4 ms·

That’s a long read and I’ll have to reread the first sections to understand the differences between the tests in book and film. Author certainly knows a lot ab

That’s a long read and I’ll have to reread the first sections to understand the differences between the tests in book and film. Author certainly knows a lot about the Blade Runner universe. Surprised that they think the second film is better. I think most Blade Runner fans see the second as technically excellent but a little cold. Also making Blade Runner’s android nature explicit rather than implied, didn’t really advance the story.

ycombinete 3y ago
While visually stunning, the new one seemed to be missing something. The world didn’t feel as lived in/well worn, the characters didn’t inspire as much ambivalence or pathos.
plasma_beam 3y ago
So I like 2049 better than the first one. I think maybe has to do with I didn't grow up watching the first one, in fact didn't watch until I was an adult. I like the coldness aspect of 2049, and I think what really makes the difference is the Hans Zimmer score. The musical atmosphere is fantastic.
- elevaet 3y ago
  I grew up on Bladerunner, and the Vangelis score is like a part of my being. I think 2049 was great. I cant say it's better or worse because it's different but it fits and was more than I hoped for. Of course it has problems but so did the first one, and nothing is perfect especially in sci-fi. The Hans Zimmer score is fantastic.
  - iainmerrick 3y ago
    I thought the Hans Zimmer score was only okay, in a pastiche-of-the-original kind of way, but maybe I should give it another chance. For me the Vangelis score is one of the all-time greatest movie scores, although I’m probably biased from having heard it young. Such a unique and recognisable sound, and just the perfect mood for the film.
    - elevaet 3y ago
      The opening sequence over LA's skyline with the iconic Vangelis CS-80 song has to be one of the greatest moments in movie scoring. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6dKU22lt3E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6dKU22lt3E
- detourdog 3y ago
  I grew up with blade runner and the hardest part to accept was that Han Solo was such a wimp. I didn't return to it until I became interested in Syd Mead. Pretty sure it was the same summer he got frozen in carbonite. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syd_Mead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syd_Mead The freshness of the technology is what I like about the first film and makes the second film a more of the same feel to me. Just read the Syd worked on both Blade Runners... I adopted the book last.
- rqtwteye 3y ago
  Interesting. I found 2049 bleak and cold and without any real meaning. Just some well produced scenes without a story. I feel a lot of today's movies are like this.
  - actionfromafar 3y ago
    Yeah, if it has meaning, it's a bit too bleak for my taste. It feels a little bit like how the "camp" Batman got dirty and gritty in the later movies. If "gritty" is the first order derivative, Bladerunner 2049 took the gritty of Bladerunner and went for the second-order derivative, fatalistic.
  - ftrobro 3y ago
    Even though I liked 2049 I agree with you, there wasn't much meaning to it. In contrast, in the first movie I was fascinated by the idea of literally travelling to meet your maker if you are not content with the limits of your existence. And of course the cheesy but wonderful monologue by Rutger Hauer.
- owyn 3y ago
  It would be a far better movie if every scene with Jared Leto was deleted. Interesting that the score makes the difference, the score from blade runner 1982 is really unique to me and inseparable from the movie. If I hear a single note from it I think about the movie and if I see a frame of the movie, I think about the music. I can't remember a single thing about the 2049 score, except that at the time I thought every interesting part was a shallow clone of the original mashed up with the main theme from Terminator 2 because someone thought it was about robots.
  - rrrrrrrrrrrryan 3y ago
    The original Blade Runner score is certainly innovative, and not bad, but I'd argue that it aged very poorly. The synthesizers they used may have sounded futuristic at the time, but watching it today, the soundscape screams "this film created in the early 80s." The use of a purely orchestral score in the Star Wars films is a big reason why they continue to hold up. I mostly agree with you about Leto.
    - owyn 3y ago
      Aging well and also being instantly recognizably made in the early 80's are mutually exclusive outcomes. :) That said, check out the synthwave genre for a modern/retro take on all this.
- rocketbop 3y ago
  I agree the score is really excellent.
- ZoomZoomZoom 3y ago
  Wow, Vangelis' score is the best thing about the original and an epochal masterpiece. Hans Zimmer's soundtrack for the second one is just another Zimmer score, swiftly done to replace Johannsson's work. How different can perceptions be!

ycombinete 3y ago

While visually stunning, the new one seemed to be missing something. The world didn’t feel as lived in/well worn, the characters didn’t inspire as much ambivalence or pathos.

plasma_beam 3y ago

So I like 2049 better than the first one. I think maybe has to do with I didn't grow up watching the first one, in fact didn't watch until I was an adult. I like the coldness aspect of 2049, and I think what really makes the difference is the Hans Zimmer score. The musical atmosphere is fantastic.

elevaet 3y ago
I grew up on Bladerunner, and the Vangelis score is like a part of my being. I think 2049 was great. I cant say it's better or worse because it's different but it fits and was more than I hoped for. Of course it has problems but so did the first one, and nothing is perfect especially in sci-fi. The Hans Zimmer score is fantastic.
- iainmerrick 3y ago
  I thought the Hans Zimmer score was only okay, in a pastiche-of-the-original kind of way, but maybe I should give it another chance. For me the Vangelis score is one of the all-time greatest movie scores, although I’m probably biased from having heard it young. Such a unique and recognisable sound, and just the perfect mood for the film.
  - elevaet 3y ago
    The opening sequence over LA's skyline with the iconic Vangelis CS-80 song has to be one of the greatest moments in movie scoring. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6dKU22lt3E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6dKU22lt3E
detourdog 3y ago
I grew up with blade runner and the hardest part to accept was that Han Solo was such a wimp. I didn't return to it until I became interested in Syd Mead. Pretty sure it was the same summer he got frozen in carbonite. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syd_Mead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syd_Mead The freshness of the technology is what I like about the first film and makes the second film a more of the same feel to me. Just read the Syd worked on both Blade Runners... I adopted the book last.
rqtwteye 3y ago
Interesting. I found 2049 bleak and cold and without any real meaning. Just some well produced scenes without a story. I feel a lot of today's movies are like this.
- actionfromafar 3y ago
  Yeah, if it has meaning, it's a bit too bleak for my taste. It feels a little bit like how the "camp" Batman got dirty and gritty in the later movies. If "gritty" is the first order derivative, Bladerunner 2049 took the gritty of Bladerunner and went for the second-order derivative, fatalistic.
- ftrobro 3y ago
  Even though I liked 2049 I agree with you, there wasn't much meaning to it. In contrast, in the first movie I was fascinated by the idea of literally travelling to meet your maker if you are not content with the limits of your existence. And of course the cheesy but wonderful monologue by Rutger Hauer.
owyn 3y ago
It would be a far better movie if every scene with Jared Leto was deleted. Interesting that the score makes the difference, the score from blade runner 1982 is really unique to me and inseparable from the movie. If I hear a single note from it I think about the movie and if I see a frame of the movie, I think about the music. I can't remember a single thing about the 2049 score, except that at the time I thought every interesting part was a shallow clone of the original mashed up with the main theme from Terminator 2 because someone thought it was about robots.
- rrrrrrrrrrrryan 3y ago
  The original Blade Runner score is certainly innovative, and not bad, but I'd argue that it aged very poorly. The synthesizers they used may have sounded futuristic at the time, but watching it today, the soundscape screams "this film created in the early 80s." The use of a purely orchestral score in the Star Wars films is a big reason why they continue to hold up. I mostly agree with you about Leto.
  - owyn 3y ago
    Aging well and also being instantly recognizably made in the early 80's are mutually exclusive outcomes. :) That said, check out the synthwave genre for a modern/retro take on all this.
rocketbop 3y ago
I agree the score is really excellent.
ZoomZoomZoom 3y ago
Wow, Vangelis' score is the best thing about the original and an epochal masterpiece. Hans Zimmer's soundtrack for the second one is just another Zimmer score, swiftly done to replace Johannsson's work. How different can perceptions be!