonight, though some sources are erroneously reporting that the entire premiere has been scrapped.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life...cancelled-after-las-vegas-shooting/725524001/

 

[LegendofDragoonLives]

My impression is that a lot of people that saw the film perceived this as weakness. And the other characters' ruthlessness and disregard for the law as strength.

Kate powerlessness at the end reminded me a lot of The Wire, only more brutal on a personal level.

It was a weakness in the end though, because you have to be a piece of shit to be able to really dent them. I didn't get if the end implied

Spoiler

that she's off their team or is going to be a waterboy from now on because she is not quite at their level

All 3 of the mains were fantastic characters though. I wouldn't call her character weak, she was a complete badass. You just have to be a terrible human being to be on that force. :S

 

[Matski]

Don't know if there are any Andrew Collins followers here but he just published his review (some minor spoilers) for the film.

After the initial hype last week, it seems some of the newer reviews point to it being a really good film rather than a masterpiece, which is somewhat of a shame. Still looking forward to Kermode's review which will supposedly be out by tomorrow, and more apprehensively towards the write-up by S&S.

I watched the original last night (Final Cut). God, that movie
is so damn good.

And stuff like this:

...

I don't know if this movie can do something like this... something so beautiful and impactful. I never thought I'd see the like again. But I can hope, I suppose.. Probably go see this one as soon as I'm able.

From what I've been reading in reviews, it sounds like the more poignant philosophical elements of the original haven't crossed-over and that it doesn't have an antagonist as iconic or scene-stealing as Hauer's Roy Batty. If this is true and you're still hoping to see it then you may be disappointed.

Personally, I'm trying not to go in too hyped. Hype usually ends in disappointment and while I'm hoping for the Aliens to Blade Runner's Alien, I'm now only expecting a better-than-average sci-noir flick.

 

[More_Badass]

Don't know if there are any Andrew Collins followers here but he just published his his review (some minor spoilers) for the film.

It seems that after the initial hype last week that this week's reviews point to it being a really good film rather than a masterpiece, which is somewhat of a shame.

There’s a fine line between those, and even movies considered masterpieces don’t receive unanimous praise. People saying a movie is only good doesn’t mean it isn’t a masterpiece and vice versa. It really hinges on what you consider a masterpiece and what defines a film as such

 

[demosthenes]

Was watching the original last night with some people that have never seen it to get ready. They all enjoyed it but when

Spoiler

Deckard forced himself on Rachel there was silence and my friend goes "well it just got pretty rapey in here" and the silence was broken with laughter.

 

[JB1981]

Oh my how expectations shift. No one expected a Blade Runner sequel to be really good let alone a masterpiece.

I'll take really good!

 

[Chained Prometheus]

There’s a fine line between those, and even movies considered masterpieces don’t receive unanimous praise. People saying a movie is only good doesn’t mean it isn’t a masterpiece and vice versa. It really hinges on what you consider a masterpiece and what defines a film as such

Yeah, a lot of it comes down to the individual watching the film.

Terry Gilliam's Brazil, for example, is widely heralded as a masterpiece in the film world. Personally though, I'm not much of a fan and preferred 12 Monkeys when I saw that film. Hell, if memory serves me right, Roger Ebert wasn't a fan of Brazil either.

That doesn't change the fact that Brazil is still generally seen as a masterpiece though.

You're going to hear more and more different sorts of opinions about Blade Runner 2049 as the days go on, quite simply because more and more people are going to be watching the film for themselves.

 

[Spuck-uk]

Man, I disagree with "Blade Runner is slow", but accept it as a valid opinion.

But "Denis Villeneuve movies are slow" is crazy-talk. Do y'all ever branch out beyond Marvel/Star Wars shit?

There's a definite subset of film watching people that think anything without explosions/fistfights/shootouts is 'boring'.

I mean, it's a bad opinion but hey

 

[cackhyena]

Gonna give Final Cut a watch on Fandango Now soon. Never saw it. Saw the original a long time ago and while I love the aesthetic, the film meanders too much for my taste. Hope to get more out of it this time.

 

[Inferno313]

Yeah, a lot of it comes down to the individual watching the film.

Terry Gilliam's Brazil, for example, is widely heralded as a masterpiece in the film world. Personally though, I'm not much of a fan and preferred 12 Monkeys when I saw that film. Hell, if memory serves me right, Roger Ebert wasn't a fan of Brazil either.

That doesn't change the fact that Brazil is still generally seen as a masterpiece though.

You're going to hear more and more different sorts of opinions about Blade Runner 2049 as the days go on, quite simply because more and more people are going to be watching the film for themselves.

Exactly. The fact that there are (slightly) more (slightly) cooler reviews doesn't invalidate the effusive praise of Friday. It doesn't mean the film has changed in anyway. It doesn't mean you necessarily need to recalibrate your expectations, even. (Though, pro-tip: keeping expectations in check is always good practice.)

It's like the fact that there are a few 4-star reviews now, instead of unanimous 5-stars, is cause for panic... Which is so silly. It's still at 94% with an average score of 8.5... That's probably higher than your fav. Like... nothing's changed? Some people like it, some people really like it, some people really, really like it.

See the film for yourself and make your own decision on how you feel about it. Don't try to decide how you're gonna feel about the film based on a percentage on a website before you've actually seen it. That's silly.