Review: Blade Runner 2049 is a truly immersive experience

There’s still something very special about going to the cinema. Much like going to a rave you’ve been excited about for months, there’s an air of anticipation and expectation that you’re going to be transported somewhere else for a few hours. Somewhere magical.

Last night I was transported to one of the most beautiful, striking and astonishing places I’ve ever been and I’m still trying to make sense of it all today. Blade Runner 2049 is the sequel that most fans of the original Blade Runner, weren’t sure they even wanted or needed.

More than three decades on from Ridley Scott’s genre-defining original, French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, of Arrival and Sicario fame, has brought forward a new take on a dystopian society and it’s one that sets the bar for any filmmaker trying to do same from now on.

We all know and love the original. Harrison Ford’s moody, to-the-point Deckard, a beaten member of law-enforcement set out to retire the Replicants, is a role that’s come to define the actor and along with Vangelis’ score and Scott’s insane vision, Blade Runner became a film referenced for generations.

However, Blade Runner 2049 is set to tear up the rule book, throw it out of the window and pulverise it with a blaster. The sequel features Ryan Gosling as K, a Blade Runner working for the LAPD who discovers an unprecedented, long-hidden secret that he must investigate. Set 30 years on from the original, we're presented with a set of very similar ongoing themes. The concept of humanity and whether a replicant can bear a soul or conscience is explored heavily as the lines are brilliantly blurred between what's real and what isn't.

Gosling's discovery in the first act leads him down a trail of murkiness, hidden agendas and conspiracies that if revealed, would alter the very world that they reside in. Of course this mission for truth and discovery takes him further down the futuristic rabbit hole and on his quest comes Harrison Ford, the original badass Blade Runner. The two have great on-screen chemistry and the reluctance of either of them to talk makes for some brilliant scenes.

In terms of visuals, Blade Runner 2049 is like nothing you’ve ever seen before, in fact, it’s like nothing that exists. The landscapes are vast and dwarfing. Most notably when the cars are cruising over never-ending city skylines, you get glimmers of neon light poking from the underbelly of a broken Los Angeles.

The colour is stark, striking and at times overwhelming. Whenever you reach a new location, the screen is awash with a new eye-bursting glow; the piercing white of snow, the rich, warm reds and oranges of a broken desert city and the startling, fluorescent neon signs that flicker and move within the city’s depths.

While the setting and environment is futuristic and out of this world, it all looks so real. The CGI is impossibly good but the best thing about it is that it doesn’t look overcooked or fake. It simply adds to the majesty rather than takes away from it. The film builds on the sweeping shots from the first and transforms them into dazzling pieces of art. Much like with the original, there are numerous panning angles of skylines and a focus on the unsaid. There’s as much fantasy in the parts without dialogue as there is when the plot moves forward.

Viewing this in IMAX is a must and I can’t imagine any other way of seeing California in 2049. With that, comes the sound. The sound design and score are on parallel with the visual grandeur. With Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch (the man behind the new IT soundtrack) at the helm, you always know what you’re going to get; Brooding, unnerving yet clean and crisp soundscapes are showcased and it’s a classic slice of Zimmer. On IMAX, it’s incredible. The hum of the cruiser engines and the thud coming from a blaster gun are intense features to say the least but contribute to immersing you within a new society, a new city, a new time.

At just under three hours, there are occasional points where it seems to drag but not for long.. Ryan Gosling puts in a beautifully deadpan, at times emotionally weighted performance as K and Harrison Ford makes a welcome return as Deckard. Stand-out work also comes from Ana De Armas as Joi, K’s faithful companion and Mackenzie Davis, with Jared Leto also doing his bit if not slightly underused.

The performances are great, but the real hero is Denis Villeneuve and this is his masterpiece. He’s easily one of the best and most acclaimed directors of the last five years but this film cements as one of the best of a generation. He wowed with Prisoners, he gave us even more tension and brilliance with Sicario and he raised the bar with the Oscar-winning Arrival. It seems like everything he touches turns to gold but that's because he's developed such a deep, refreshing way of storytelling and he was always the perfect person to direct this sequel.

It may have only been about 12 hours since I watched Blade Runner 2049 but it’s already beginning to sink in that what I’ve just witnessed is a turning point in cinema and a new benchmark what can be created on the big screen.

A truly immersive cinematic experience and a modern classic of filmmaking. Seeing is believing and this truly is one of the greats.

Funster is Mixmag's Deputy Digital Editor, follow him on Twitter