Entertainment

Critics hail the new Blade Runner film

Ryan Gosling stars in Blade Runner 2049, directed by Denis Villeneuve.
Ryan Gosling stars in Blade Runner 2049, directed by Denis Villeneuve. Ryan Gosling stars in Blade Runner 2049, directed by Denis Villeneuve.

Blade Runner’s sequel,  more than 30 years after the original, has won rave reviews from critics.

The 1982 cult classic, directed by Ridley Scott, starred Harrison Ford as protagonist Rick Deckard.

Ryan Gosling takes the lead in Blade Runner 2049, directed by Denis Villeneuve, which sees Ford reprise his role.

The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw gave the movie five stars and wrote: “The 2017 follow-up simply couldn’t be any more of a triumph: a stunning enlargement and improvement… This film delivers pure hallucinatory craziness that leaves you hyperventilating.”

The Telegraph’s Robbie Collin also showered it with five stars, saying that the movie “maps out one of the most spectacular, provocative, profound and spiritually staggering blockbusters of our time.”

He added: “Like its forerunner, everything about it says slow-burning art film apart from its budget. Half a week after seeing it, I still can’t quite believe it exists.”

There is still a page left in his story. #BladerRunner2049, in theaters in ONE WEEK. Get tickets. Link in bio.

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The Independent’s Geoffrey Macnab awarded it five stars, writing:  “Like The Godfather Part II, it’s a sequel to a very celebrated film which may actually be better than the original.”

Variety’s Peter Debruge wrote: “Make no mistake: Whereas the original Blade Runner was (eventually) embraced for its unrealised potential, its sequel ranks as one of the great science-fiction films of all time.”

Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers gave the movie four and a half stars, writing that “every minute of this mesmerising mindbender is a visual feast to gorge on”.

But Forbes’ Scott Mendelson was one of the few to be unimpressed, calling the move overlong and underwhelming.

“Blade Runner 2049 takes forever to go nowhere special. The picture, filled with intriguing sights, low-key performances and a few interesting ideas, is drawn out to the point of self-parody,” he wrote.

Blade Runner 2049 is released on October 5.