Yes, the call-backs to the original film are handled superbly, as are the riffs on films that have followed it, and the cinematography is nothing short of jaw-dropping, but here’s the rub. No matter how beautiful the cinematography is, it’s merely style over substance, unless it adds something to the story, a convenient moment to look at your watch to see how longs left.
So why was Korea’s Jeju Loveland transported to Vegas and why did Ryan Gosling walk through it?
Did Michael Bay become Governor of Nevada? If so, it would explain the dirty bomb.
The entire 2 hours 43 minutes run-time hangs on a wafer thin plot, a single conceit extracted from the original. I can’t help thinking this would have been a shorter, puncher, story if they’d cast Matt Damon as K and Paul Greengrass had directed it.
Perhaps we can set a new trend for bun-numbing blockbusters to have a shorter Directors cut on the DVD release?
Still given how it sets-up a potential third entry in the Blade Runner cannon, Christian Bale could finally find his salvation. Although if reports of its opening weekend in the States are anything to go by he’ll be as old as Harrison Ford before that sees the light of day.