Blade Runner 2049 Becomes a Global Streaming Hit

Ridley Scott has a career full of contrasts. He directed iconic movies like Alien and Gladiator, which often struggled at the box office before achieving cult classic status. Scott’s recent directorial effort, The Dog Stars, has not been a critical or commercial success, but a sequel to one of his greatest movies is currently topping streaming charts worldwide. That movie is Blade Runner 2049. The sci-fi sequel recently hit HBO Max and quickly shot to the #1 spot in certain regions.

Taking place 30 years after the events of the original Blade Runner, and 35 years after the original version released in theaters, Blade Runner 2049 follows Ryan Gosling’s Officer K as he hunts down and exterminates genetically engineered replicants. One of K’s missions leads him to discover the remains of a replicant who gave birth to a baby, threatening to upend the fragile dynamic between replicants and humans. Blade Runner 2049 remains one of the shining examples of a sci-fi sequel, and makes for the perfect rewatch before Prime Video’s Blade Runner 2099.

‘Blade Runner 2049’ brilliantly builds on the original movie

When Blade Runner 2049 debuted, it arrived during the legacy sequel craze. Most legacy sequels, such as Creed or Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, expand on their predecessors in ways that honor what came before while building a new story. Others, such as Jurassic World or Ghostbusters: Afterlife, coast on nostalgia instead of interesting characters or a compelling story. Thankfully, Blade Runner 2049 falls into the former camp. In its opening sequence, it throws a curveball by revealing that K himself is a replicant, leading to plenty of scenes where he struggles with his identity. These sequences stand out thanks to Gosling’s quiet yet intense performance.

Gosling is surrounded by a top-notch supporting cast. Harrison Ford makes an appearance as former blade runner Rick Deckard, while Dave Bautista delivers an incredible performance in just a handful of scenes. The real standout, though, is Ana de Armas as JOI, K’s holographic assistant and girlfriend. JOI’s search for identity is just as poignant as K’s, and leads to some of the most heartbreaking moments in Blade Runner 2049. Gosling and de Armas also share an electric chemistry that is rare in modern movies, making viewers root for JOI and K.

The director of ‘Blade Runner 2049’ is helming another sci-fi adaptation

Blade Runner 2049 might not have been a box office hit, but its current resurgence on streaming proves that it is worth checking out. It also shifted Ryan Gosling’s career as he took on more sci-fi roles, including Project Hail Mary. However, the person who benefited the most from Blade Runner 2049 is director Denis Villeneuve, who managed to helm another iconic sci-fi story with the Dune trilogy. Unlike Blade Runner 2049, the Dune movies have been a critical and commercial success, and Villeneuve seems far fonder of them, stating that making Blade Runner 2049 was an experience he didn’t care to repeat.

I don’t think I will ever approach someone else’s universe again. I still wake up sometimes at night, saying, ‘Why did I do that?’

Despite Villeneuve’s reservations, he delivered a sequel that was more than worth the wait and lived up to the exceptionally high standards set by the original Blade Runner. Hopefully, Blade Runner 2099 can follow in its footsteps.

Source: Polygon