... While I treat the originals as pivotal, and the rest as peripheral... I'm not saying you're wrong.
Given the unsettling parallels between that character's arc and some real-life whackos that I've encountered (both in news headlines and online), the backstory actually makes that story even more unsettling. Like, say if one of those neckbearded MRA dudes got into a position of power because he showed talent or prowess in something unrelated... he could turn into the next Hitler/Vader, if propped up and enabled by toadying political Machiavellites.
Anyway...
I really don't see the need to trot out this argument again, especially since it looks like this is going to be a straight sequel to the original story and prequels are a whole different kettle of fish. Watch the sequel if you're interested, or don't. It's pretty simple. The "integrity" of the original doesn't live or die by whether or not derivative works exist. The somewhat clunky '90s Blade Runner PC game is cool, but does the fact that a blatant cash-in Commodore 64/ZX Spectrum game from the '80s still float around out there with the name Blade Runner on it make the movie any less good? No, of course not. See also: the book sequels mentioned above... do those impact the integrity of the film? Or can you safely ignore them?
Last edited by botley; 03-04-2015 at 07:28 PM.
I'll go see the new movie, I just think that one movie was enough and it ended on a perfect note. No need for a second act.
Yeah, I agree that's perfectly unnecessary.
Honestly I'd like to see filmmakers start to treat sequels as their own, parallel thing. Prometheus suffered so much in my eyes because it was trying sooo hard to connect to Alien. Had they said "look, we like the universe we made so we're making another one related to that, but the story is fundamentally disconnected and we won't even try to make it canon", I'd have been way happier with it. So, okay, go film another one taking place in a samey Blade Runner-y universe, but quit trying to reconnect the dots every time if you didn't intend to when you made the first one. It's as painful as watching you try to touch your feet by bending backwards.
I think the Alien connection in Prometheus was the least of that film's problems.
....
....
I'm out (throws money down on table, exits room in a puff of tobacco smoke).
Let's put it that way : Making a flawless movie is already a near-impossible task. But when you make a good movie, mistakes can be overlooked. But putting another layer on top of that that's supposed to perfectly align with a previous movie, that's getting ridiculous. You've just squared the amount of problematic points.
Now, you're making a sci-fi action horror movie about the genesis of man and the sacrifice of christ and ancient aliens, which you directly connect to that one movie everyone considers pretty much flawless ? That's just fucking hubris.
The Alien connection may not have been the biggest problem, but it was the root of a whole supplementary level of issues, which you could directly compare to the very movie it was referencing.
I don't think he is a bad actor, just a bad person
Right, but for me it's a little easier to separate them and focus on the content of those movies when Polanski's face is not splashed across every frame (yes, I realize he has a cameo in Chinatown).
I have the same problem with Tom Cruise. I cannot stand him as a person and all I see in his movies is Tom Cruise.
As far as Jared Leto is concerned, I like him as an actor. The man has talent. He's the only reason I can make it through Oliver Stone's Alexander. But he is a douche. A talented douche who doesn't age and who has amazing eyes.
@botley I guess you can take small comfort in the fact that Leto, being the ultimate Method actor that he is, is destined to piss off Harrison Ford. I want to be on that set so bad...
I don't like Jared Leto as a person and as a musician but I do think he is an excellent actor. Tom Cruise has some good movies but he tends to play the same characters and never does enough to do much in his acting while stuff in his personal life are just nuts considering whom he's associated with in the world of Scientology.
Of all the movies he's done that I liked, and thought he was okay in, it was always in supporting parts. That this was announced after the news that the guy from Captain Phillips makes it fine with me.
Last edited by onthewall2983; 08-18-2016 at 11:21 PM.
I think Leto would be an amazing Replicant. Just great. His features have that almost unreal smoothness, he has an alien sort of air about him, he can do detachment and withdrawal very well -- I think he'll be a great fit and I hope he bothers Harrison Ford the entire time by demanding he ask him about finding turtles in the desert, leaving origami unicorns in his dressing room and mailing used hard drives to him.
And tweeting civil rights activists' quotes to describe how hard he's working.
I don't have a problem separating the person from the art. Hell, I'm interested in Hacksaw Ridge, and Mel Gibson is a fucking asshole. But he's damn good at directing. Leto's sins are just saying odd shit in interviews. If I avoided every movie because someone involved said something I didn't like, then I would see like 3 movies a year.
At work, I interact with people who have political, religious, or whatever views that I don't agree with. Some are even assholes sometimes. But I work with them and joke with them, choosing to see the good, unless they really cross a line, which hasn't happened yet. Everyone's got some shit we wouldn't like. Doesn't stop me from being nice, or from checking out a movie.
Good call.
I went through a "Leto is a total douche" phase (which I guess you never really leave) when I was a hardcore 30 Seconds To Mars fan, starting with finding their 2nd album by chance on release day, and ending with a string of disappointing/insulting live shows years later. I think I've expended more energy hating on the guy than I ever would have liked to, so now if he's attached to a cool & interesting movie or puts out a song I like, it's a win. It took me until my 2nd viewing of Dallas Buyers to have enough distance to really appreciate his performance and agree with the Academy's choice that year.
A little unrelated, but Denis Villeneuve's next movie before Blade Runner is also science-fiction, titled Arrival, and it looks pretty damn promising. Can't wait. I love how prolific Villeneuve is – hopefully he can maintain this pace of filmmaking for a while. At this point, I'll see anything he does, but if it's sci-fi, then it's that much more exciting.
I really dislike 30 Seconds to Mars, but Leto is a good actor. He would be great as a replicant. He already has a sort of natural sociopathic-looking emptiness in his eyes.
2049 is just one year away.
Ridley Scott. Denis Villeneuve. Harrison Ford. Ryan Gosling. #BladeRunner 2049 - in theaters October 6, 2017.
Last edited by onthewall2983; 12-26-2016 at 11:02 AM.
Boom.
Fuck it, I'm sold. The tone, the aesthetic, the soundtrack ... all seeming perfect to me. Blade Runner is a movie that is so much of what it is because of style and mood and this seems to have found it and continued it perfectly, if that trailer's anything to go by. Don't plan on watching any more ads than that. I'm in.
this movie could flop big time but what intrigues me the most is that Johannson could bust out one of the most epic soundtracks of the century! fingers crossed, the teaser looks good but ultimately gives away nothing.
I absolutely lost my shit over that trailer, knew Villeneuve and Johannson had it in them but it's great to see some evidence.
I didn't see that much to get excited about and Deckard just looks like old Harrison Ford at home. *shrug*
Everything about that teaser was pretty awesome.