The film\u2019s identity quest is an unexpected odyssey that fuses very different modes of sci-fi storytelling.<\/b>
\nThe first full-length trailer for is here, and just like its monumental, this film seems to be sci-fi at its best: smart, layered, and gorgeous. \u2014 which expands on the trailer we got back in December \u2014 is, perhaps unsurprisingly, dripping with spectacle, foregrounding the lavish settings and CGI-infused world building that any sequel to Ridley Scott\u2019s dystopian classic would have to feature heavily. But it\u2019s also directly engaging with the lingering question the original film only subtly broached and never answered: Are Harrison Ford\u2019s rogue android assassin Deckard and his successor, Ryan Gosling\u2019s K, both androids (replicants) themselves? In 2015, for Vox, critic Todd VanDerWerff highlighted the tendency of sci-fi franchises to emulate either or. That is, most science fiction franchises either go the \u201cpost-apocalyptic desert road warrior gang\u201d route the \u201chigh-tech space opera dystopia\u201d route. Ridley Scott and \u2019s acclaimed director have evidently chosen to jettison this dichotomy by merging with \u2019s dystopian counterpart. The new film seems to have split its action between the expected \u2014 flying cars in an ad-saturated, -influenced future Los Angeles \u2014 and the totally new: a trip through a scorched desert to what looks like a version of the library of Alexandria that\u2019s housing replicant DNA instead of books. This fusion gives legendary cinematographer () , who loves this stuff, room to play with color, digital effects, and aesthetic. The result is an unexpectedly organic merging of the and aesthetics \u2014 as we see in shots that could easily have been birthed from either franchise: This fusion makes feel new, in much the same way felt brand new in 2015, despite maintaining all the essential ingredients of its well-established franchise. The contrast between the space opera setting and the desert setting makes into a physical and metaphysical odyssey. If Gosling\u2019s protagonist K were merely a retread of Ford\u2019s Deckard, he\u2019 d essentially be a noir antihero trapped in a system outside his control. But both this trailer and have taken pains to show K journeying from a noirish LA street \u2014 to what could be the washed-out cradle of civilization: This shift from blue to orange is a visual contrast that movies are in order to present tension and energy. But what it does here is signify K moving from a hyper-real cityscape created by humans to a kind of Zen wasteland inhabited by an Obi Wan-like Jared Leto, who has the ability to create the artificial intelligence that has infiltrated human society. The trailer foregrounds the question of whether K himself is a replicant, prominently recreating the first film\u2019s famous intro shot \u2014 an opening eye \u2014 and showing off his strangely reflective eyes, which are hallmarks of replicant identity. So by having Gosling\u2019s character infiltrate this new world, ostensibly in search of Deckard, the new film journeys directly into the heart of its central theme \u2014 into questions of identity, whether genetics determine destiny, and what makes someone human. Leto\u2019s replicant-whisperer has the first line of dialogue in this trailer, and what he says is telling: Corporations created replicants to be a \u201cdisposable workforce.\u201d That dehumanization is prominent as a theme throughout, and makes it even more explicit. An early shot from the desert world gives us the classic sci-fi \u201cnaked bodies in containers\u201d image to reveal the assembly-line element of replication, while virtual images of sexualized women appear in the city\u2019s 3D ads repeatedly throughout the trailer, suggesting that the line between the commodification of these different bodies is a thin one. Also notable is the trailer\u2019s prominently displayed Atari logo, which is significant on a number of levels. was an interesting paradox, breaking down a world built around incessant corporate advertising while building into its dystopian setting. Atari\u2019s logo was nearly ubiquitous throughout the film and became a famous anachronism over time as Atari itself fell out of prominence. Interestingly, instead of erasing that conflict, the new film takes the Atari logo and uses it as the story\u2019s literal background \u2014 it\u2019s the opening shot of this trailer \u2014 postulating a distorted future where Atari has become an omnipresent oligarchical figure. This detail makes the landscape of feel even more surreal, even more of a spectacle. Yet as that opening eye reminds us, we\u2019 re never very far away from Orwellian omniscience. Blade Runner 2049<\/p>\n

\n

Similarity rank: 9<\/div>\n

Sentiment rank: 1.3<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

TW posts: 15<\/div>\n

TW reposts: 13<\/div>\n

TW likes: 40<\/div>\n

TW sentiment: 5<\/div>\n<\/div>\n