Blade Runner 2049

• An entirely excellent movie, with top-tier direction, unforced performances, and a fine screenplay. It has very little action, but what is there is crafted exceptionally well. One of the best films of the year.

• I love this director's visual composition! It's not aimed at mass audiences, and with its long runtime I understand why some might get restless, but I personally love it. You can feel the obsessive attention to detail down to every design element, and the clean, uncluttered aesthetics feel genuinely beautiful.

• Villeneuve's films are aesthetically flawless in cinematography, editing, sound design, lighting, and narrative construction; he commands an immense mastery of world-building, which is why the production design of his films is sublime, elevated to unprecedented heights—he truly knows what he wants and where he wants to go.

• 'Blade Runner 2049' is not so much a sequel as a movie in its own right. One that kicks off continuing the world we left behind in 1982 (or in 2007 with The Final Cut), but quickly turns into a deeply personal, independent gem with much more heart than machine. MUCH MORE. Denis Villeneuve has taken me by surprise once again, except this time the weight of expectation and the emotion delivered in return compel me to consider it among the very best work of his ascending career.

• Visually, the film is quite possibly alongside the new Mad Max the best thing I have ever seen in my life, and I honestly do not think I am exaggerating at all; the world crafted with care by Denis Villeneuve and his team immerses you just as thoroughly as the original did, evoking the mythical atmosphere of Ridley Scott.

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