Those that hunt them still go by the name Blade Runner

A sequel to a controversial cinematic failure is a strange idea for a multi million dollar movie, especially in the age of franchises and reboots. For fans of the original film, the signs were ominous. It was a follow up to a thirty year old sci fi movie, created pre-internet, for a post internet generation. We were two years out from the setting of the original, but there were no Spinners, Off World Colonies or Replicants. Los Angeles 2019, which had once been so dangerous and ground breaking, now seemed old and trite.

Then it was released.

The film had something dangerous to say, and once again, audiences weren’t ready for it.

Bladerunner 2049 is not only one of the greatest sci fi films ever made, it’s also a film of great profundity, which resonates long after viewing.

How does a sequel thirty years late, accomplish this?

In 3 ways.

1: It’s a reflection of Bladerunner. It inverts the original and gives us a deeper understanding of its complex themes. It’s not just a sequel; it’s a companion piece that stands on its own merits. It has more to say about the Bladerunner universe.

2: In reflecting the original, it also achieves the Bladerunner effect: being ahead of its time & showing a future which audiences are not prepared for. It’s a dangerous but rewarding film for those that are willing to engage it.

This leads to the third and final point:

3: Like the very best science fiction, Bladerunner 2049 (hereafter referred to as BR49) challenges its audience. It brings to light the faults in our understanding of the human condition. This challenge is what makes it a dangerous film.  For those that aren’t ready, it can be dismissed as slow. For those who are ready, it creates a shift in perception.

The film is a test of what it is to be human, and the results show that we aren’t even close to baseline.

Right from the start the juxtaposition of imagery shows the relationship between the two films.

Bladerunner

The spectacular 1982 opening is famous for its reveal – opening crawl, date, Los Angeles, and then the human eye.

Bladerunner 2049

We see the same, but in a different order: The opening crawl, the human eye, California and then the date.

This is by no means an accident. In BR82 the world was the star, overpowering the characters and relegating them to the background. In BR49, we see the reverse: humanity first and foremost, and the world as a background to their actions.

This is further emphasized in the next shot. The structures on the ground resemble a human eye – signs of the creator within their creation.

California in 2049 is cleaner than 2019, but the achievement is at a cost. There are fields filled with open space and technology, but there is no life.

Suddenly we see a Spinner, dwarfed by the array beneath. Due to the autopilot, the person within is relegated to a passive observation role, yet the spectacular vista beneath is ignored.

This shows a disdain for technology. What appears spectacular to us is mundane to those that live in this world. This is further highlighted when we find out that officer K is actually a Replicant controlled by the police. Technological advancement has enabled society to create artificial life, but it’s misused. K is the manifestation of a faceless government department, a sentient court order. Rather than using technology to fix the fundamental flaws of humanity, we see that humans use their synthetic offspring to deal with undesired activities and failures by proxy.

Simply put, Replicants carry the burden of their creators’ mistakes.

This is further explored during the visit to Sapper Morton’s farm.