Red Sparrow is a 2018 spy-thriller film directed by Francis Lawrence who worked with Jennifer Lawrence (the star here) on a couple of the Hunger Games movies, but this is a very different beast. Jennifer Lawrence plays Dominika Egorova (in, it has to be said, a not entirely convincing Russian accent), and Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenarts and Charlotte Rampling star as the film's secondary characters. This one is a pretty big departure from what Lawrence has done in the past, although it has to be said that she's making some pretty bold career choices. I'm not the first one to say that, and for a good reason: it's true. After last year's Mother! it appeared as if she was trying purposefully trying to appear in more "mature" films, and believe me, it doesn't get much more mature than Red Sparrow. The film plays out like one of those schlocky exploitation from the seventies, in that there's sexual violence, sex, violence, torture, and all manner o
Blade Runner 2049 is a 2017 science fiction film, which is a sequel to Ridley Scott's seminal 1982 original. It stars Ryan Gosling as K and Harrison Ford reprising his role as Deckard. It was directed by Denis Villeneuve, who is also behind Arrival and Sicario.
The story takes place some time after the first one, and the Tyrell Corporation has been taken over by Jared Leto's Niander Wallace. K is a new blade runner who has been tasked to retire the (now defunct) Nexus 8 replicants. It starts with K going to a protein farm in order to kill a rogue replicant named Sapper Morton. Soon after, the LAPD police (who K works for) discover the remains of a body buried in Sapper Morton's yard. That's all I'll say about the story, because to say any more would ruin the experience of watching the film.
The first thing to say about this film is that it is absolutely amazing. In fact, there is so little wrong with this film, it's almost impossible to write a review of it. I'll start with the visuals. Roger Deakins is in charge of the cinematography, who has worked with Villeneuve in the past on films like Sicario. What he does in this film is completely awe-inspiring. It's similar to the aesthetic of the original Blade Runner, but more technically impressive, and in some ways surpasses it. There are scenes in this film which look so gorgeous I'm amazed my mouth wasn't hanging wide open. The costume design, too, is absolutely impeccable. It continues in the cyberpunk style of the original, but in my opinion it looks even better in this than the original.
The acting is fantastic. Every single member of the cast gives everything to their role, even the people who have relatively small ones. But what really makes this film as good as it is is Hampton Fancher and Michael Green's script. The way the story unfolds is incredibly engaging, and the complexity of the story itself makes this an extremely apt sequel to the original Blade Runner. The character of K is arguably even more complex than Deckard, and there wasn't a moment of this film in which I wasn't interested in what he was doing.
On top of that, this is arguably the greatest role of Gosling's career so far. His performance in this film is so authentic but understated that it kind of mesmerising. Sometimes when you see him in a film, you think 'that's Ryan Gosling being a getaway driver,' or 'Ryan Gosling being a matchmaker,' but there's none of that here. In this film, you don't see Ryan Gosling, you see K, and the way he embodies the role is absolutely unbelievable.
In short, Blade Runner 2049 is easily one of the best science fiction films of the decade, and one of the best sequels I've ever seen. It's rare for a film to be absolutely flawless, but I honestly think that this may be the one. I've only seen it once (and I will definitely be seeing it again), but if anything I think that will only make me like the film even more. This film is a masterpiece and cements Denis Villeneuve as one of the most talented directors of our generation, and I can't wait to see what he does next. If you're a fan of Blade Runner, or sci-fi in general, do yourself a favour and see this on the biggest screen possible.
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