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Blade Runner 2049 represents the return of one of the most iconic movies of the 80’s. Fans can talk about this movie for hours and it was definitely one of the defining moments of Harrison Ford. Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.

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Why Blade Runner is such an iconic Film?

Some people might wonder why Blade Runner is such an iconic film. There are some elements that definitely made a defining moment not only for Harrison Ford but also for the history of Science Fiction movies. Let’s put things in context. The first Blade Runner was launched in 1982. At that time 2 main movies were leading the way in the Science Fiction scene: Star Wars and Alien. Star Wars was a space opera launched initially in 1977. It was an amazing adventure and the first time we would see Harrison Ford in Cinema. It was huge, quite advanced and a tremendous saga that is still evolving nowadays since the purchase by Disney. in parallel Film Director Ridley Scott releases another tremendous saga called Alien in 1979. It was incredibly advanced in terms of special effects and definitely ground breaking for the history of movies. At the end of the 70’s, beginning of the 80’s, human society were at the end of a cycle and everybody was wondering about the future and what that future would be made of. In literature, people like Asimov became very popular and the burst of a cyber punk scene was a growing story.

“Replicants are like any other machine – they are either a benefit or a hazard. If they are a benefit, it’s not my problem” – Rick Deckard

Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a future setting that tends to focus on society as “high tech low life” featuring advanced technological and scientific achievements, such as information technology and cybernetics, juxtaposed with a degree of breakdown or radical change in the social order. Cyberpunk plots often center on conflict among artificial intelligences, hackers, and among megacorporations, and tend to be set in a near-future Earth, rather than in the far-future settings or galactic vistas found in novels such as Isaac Asimov’s Foundation or Frank Herbert’s Dune.

Primary exponents of the cyberpunk field include William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Bruce Sterling, Bruce Bethke, Pat Cadigan, Rudy Rucker, John Shirley and Philip K. Dick (author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, from which the film Blade Runner was adapted).

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Back in 1982, Blade Runner proposed a realistic version of human society future. By bringing all the elements of the Film Noir and adding a tremendous scenery, Blade Runner created a new genre: the Neo-Noir Film. This realistic version of a possible future, created a counter-culture movement away the big hits like Star Wars. With the development of modern technology and computer systems, the 1982 plot was completely possible. The film depicts a dystopian Los Angeles in which genetically engineered replicants, which are visually indistinguishable from adult humans, are manufactured by the powerful Tyrell Corporation. The use of replicants on Earth is banned and they are exclusively utilized for dangerous or menial work on off-world colonies. Replicants who defy the ban and return to Earth are hunted down and killed (“retired”) by special police operatives known as “Blade Runners”. The plot focuses on a group of recently escaped replicants hiding in L.A. and the burnt-out expert Blade Runner, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), who reluctantly agrees to take on one more assignment to hunt them down.

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Please note that the soundtrack of the film is done by Vangelis, that was really breathtaking. A dark modern synthesizer that blends with some world music elements providing a completely different experience for that time. A pure master piece.

Blade Runner happened in 2019, which is 3 years from now. It is interesting to see the way our todays’s society  was seen 37 years ago. Obviouly we do not have a “Replicant problem” but in many was Ridley Scott was not wrong. The new plot is taking place 30 years in the future of the first Blade Runner, so in 2049.

Blade Runner 2049, Ryan Gosling to the rescue

So what happened since the first Blade Runner? Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.


The new film is directed by Denis Villeneuve, a Canadian film director well know for his Maelström film in 2000. A film that got 23 awards around the world and that shows how perfect he his to take the suite of Ridley Scott. Why Blade Runner 2049 is definitely one of the most awaited film next year? Well here are some clear reasons:

  • All fans cannot wait to see Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) to get back on business
  • Denis Villeneuve is attached to details, so the film should be a master piece.
  • Cyberpunk is more than never a huge trend in times we talk about AI, robotics, etc.
  • A part from Harrison Ford, we have Ryan Gosling, Robin Wright, Dave Bautista, Mackenzie Davis, and Jared Leto in the film.
  • It should be one of the biggest SciFi hits after The Matrix.

The studio has released a set of exclusive photos released by Entertainment magazine. You can see a few of them here:

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Follow the incoming news, features and more teasers at http://bladerunnermovie.com 

José Amorim

Info sourced at the official Blade Runner Website, Wikipedia, IMDB, Verve, Vice, Time magazine. All content is copyrighted with no reproduction rights available. Images are for illustration purposes only.