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Blade Runner 2049 |OT| Do Androids Dream of Electric Boogaloo? [Unmarked Spoilers]

Mulgrok

Member
Saw the movie yesterday. It was great and I expect it to win some Academy awards. Even though the film was slow, it felt like a natural pace and never boring. All of the actors were terrific. I guess editors and director will be up for awards.

Bautista, damn man. Can't wait to see him in other films.

EDIT: I went to a noon screening. Only 6 people in the audience.
 

Alebrije

Member
Great movie, keeps the legacy of the first one. The ambient and music superb.

Glad lately we get great movies about old series :

Mad Max FR
It
Blade Runner 2049

Just imagine what could be a new Space Odyssey if done with the right director and actors , jus following the story after 2010.
 
Soooooooo...when do expect the Blu Ray to release?

Earliest I'm thinkin is January/Feburary

I really wouldn't have a clue, but for example the Valerian film was released in mid-July and Amazon UK is now taking Blu-ray pre-orders for it with an announced release date in late November. Four-and-a-half months would place the Blade Runner 2049 Blu-Ray release in mid-February.

Amazon UK is already accepting open-dated pre-orders for a 3D Blu-ray Steelbook of Blade Runner 2049 at a very reasonable £24.99, with a plain old DVD of the film priced at £9.99.
 

gfxtwin

Member
Just imagine what could be a new Space Odyssey if done with the right director and actors , jus following the story after 2010.

That's kinda what Nolan was trying to do with Interstellar I reckon.


Also Terry Malick gave it a whirl with his recent film "Voyage of Time" that for some reason is in distribution limbo and there hasn't been a way to watch it in the US since it screened in Imax theaters for like a week last year.
 
Oh man, she really was not good (but cute as hell) lol
But thats maybe because the direction of the series was not stellar with the students (the teachers were better).
Glad she could improve so much, se was great in Blade Runner.

In the film playing Joi, physically she reminded me a little of Jenna Coleman, which made me miss Jenna. The part Ana had to play is a little mousy and submissive, and that's okay because it's part of the way the film attempts to deconstruct the social hierarchy of the society. Jenna's habitually loud screen presence would be too big for this part. The contrast shows the subtlety of the direction. It's not an accident that the film plays with 1950s marketing stereotypes of American domesticity, having Joi wearing a flouncy dress and plonking an image of a steaming, beautifully cooked fantasy dish over the reality of Joe's frugal self-prepared bowl of slop. A little Brazil reference there, too.
 

Rydeen

Member
I recently discovered One More Kiss, Dear was a Vangelis creation. That thing has been in my head for a few days.

Yeah I was surprised to find that out, too. I knew that it was a last minute replacement for the Ink Spots "If I Didn't Care", but I just thought they replaced that with another vintage recording, not composing and recording a brand new song in the style. Sounds like a catalog recording from the late 20's/30's, shockingly accurate, Vangelis has tons more range than people give him credit for.
 
I recently discovered One More Kiss, Dear was a Vangelis creation. That thing has been in my head for a few days.

A collaboration with Peter Skellern, now that's a name I haven't heard in a while. Peter was a nostalgia specialist who wrote the lyrics. He died earlier this year.

The singer is Don Percival, who is more famous as the A&R man who in 1969 decided to release Space Oddity as a single just before the launch of Apollo 11, saving David Bowie's then-foundering musical career.
 
I saw it twice too and made the same decision. Guess we'll just have to settle for a standard screening in a smaller auditorium if we want to see it in theaters one last time 😏

I lied, I saw it again today hahaha. I was buying tickets to Geostorm on friday (WHAT ITS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT ok) and just had to see Blade Runner one last time on a huge screen. It was absolutely glorious and this time I knew when exactly to run out for pee breaks.

I walked out though just as K was lying down at the end, to me thats the perfect ending to the movie as vangelis plays, I don't really like the final Harrison Ford scene and it detracts from the movie a tiny bit, for me.

My only complaint still stands: the second half of the movie is completely gripping, but on my third watch the first half of the movie has at least 3-4 scenes where I started nodding off a little. It really should have been cut down to 2 hours for theatrical release.
 

Robot Pants

Member
I lied, I saw it again today hahaha. I was buying tickets to Geostorm on friday (WHAT ITS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT ok) and just had to see Blade Runner one last time on a huge screen. It was absolutely glorious and this time I knew when exactly to run out for pee breaks.

I walked out though just as K was lying down at the end, to me thats the perfect ending to the movie as vangelis plays, I don't really like the final Harrison Ford scene and it detracts from the movie a tiny bit, for me.

My only complaint still stands: the second half of the movie is completely gripping, but on my third watch the first half of the movie has at least 3-4 scenes where I started nodding off a little. It really should have been cut down to 2 hours for theatrical release.
Pffft no way. The movie is absolutely perfect until Deckard shows up.
If anything should be trimmed from the movie it’s in the last third.
Cgi Rachael (who looks like Ted Cruz) needed to go, and the “more human than human” line needed to go. Rework the Freyja scene a little bit so it’s less “Hey checkout this underground rebellion”.
Everything else was perfect
 
Finally got around to my second viewing earlier in theaters and my initial feelings are intact. A strong genre film, for adults. The V.O. Flashbacks are a little heavy handed but to be expected. But I still loved the experience and the world. I want to return this world with K / Joe in the future, and I don’t think we need a big budget to so.


Question: At what point does the Replicant resistance battle begin and the corporate battle for them end? Potential fodder to keep up with this story
 
What was with that ashtray anyway? Was it just there for the imagery of the horse, or am I missing something?

I'm waiting for the Blu-ray, but I think the working hypothesis is that it's evidence that it was Gaff who ripped out the pages showing the records of Rick and Rachael's child. Like the unicorn symbolism in Blade Runner, this would be a clue visible only to the audience.
 
Saw this for the first time today. Figured if I was going to see this in theaters I may as well see it in IMAX, since it looked like Geostorm would be hogging all the IMAX showings come Friday. Probably only about 6 other people in the giant IMAX I saw it at this afternoon.

It was pretty great. My go to metric for how good a movie is when I'm in a theater is how long does it take for me to check my watch and I didn't feel the need to check until 2+ hours in.

The visuals and music and sound alone make this movie pretty special. Seeing it in IMAX was definitely the right choice- not overly loud or anything uncomfortable like Dunkirk bordered on at times.

I guess my big question is sort of with the whole replicant rebellion brewing. Maybe I missed it, but all of those replicants that are gathering for their rebellion or whatever in the underground are newer model ones created by Wallace, right? So, how are they rebelling? Specifically, I thought the whole point with Wallace reintroducing replicants was that he re engineered them in such a way that they wouldn't be disobedient? Does the movie ever explicitly say how he did that? Do they only obey his commands or any human master? Is there some kill switch genetically engineered in them? The whole thing in the first Blade Runner was that replicants like Batty only lived for 4 years, so they had a built in expiration date to prevent them from doing any thing crazy long term. But these newer Wallace version replicants are supposedly safer and more obedient how exactly? Maybe I just missed something there...
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
I guess my big question is sort of with the whole replicant rebellion brewing. Maybe I missed it, but all of those replicants that are gathering for their rebellion or whatever in the underground are newer model ones created by Wallace, right? So, how are they rebelling? Specifically, I thought the whole point with Wallace reintroducing replicants was that he re engineered them in such a way that they wouldn't be disobedient? Does the movie ever explicitly say how he did that? Do they only obey his commands or any human master? Is there some kill switch genetically engineered in them? The whole thing in the first Blade Runner was that replicants like Batty only lived for 4 years, so they had a built in expiration date to prevent them from doing any thing crazy long term. But these newer Wallace version replicants are supposedly safer and more obedient how exactly? Maybe I just missed something there...

The rebels were Nexus 8s. Made by Tyrell Corp after Tyrell's death. They have natural lifespans and are continually hunted.
 
The rebels were Nexus 8s. Made by Tyrell Corp after Tyrell's death. They have natural lifespans and are continually hunted.

So all of those rebels that showed up in the underground place were older Tyrell model Nexus 8s, including that prostitute/pleasure model one that saved K? I figured the older one eyed lady was an older model Nexus 8 but I guess I missed out that all of those guys were supposed to be older ones. I thought there were only a handful of older ones left that K was hunting down.
 
So all of those rebels that showed up in the underground place were older Tyrell model Nexus 8s, including that prostitute/pleasure model one that saved K? I figured the older one eyed lady was an older model Nexus 8 but I guess I missed out that all of those guys were supposed to be older ones. I thought there were only a handful of older ones left that K was hunting down.

No, not all. Freysa is one of the last ones, no?
 
No, not all. Freysa is one of the last ones, no?

That's what I thought- that Freysa and Bautista were one of maybe a handful of existing older model Nexus 8's.

I guess my question is if the newer model replicants are Wallace made, why and/or how are they able to freely decide to rebel against their human creators? Since I thought the whole conceit of Wallace reintroducing replicants into society was that they were re engineered in some way to make them safer and to avoid them potentially rising up against humans, like Batty and his crew did. Otherwise, what is the point of the entire setup of the movie where replicants were banned but then reintroduced as safer/more obedient than the old ones, when the new ones end up seemingly going rogue just as much as the old ones? Or is this just another Jurassic Park style "life finds a way" kind of thing where replicants/androids/AI will always end up rebelling against their creators no matter what safeguards are put in place? Obviously you have a replicant like K who is tightly monitored with his job and everything but is that sort of baseline test the only safeguard for every replicant from going rogue? That doesn't seem like much of a protection...
 
That's what I thought- that Freysa and Bautista were one of maybe a handful of existing older model Nexus 8's.

I guess my question is if the newer model replicants are Wallace made, why and/or how are they able to freely decide to rebel against their human creators? Since I thought the whole conceit of Wallace reintroducing replicants into society was that they were re engineered in some way to make them safer and to avoid them potentially rising up against humans, like Batty and his crew did. Otherwise, what is the point of the entire setup of the movie where replicants were banned but then reintroduced as safer/more obedient than the old ones, when the new ones end up seemingly going rogue just as much as the old ones? Or is this just another Jurassic Park style "life finds a way" kind of thing where replicants/androids/AI will always end up rebelling against their creators no matter what safeguards are put in place? Obviously you have a replicant like K who is tightly monitored with his job and everything but is that sort of baseline test the only safeguard for every replicant from going rogue? That doesn't seem like much of a protection...
I mean....Luv has a line saying exactly this? Just before killing the police lady. "You still think that we have to obey" or something along those lines
 
I mean....Luv has a line saying exactly this? Just before killing the police lady. "You still think that we have to obey" or something along those lines

So they just have total free will? Then how/why were replicants reintroduced into society if they're just as disobedient and just as troublesome as before? A replicant rebellion or a bunch of disobedient replicants wouldn't benefit Wallace any- he seems to view himself as their God.

Also, replicants are basically just humans, right? They're biologically just genetically engineered humans- they don't have computer chips or any metal skeletons or anything- but that kind of suspends my disbelief when you've got K taking such a beating by Bautista, getting pulverized into a wall like he did. Unless they've got stronger skeletons or something else biologically to account for their superhuman strength as well, I guess.

Then I suppose you get to Wallace and whatever Deus Ex like augments he had going on and whatever that means.
 
Soooooooo...when do expect the Blu Ray to release?

Earliest I'm thinkin is January/Feburary

Pre-order stuffs is saying March -- I am hoping earlier. This is something I need to soak in slowly and surely over time. Watching it in the big screen was almost too much -- I was almost too distracted by Roger Deakin's cinematography to do much else but sit in awe
 

diaspora

Member
Wallace's methods for Replicant control are mostly sound. You have millions(?) of them out there with like 20 in a "rebellion". I feel like people are underestimating how aggressive the indoctrination at birth really is. So yeah they can technically act against their programming but it's clearly much more rigorous than any previous Nexus.
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
Wallace's methods for Replicant control are mostly sound. You have millions(?) of them out there with like 20 in a "rebellion". I feel like people are underestimating how aggressive the indoctrination at birth really is. So yeah they can technically act against their programming but it's clearly much more rigorous than any previous Nexus.

I'd imagine there's more to the rebellion than the ones in that one room lol. But yea, its very much a minority.
 

BorkBork

The Legend of BorkBork: BorkBorkity Borking
I guess my big question is sort of with the whole replicant rebellion brewing. Maybe I missed it, but all of those replicants that are gathering for their rebellion or whatever in the underground are newer model ones created by Wallace, right? So, how are they rebelling? Specifically, I thought the whole point with Wallace reintroducing replicants was that he re engineered them in such a way that they wouldn't be disobedient? Does the movie ever explicitly say how he did that? Do they only obey his commands or any human master? Is there some kill switch genetically engineered in them? The whole thing in the first Blade Runner was that replicants like Batty only lived for 4 years, so they had a built in expiration date to prevent them from doing any thing crazy long term. But these newer Wallace version replicants are supposedly safer and more obedient how exactly? Maybe I just missed something there...

Yes, most of the replicants look to be younger Nexus 9's, like K and Mariette. And yes, the whole point of Wallace being so successful is that he developed a replicant that is utterly compliant. I think it was demonstrated in one of the short films where he convinced leaders by ordering a new replicant to kill himself.

But Wallace is making the same mistake as Tyrell in his hubris to control something as complex as a replicant (or their AI's it seems), which is shaped by both its nature and its environment. Real world experiences like trauma (and perhaps love) are shown to alter default personalities - hence the baseline test on K to ensure that murdering his own kind doesn't change him. Yet in the end he still manages to transcend his programming, given time and the right situation.

With the core idea of the movie being that K is nothing special by nature but heroic through agency, it seems like all Nexus 9's have the potential to break out of their compliance, if enough time and the right conditions. The numbers may be small in 2049, but as Freysa says, the storm is coming. History will repeat itself because humans have learned nothing from the past.

I'm not sure why Wallace doesn't go the limited lifespan failsafe route. Maybe it's a matter of economics? To replace models every few years on the scale he's now manufacturing them might be cost-prohibitive to serve as a mere contingency for something that he believes will never happen anyways.
 
Seen it a second time today.

Still think it could have used tighter script/editing/trimming (in particular Deckard/K fight seems really unnecessary), but that being said, still think it's damn a good Sci-Fi flim for my money, box office flop, or not. Regardless of what is better as a movie, original, or the sequel, I still think the sequel does a better job of exploring the human condition, and at the end of the day, that's what Sci-Fi at its best is about.
 
I saw it again at IMAX. I enjoyed looking for details the second time around. During the first meeting with Stelline she says something like, "Authentic memories, make real human emotions" when K asked her why she makes the memories so real. They then show K's face to it and it seems that he took that to heart because then they look at the childhood memory K has and he has an outburst for the first time. It fits the theme of authentic and artificial, because it is an authentic memory for Stelline, for K it is a fake, he just thinks it is authentic, but it still leads for him to basically have his most blatant display of emotion. As long as they think something is real, it has a profound effect on them, which is in contrast to when he told the memory to the Lt. the first time, where he thought it was fake and basically was more nonchalant toward it.
 

Antagon

Member
Watched it for the first time last night. Went in blind. What a great sci fi flick. Didn't really feel slow either, despite it being pretty long.

My favorite part of the movie was Joi, being almost the anti-thesis to the replicants in my view. Quickly building to a character that feels real, but in the end being nothing more then a vessel of K's desires. Wonderfully done.
 

Seesaw15

Member
Just rewatched the movie but what the hell happened to WOOD HARRIS? Was his part cut? Seems weird that he just had the one scene where he found out a replicant had a baby than gone. Weird.

I remember being excited that he was in the movie the first time I saw it than completely forgot about him.
 

Antagon

Member
I walked out though just as K was lying down at the end, to me thats the perfect ending to the movie as vangelis plays, I don't really like the final Harrison Ford scene and it detracts from the movie a tiny bit, for me.

That final scene was kinda necessary, but for Stelline and not Deckard. She has basically been locked up since she was a kid and lived a lie for her entire life. The auto-immune sickness was most likely just a cover up from the rebellion to keep her in the safest place they could think off.
 

teepo

Member
i'm at a loss for words; i never thought it could be done. my obsession over the original had made me myopic.

i cried at the end not because of how brilliant the whole film was, but because i have never in my life been more proud of being so fucking wrong.

that fucking script man, wow
 

HariKari

Member
Mark Kermode returns to Blade Runner 2049 to discuss whether it's a flop.

https://youtu.be/ZTj83HN8m3M

Don't like the Inception comparison. That movie is pretty explicit with what is going on. Blade Runner asks you to think a lot on your own and to infer what is going on, especially the meaning of some scenes. Inference is a skill beyond a lot of people, and certainly 'general audiences.'

It's mainly a niche genre and an old franchise. They didn't really push the final cut ahead of this movie the way they should have.

His end note of "I don't care, it exists" is definitely worth remembering. Even if it shutters Alcon, this movie can't be undone.
 
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