Blade Runner 2049 | Water [Video Essay]
I seldom cover film content, but this movie is quite special to me, and I tried my hand at doing a sort of narrated essay that I see some film critics and analysts do. I'm not sure how much everyone here appreciates fiction in the cyberpunk genre, and this is my first time attempting a video like this, but if you enjoy it, go nuts. Since I share pretty much everything I'm really proud of here, I figured I might as well. This kind of analysis is one of the things I miss doing most on Assassin's Creed. The writing in recent years has become much less philosophical and thematic than it was in AC's Golden Age. I'd like that back.
To reiterate what I commented on Youtube, this was a really nice video and definitely inspired me to give the movie a rewatch.
When I saw it the first time, I was a bit hesitant because it wasn't like movies I've seen before. But I absolutely loved it, the atmosphere and the world they showed was fantastic and it was shot beautifully. After leaving the cinema I told my friends (who I'd seen it with) I'd give it a 4/5, but I reckoned if I had seen the original before, I would have given 2049 a 5/5. I had the feeling that there was some in-universe lore that I had missed out on that kept me from fully enjoying the movie I just saw. Ironically the only one in our group who had seen the original gave 2049 a 3/5, so take that however you want.
Does the original hold up? If so, I might watch it and then rewatch 2049.
The original holds up very well. It values Atmosphere and Mood just as strongly as this one. I do love 2049 much more, though, and consider it a better movie. Certainly one of the greatest sequels ever created. You should also check out the shorts "Nexus Dawn," "Nowhere to Run" and "Blackout 2022" (which is an anime short by the Cowboy Bebop/Samurai Champloo guy).
These shorts are all Free on YouTube and fill in extra Lore between BR1 and BR2049.
Thanks for the heads up!
So this will be my watchlist, if I want to watch them in order of the year they're set in, right?
Blade Runner
Blackout 2022
2036: Nexus Dawn
2048: Nowhere to Run
Blade Runner 2049
That's right, yes. :]
Earlier this week I watched the original, and today I followed up by watching the three shorts and 2049.
Thanks again for the suggestion DAZ, I should have done this before. It really did tie a lot of things together, I really felt like I understood BR2049 better this time. Just to mention a couple of connections:
- "The Blackout" being mentioned a lot in 2049. The 2022 short fills in exactly what that was
- The 2048 short leads directly into 2049. Honestly, that could have just been the opening scene of the film.
- Characters from the first movie reappearing in person or mentioned (and not just Harrison Ford's character)
One thing bothers me about 2049, I don't know if it's a plot hole or not (would be a pretty ridiculous one if it were). Maybe it's completely insignificant and I'm splitting hairs or misinterpreting something. I'm interested to know what you think.
In the scene were Luv confronts and kills K's boss, Luv says the following:
"Where is he? You're so sure. Because he told you. Because we never lie."
Literally her next line is:
"I'm gonna tell mr. Wallace you tried to shoot me first."
Do replicants never lie? Because if they don't, how could she tell Wallace that if it didn't happen?
Lying seems like such a human element... and replicants are designed to be realistic, right? So why don't they have that ability? I guess making them truthful does protect against another uprising, doesn't it?
Does Luv not lie before she kills lab technician Coco (saying she has all the proper paperwork to take out the cache of bones)? Does Sapper Morton lie, or is he just withholding information? Does K ever lie?
And all the scenes involving water were extra meaningful now. Really nice viewing experience this time around. Thanks again.