Syrinx80

This is how you make a sequel. Blade Runner 2049 is a masterpiece on so many levels. It matches its predecessor, maintaining the overall look and feel of the universe with stunning visuals, meticulous attention to detail, and an amazing story that intrigues the viewer while deftly raising philosophical and moral questions. Gosling, Ford, and de Armas do an outstanding job, giving Denis Villeneuve's vision the magnificence it truly deserves.

The disparity between the critic score and the user score is telling, and it's present on every critic/user aggregator. It's been nearly 17 months since the movie was released, and the gap has grown as the hangover from the hype set in. Fans, in droves, are realizing that they've been sold a bill of goods. This is one bad movie, not just as a standalone film, but especially as the middle chapter in a sci-fi trilogy. The nonsensical plot is basically Empire Strikes Back warmed over: we have a space chase story, we have a Jedi training on a remote planet story, and we do have an AT-AT battle on a planet covered with white powder which turns out to be...salt. The comedy is beyond clumsy: TLJ starts off with a prank call and a yo mama joke, and it goes downhill from there. The poorly-timed and cringe-worthy attempts at laughs just kept on coming, throwing off pacing, seriousness, and the overall feel of what is supposed to be a Star Wars movie. TLJ can be written off on that alone, but the complete waste of otherwise interesting characters, lazy plotting, lousy dialogue, lack of any logic, and the intentional disrespect of the source materials all scuttle this turkey. TLJ is so rotten, that the much-reviled Lucas prequels are getting a second look by the disenchanted fans.

I introduced the world of Star Trek to my family with this one. I've always been a casual fan of the series, and the JJ Abrams treatment hasn't really ruffled any of my feathers. It's a solid, well-thought out film with just the right amount of homage to the original films, and just the right amount of its own ideas. Every major character from the series gets just about enough screen time, and the plot is complex enough to keep you glued to your seat in case the action wasn't enough. Overall, a well-done film, on par if not better than Abrams' initial foray into the Star Trek universe. If the new Star Wars movie even approaches this level of filmmaking, it will be light years from Lucas' attempts at the prequels.

This movie is neither a comedy (not even a black comedy it's billed as) nor a sci-fi flick. The plot, whatever little of it exists, is essentially the same tired commentary on the existential angst in the American suburbs. The movie just crawls along, and one keeps watching hoping for something to happen, hoping for some payoff. It never comes. The ending is so unsatisfactory, you want to reach out and strangle the director for wasting an hour and a half of your life. The only reason I don't give it a 0 is because of the tremendous attention to detail that went into recreating the seventies. Other than the polished special effects, the movie looks and feels as if it came from that decade.