K (played by Ryan Gosling) is a man on a mission to retire those sought after replicants. He seeks them out and hopes they will come with him peacefully, but most of the time they don't. When we first see K, thirty years after the first movie takes place, he is sent to retire the replicants and this is his only job. He reports to Lieutenant Joshi (played by Robin Wright) and she tells him everything he must do. When an interesting artifact is found at his latest capture, he is sent to find the missing pieces and end lives if he must. On the way he is attacked by people who want things from him, and he finds that life isn't as it seems, and maybe it never was.
I enjoyed this movie, but possibly not as much as others after looking at the reviews. While most of the graphics were fascinating and fun, keeping in tune with the original BLADE RUNNER movie, and the scenery is depressing, and a lot like the scenery in the first movie as well, that was possibly the most fascinating part of the movie. I felt that Gosling was miscast as K, and he seemed a little too bland. I felt a lot like I was watching the driver in the movie DRIVE again. The character of K reminded me of the bland, or static, feeling I got from the driver.
There were of course twists and turns, and while Harrison Ford was in this movie, his character wasn't as dynamic as he was in the original. In fact the most interesting character was that of Luv (played by Sylvia Hoeks), a replicant who works for Wallace and the Wallace Company, the builder and creator of the new generation of replicants. Luv was a dedicated replicant, who tried her best to do what she was told, but who honestly had a dark secret.
The biggest issue I had with this movie was the 2 hour and 44 minute run time. There was a lot I felt could have been cut or at least edited down. The second issue I had was not as big as the running time, but it was the ending of the movie. The ending tried to be as emotionally significant as the scene in the original when Rutger Hauers character dies. There wasn't enough to make me care about the person who died in BLADE RUNNER 2049, and yet they even use the same music that was used when Rutger Hauer made his awesome speech and then died.
Okay, not I know some of you might think that because of this review I did not like this movie. This is not the case at all. In fact I enjoyed the movie, it just wasn't my favorite movie. I don't think it had the same feel or emotion as the original BLADE RUNNER, and I really do think not only did it try too hard to be relevant, but it also tried too hard to evoke emotion, especially by trying to give Rachel and Deckard more back story and explanation, which in turn ruins some of the feel of the unanswered questions in the original.
So, do I recommend that you see it? Yes, but I also suggest keeping an open mind and maybe, before you go and see it watch the original movie.