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Blade Runner 2049 Review Thread

Window

Member
I finally got to the end of the original international release. When Gaff shows up on the roof of the Bradbury Building in his fancy flying car, the dialogue goes:

Gaff: You've done a man's job, sir. I guess you're through, huh?"
Rick: Finished.
[Gaff throws something solid towards Rick (payment?) and starts to walk away on his cane. Then he turns back to address Rick.]
Gaff: It's too bad she won't live, but then again who does?

There's a small and probably insignificant coda to this. In the much-hated narrative as Rick and Rachael fly away north, Rick says:

"Gaff had been there and let her live. Four years, he figured. He was wrong. Tyrell had told me Rachael was special. No termination date. I didn't know how long we'd have together. Who does?"

That's how the version shown in cinemas in my country in 1982 ended.
The line in question is present only in the directors cut of the film, not the international (according to Wikipedia). Also I think Gaff throws Deckard's gun back to him in that scene which he lost earlier.
 

JDHarbs

Member
[Gaff throws something solid towards Rick (payment?) and starts to walk away on his cane. Then he turns back to address Rick.]
Gaff: It's too bad she won't live, but then again who does?
Just rewatched it today. It was Deckard's dropped gun that he threw.

At least, that's what it looked like to me.

Edit: beaten
 
RT percentage to me isn't as important as what critics I trust are actually saying. I've seen 90+ percentage films that I wasn't that crazy about.

What gets me hyped about this are legit critics saying it's better than the original and one of the best sci-fi films ever made.
 

nightmare-slain

Gold Member
Going to see it on Friday. Will be seeing it on a "superscreen". Doesn't look as big as IMAX but it says it's dual 4k projectors. Can't look any worse than a standard 2d screen I guess and I'm not going to my usual cinema but the more popular one in the city so the screen quality will be better. Also get nice big comfy leather seats to relax on.

Can't wait! Will be watching the first movie today after work.
 

Sidzed2

Member
I just stepped out of my screening.

This is beautifully-conceived and executed science fiction film-making.

It's gorgeous and atmospheric and eerie and sad and beautiful. On that level, the film is stunning and worth watching.

On a narrative and thematic level? It's fascinating. I do think the actual plotting in relation to the central mystery is weird and unintentionally vague. Also the villain and his 'plot' are just bizarre and his motivations were lost on me.

It's probably as good as one could expect from a Blade Runner sequel.

Go watch it and then someone come explain the plot to me.
 
Now there's another scifi movie with a sequel that I very much would like to see.
GOOD NEWS!
https://www.avclub.com/don-hertzfeldts-genius-streak-continues-in-the-poignant-1818694192
(I haven’t actually read reviews as for whatever reason they feel the need to spell out the plot points of an entire 20 minute short film), but he’s made another one, people seem to really like it, but it’s still on the film festival circuit, so like the rest of his films, it will take a while to release
 

Jarmel

Banned
Ok I've listened to the soundtrack and it's sorta interesting. It feels like Zimmer and Wallfisch ran out of time. The parts that are Zimmer are super generic for the most part and aren't that good. Those are usually the combat segments and it's stuff from his recent blockbuster movies.

However there are parts that are straight Vangelis and those bits are really good. That seems to be more in the second half of the OST so maybe it took them awhile to nail Vangelis's style. Sea Wall feels the closest to successfully mixing Zimmer and Vangelis's styles.

The OST also isn't as diverse as the original.

Standouts: Mesa, Joi, Sea Wall, Tears in Rain (maybe Blade Runner as parts are really good and parts are eh)
 

Ashhong

Member
Well, the theater gave me free passes so at least I don't have to spend extra money to see 2049. I'll take it I guess. Was pretty cool to see the original in Dolby. Slow as fuck that movie. Goddamn.

I hope the ost track names aren't spoilers. I wasn't thinking and went through them
 

Finaj

Member
Just saw the original for the first time. Really liked the story, characters, and that fact that it still holds up visually. However, I'm actually not the biggest fan of the aesthetic. I typically love cyberpunk, but something about this felt off for some reason. I'm more of a Deus Ex: Human Revolution guy in terms of looks.
 
Really good interview with Zimmer and Wallfisch. It sounds like it's mostly Wallfish's score with a little direction from Hansy. https://youtu.be/fzDdJYI1HUM

Anyone who heard Wallfisch's A Cure For Wellness score should be excited about this guy. He's got a really good sound and I hope he did something special for this film.

If you go back and listen to Johannson's early stuff for the film, I can definitly see how it might turn off a lot of people. It was very organ heavy and oppressive feeling. I can see why they would want that more light piano and synthy sound that Vengelis was so good at.
 

Krev

Unconfirmed Member
If you go back and listen to Johannson's early stuff for the film, I can definitly see how it might turn off a lot of people. It was very organ heavy and oppressive feeling. I can see why they would want that more light piano and synthy sound that Vengelis was so good at.
Where can we hear it?
 
Digging the score so far. The rendition of Tears in Rain is really well done. I'd heard about a week ago or so that it was going to be in the film, but I figured it'd be another TFA situation where they lifted the original take from Vangelis and put it in the film where they wanted it to be (which worked wonderfully in TFA). Kinda impressed that they went out of their way to do an updated spin of the composition.

Wallfisch's score is definitely darker and more claustrophobic sounding than Vangelis' score for the original film was, but it's also cut from much of the same cloth. Dude did a killer job, especially given the short amount of time given to him and Hans.
 

Jarmel

Banned
Digging the score so far. The rendition of Tears in Rain is really well done. I'd heard about a week ago or so that it was going to be in the film, but I figured it'd be another TFA situation where they lifted the original take from Vangelis and put it in the film where they wanted it to be (which worked wonderfully in TFA). Kinda impressed that they went out of their way to do an updated spin of the composition.

Wallfisch's score is definitely darker and more claustrophobic sounding than Vangelis' score for the original film was, but it's also cut from much of the same cloth. Dude did a killer job, especially given the short amount of time given to him and Hans.

Tears in Rain is definitely great as an updated version. It sounds really close but feels 'freshened' up a bit.

The OST feels more oppressive than the original, which I don't particularly like. That's probably due to the tone of this movie being a bit different. It just sounds a little too modern at parts.
 
Tears in Rain is definitely great as an updated version. It sounds really close but feels 'freshened' up a bit.

The OST feels more oppressive than the original, which I don't particularly like. That's probably due to the tone of this movie being a bit different. It feels a bit too modern at parts.

It definitely is.

Granted, I noticed last night while I was rewatching the original film with my dad that there's a lot of moments in Vangelis' score that are quite similar to what Zimmer has popularized with movie scores as of late.

There's quite a few moments where the score just sort of moans, groans and generally acts more to echo the imagery and sound design, rather than the most iconic song moments that we all recall during key moments of the film. And as far as I can tell on these early listens of the 2049 score, Wallfischer seems to largely take the same approach.
 
Just listened to the entire album on Spotify. It's really good guys. The track 'Blade Runner' sounds like a b-side from Vengelis' work on the OG film. I think Hansy and Fishy did a good job of homaging Vengelis' work while doing their own thing as well. It also got me super-pumped to see the movie this weekend!
 

Ashhong

Member
Controversial opinion: while I enjoyed the ost to the original, I didn't love it. It's definitely unique, but it just wasn't for me. Felt too moody if that's possible. I really liked the end credit track though. Hope 2049 has a bit more of that mixed in
 

HariKari

Member
Controversial opinion: while I enjoyed the ost to the original, I didn't love it. It's definitely unique, but it just wasn't for me. Felt too moody if that's possible. I really liked the end credit track though. Hope 2049 has a bit more of that mixed in

Really hope 2049 ends on a new version of "End Titles"
 

Xun

Member
My friend can't see it this week so I'm tempted to go alone and see it again next week... 🤔

I'll no doubt want to see it twice after all.
 
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