While “Prisoners” showed his penchant for a morbid investigative thrillers, “Sicario” proved he could intensify a stern police drama with tense, dynamic set pieces. Villeneuve directs every scene as if his entire filmography has built to this moment, and that may be the case. That’s exactly the sort of neat workaround that allows this franchise to dust off an aging concept, but Villeneuve (along with screenwriters Hampton Fancher and Michael Green) manage to move the drama forward with a renewed sense of intrigue - and a fresh face.

With former replicant manufacturer Tyrell Corporation ceding control to the entrepreneurial schemer Niander Wallace, a fresh set of replicants have been unleashed to snuff out any remaining old models.

here, the dirty work continues under more dire circumstances. “Blade Runner” found manufactured human workers known as replicants on the lam from government killers hired to snuff out the rogue A.I. Instead, director Denis Villeneuve goes beyond the call of duty, with a lush, often mind-blowing refurbishing of the original sci-fi aesthetic that delves into its complex epistemological themes just as much as it resurrects an enduring spectacle.Īs the title explains, 30 years have passed since the previous installment, and a murky world of corporate overlords and stone-faced assassins has only grown murkier. That cyberpunk vision remains just as alluring 35 years later, and “ Blade Runner 2049” could have merely roamed those streets with the same chiaroscuro imagery and delivered a satisfying taste of the same familiar drug. Outside “Star Wars,” no sci-fi universe has been etched into cinematic consciousness more thoroughly than “Blade Runner.” Ridley Scott’s definitive 1982 neo-noir offered an immersive dystopia of rain-soaked windows and shadowy buildings adorned with animated neon billboards, where flying cars hum through the endless night.

Blade runner 2049 review