Three decades after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
Director Ridley Scott's 1982 film Blade Runner is an all time classic that is one of the most visually striking films ever made. Blade Runner 2049 directed by Denis Villeneuve arrived with high expectations and in my opinion exceeds them. This is a movie that demands your time and attention to fully appreciate it. The art design and cinematography from Roger Deakins draws you into the world officer K. Ryan Gosling says so much with his facial expressions and eyes that the character barely has any lines and yet you know what he is feeling and thinking at all times. Harrison Ford returns as the original Blade Runner Deckard but doesn't show up until the final hour. What time he does have on screen nicely ties together both films and makes it essential that see the first Blade Runner before taking the plunge into this beautiful masterpiece. 10/10
Blade Runner 2049 arrives on 4K UHD Blu-ray with a 2160p presentation. - The standard Blu-ray included is no doubt going to be among the best discs released in 2018. Fine details are stunning and the interesting color palette is reproduced with care.9/10 for Blu-ray.
The 4K Ultra HD presentation is the ultimate way to watch Blade Runner 2049. Black levels are inky, deep with excellent shadow detail. Depth and fine details in the image are breathtaking. Every hair, stitch or pattern in clothing and in all the technology seen on screen is striking in clarity to where I was transported to this fascinating vision of the future and everything else in my darkened room melted away. When it comes to color reproduction doing a comnparison with standard Blu-ray and 4K really shows why HDR is truly special. Deep, encompassing oranges in a deserted Las Vegas, gorgeous neon highlights and a lone dead and gray tree pop off the screen. I do wish that the Imax sequences were included like they have for films like Dunkirk or The Dark Knight but perhaps that will be in a later special edition.10/10 for 4K Ultra HD.
Audio is provided by a Dolby Atmos track. - Both the 4K and standard Blu-ray contain this track. Please make sure you have a sound system that can handle deep, throttling bass as the opening moments of the film could possibly do damage to ill equipped sound bars or small speakers. Surround and height channels are constantly engaged with crystal clear effects. There is a scene where Officer K and his digtal girlfriend are outside and rain is coming down. If you didn't know any better you will swear it was raining in your living room. Vehicles fly high above and then swoop down with deep, yet precise bass. The score by Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer has some thrilling moments and other times they let the classic score by Vangelis from the first Blade Runner play. No anomalies to speak of. 10/10
* Designing The World of Blade Runner 2049 (HD, 21:55)
* To Be Human: Casting Blade Runner 2049 (HD, 17:15)
* Prologues (HD, Play All, 28:06)
- 2022: Black Out (15:45)
- 2036: Nexus Dawn (06:31)
- 2048: Nowhere to Run (05:49)
* Blade Runner 101 (HD, Play All, 11:22)
- Blade Runners (01:33)
- The Replicant Evolution (02:07)
- The Rise of Wallace Corp (01:50)
- Welcome to 2049 (02:04)
- Joi (02:21)
- Within the Skies: Spinners, Pilotfish and Barracudas (01:23)