BLADE RUNNER 2049 (2017) – My rating: 7.5/10

Blade Runner 2049 is an American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. Blade Runner 2049 is a sequel to the 1982 film Blade Runner, which was a big hit receiving 8.2 on IMDB. 2049 is set thirty years after the first film. A blade runner uncovers a secret that threatens to instigate a war between humans and replicants. I didn’t like this sequel as much as the first film but still thought it was good.

The original Blade Runner was set between 1982 and 2019.  The sequel’s timeline is set just 2 years after its release date in 2017.  All the technological advancements of the original were adopted but many of the actual developments of the era were disregarded, for example;  flat-panel displays, the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the collapse of Pan Am.

In 2049, replicants (described as “bioengineered humans”) are slaves. K (Ryan Gosling), is a replicant that works for the LAPD as a “Blade Runner”, an officer who hunts and “retires” (kills) rogue replicants. At a protein farm, K retires Sapper Morton (Dave Bautista) and finds a box buried under a tree. The box contains the remains of a female replicant who died during a caesarean section, demonstrating that replicants can reproduce sexually, previously thought impossible. K’s superior Lieutenant Joshi (Robin Wright) is fearful that this could lead to a war between humans and replicants. She orders K to find and retire the replicant child to hide the truth.

K visits the Wallace Corporation headquarters (the successor-in-interest in the manufacturing of replicants to the Tyrell Corporation, which went out of business) where the deceased female is identified from DNA archives as Rachael, an experimental replicant designed by Dr. Tyrell. K learns of Rachael’s romantic ties with former blade runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford). Wallace CEO Niander Wallace (Jared Leto) wants to discover the secret to replicant reproduction to expand interstellar colonization. He sends his replicant enforcer, Luv (Sylvia Hoeks), to steal Rachael’s remains from LAPD headquarters and follow K to Rachael’s child.

At Morton’s farm, K sees the date 6-10-21 carved into the tree trunk and recognizes it from a childhood memory of a wooden toy horse. Because replicants’ memories are artificial, K’s holographic AI girlfriend Joi (Ana De Armas) believes this is evidence that K was born, not created.

The remainder of Blade Runner 2049 gets interesting.  You must follow it very closely and should know some of the history from it’s first film to keep up.  Blade Runner 2049 is really suspenseful and a good mystery.  I feel the film moves a little slow and relies on too much technical lingo but if you’re attentive you’ll get it.  The acting is brilliant and the plot is amazing.  In my opinion Blade Runner 2049 is not quite as exciting as it’s original film but is still very good and holds it’s own.  Blade Runner is available on DVD and Blu-ray.  Check it out!

NOTE:  Archival footage, audio and stills of Sean Young from the original film are used to represent her character of Rachael. Young’s likeness was digitally superimposed onto Loren Peta, who was coached by Young.  The voice of the replicant was created with the use of a sound-alike actress to Young.

[Blade Runner 2049 is Oscar nominated for BEST:  Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Production Design and Best Cinematography.]

 

WONDER WOMAN (2017) – My rating: 8.5/10

I had never seen a Wonder Woman movie or read a Wonder Woman comic book before, so this was my first experience and I have to say it was a pretty good one. It was not what I expected. There were a few plot issues but overall, I welcome Wonder Woman to the fold. The movie is set in 1918 and tells the story of Princess Diana, who grows up on the island of Themyscira, sheltered by her mother and aunt. After an American pilot crashes offshore and is rescued by Diana, life as she knows it changes forever. He tells her about the ongoing World War. She then leaves her home in order to end the conflict, becoming Wonder Woman in the process.

Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) was born and raised on the hidden Amazon island of Themyscira, home to the Amazon race of warrior women, created by the gods of Mount Olympus to protect humankind against the corruption of Ares, the god of war, who slew all his fellow gods.  Zeus, Ares’ father struck down his son after being mortally wounded.  Before Zeus succumbed to his injuries, he left the Amazons a weapon capable of killing his renegade son: the “Godkiller”, which Diana believes to be a ceremonial sword. Queen Hippolyta, (Connie Nielsen) Diana’s mother and queen of the Amazons, believes that Ares will never return therefore disallows Diana from training as a warrior, but Diana and her aunt, General Antiope, (Robin Wright) defy the queen and begin training in secret. Once Hippolya discovers the two, Antiope convinces her to allow Diana’s training to continue.

Captain Steve Trevor, (Chris Pine) a pilot with the American Expeditionary Forces crashes in his plane off the coast of Themyscira. The island is invaded by the landing party of a German cruiser pursuing Steve. Diana, now a young woman, rescues Steve as the Amazons engage and kill all the German sailors, but Diana’s Aunt and General Antiope dies intercepting a German bullet meant for Diana. By using a famous Wonder Woman weapon to interrogate the pilot, (The Lasso of Truth) Steve is forced to reveal that World War I is raging in the outside world, and that he is an Allied spy. He stole a notebook from the Spanish chief chemist Isabel Maru / “Doctor Poison”(Elena Anaya), who is attempting to engineer a deadlier form of mustard gas under the orders of General Erich Ludendorff, (Danny Huston) who is an ambitious and iron fisted-general of the German Army during World War I. Believing Ares is responsible for the war, Diana arms herself with the ceremonial sword and leaves Themyscira with Steve to find and destroy Ares.

After the two arrive in London and deliver Maru’s notebook to Steve’s superiors, including Sir Patrick Morgan, (David Thewlis) who is trying to negotiate an armistice with Germany, the journey begins. Diana translates Maru’s notes and reveals that the Germans plan to release their deadly gas at the war front. Sir Patrick secretly sponsors Steve, Diana and 3 recruits: Sameer, (Saïd Taghmaoui) who is a French Moroccan con-artist and secret agent, marksman Charlie, (Ewen Bremner) a heavy-drinking Scottish former sharpshooter who can no longer shoot due to PTSD from a previous tour of duty and Chief, (Eugene Brave Rock) a Native American smuggler who trades with both sides of the war and knows how to get people across front lines.   Steve becomes Diana’s love interest and they all share a small victory thus taking a group picture, that is presented at the beginning of the movie.

The movie is pretty good up until this point.  Wonder Woman is where she wants to be, realizing her goal to save the world and achieve peace.  I thought it was hilarious watching her perform smack dab in the middle of a World War as a super being, scantly dressed, jumping over hills, displaying strength unknown to man, yet being treated as normal as any other soldier fighting a war.  She was so out of place, due to the time frame and her gender, plus it was extremely cold — maybe her outfit was heated.  This was the only time I felt things got a little corny.  Overall, I really enjoyed Wonder Woman and look forward to seeing the next sequel.  The rest of the story was decent and I think you will like it as well. Check it out!