New trailer for Blade Runner 2049 is pretty dang alluring

The original Blade Runner from 1982 is deliberately claustrophic, keeping our point of view tightly encased in the rainy, polluted urban landscape of Los Angeles. We only see broad vistas when we ascend the gleaming pyramid occupied by Tyrell Corporation founder Eldon Tyrell.

Immediately, the trailer for Blade Runner 2049 gives us a much different view of the world. Yes, there are the cityscapes with holographic ladies, as well as a giant Atari logo that looks like it’s about to eat the universe. But there are also dramatic deserts, perhaps signs of profound climate change. We even see Officer K (Ryan Gosling) uncovering a date inscribed on a buried tree branch, and later he’s in some kind of forest gunfight (though that forest might be a hologram). Director Villeneuve made excellent use of landscape in Arrival, so it’s great to see that he’s doing that here, too.

We also get a clear signal that Blade Runner 2049 is going to take up an issue that ultimately fell by the wayside in the first film: the political horror that is replicant slavery. Though this is a big issue in Blade Runner, the film wound up focusing more on philosophical issues of what it means to be human. But Blade Runner 2049 puts slavery front and center, at least in this trailer.

I’m still not sold on Ryan Gosling and Jared Leto but I do trust Ridley Scott. Mostly. Harrison’s looks to be channeling the same basic pass-the-torch vibe as in The Force Awakens.

Trailer music is good though and Hampton Fancher is credited with the story and shares screenplay with Michael Green. Green also worked on Alien: Covenant.

Crossing my fingers Hollywood won’t pump out another Ghost in the Shell.

#movies #bladerunner