DUNE : Tuesday 7th December 2021.

'DUNE' which I saw at my local independent movie theatre this week is an M Rated American epic Sci-Fi film Directed, Co-Written for the screen and Co-Produced by Denis Villeneuve whose previous feature film offerings take in 'Incendies' in 2010, 'Prisoners' in 2013, 'Sicario' in 2015, 'Arrival' in 2016 and 'Blade Runner 2049' in 2017. This film is based on the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert and is the first instalment in a planned two part adaptation with 'Dune : Part Two' now slated for an October 2023 release. Originally scheduled for a late November 2020 release, the film was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, instead having its World Premier at the Venice International Film Festival on 3rd September this year ahead of its international release in mid-September. It was then released in US cinemas and streaming on HBO Max on 21st October, and went on general release in Australia only last week. The film has so far generated largely positive critical acclaim and has so far grossed US$383M off the back of a US$165M production budget. 

Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) of House Atreides, the ruler of the planet Caladan, is assigned by the Emperor of the Universe Shaddam Corrino to replace House Harkonnen as fief rulers of the planet Arrakis. House Harkonnen have presided over Arrakis for the past eight hundred years and so this news comes as a bitter disappointment to them needless to say. Arrakis is a harsh desert planet and the only known source of 'spice' in the universe, a valuable substance that bestows its users greater vitality and expanded consciousness. It is also critical for interstellar travel as it allows Spacing Guild Navigators to use a limited form of foresight to safely navigate through interstellar space. The reality is however, that Shaddam is scared and jealous and intends to have House Harkonnen stage a violent and bloody coup to retake the planet with the aid of the Emperor's Sardaukar troops, eradicating House Atreides once and for all, whose influence threatens Shaddam's control. Leto is reluctant but but can see the political advantages of controlling the spice planet and forming an alliance with its native population, skilled desert dwelling fighters known as the Fremen.

Leto's mistress Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) is a disciple of the Bene Gesserit, an exclusive sisterhood whose members possess advanced physical and mental capabilities. As part of their centuries-long breeding regime, the Bene Gesserit instructed Jessica to bear a daughter whose son would become a male Bene Gesserit, a messianic superbeing with the power of second sight necessary to guide humanity to a better future. Instead she gave birth to a son, Paul (Timothee Chalamet). Throughout his life, Paul is trained by Leto's aides, Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa), Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), and the Mentat Thufir Hawat (Stephen McKinley Henderson), while Jessica trains Paul in the ways of the Bene Gesserit. 

Paul confides in Jessica and Duncan that he has recurring dreams of the future. Because of these dreams, the Emperor's Truthsayer the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) visits Caladan and subjects Paul to a deadly test to assess his impulse control, which he passes. Mohiam instructs House patriarch Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) to spare Paul and Jessica during his coup on Arrakis, to which he responds that he, will not harm them. 

Some two weeks later, House Atreides arrives at Arrakeen, the fortress stronghold on Arrakis, where Duncan and an advance party have been learning all they can about the planet and the Fremen. It is unknown who remained on Caladan to oversee and protect the Atreides home planet in the meantime. Leto negotiates with the Fremen's chieftain Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and meets the Imperial ecologist and Judge of Change Dr. Liet-Kynes (Sharon Duncan-Brewster). Kynes informs Leto, Paul, and Halleck of the dangers of spice harvesting, including giant sandworms which can grow up to four hundred metres long and which travel under the desert sands and are attracted by vibrations and sounds on the surface. During a flight, they spot a sandworm approaching an active spice harvester with a stranded crew on board. Leto and his team rescue the workers with barely minutes to spare before the sandworm swallows the harvester. Paul's exposure to the spice-laden air triggers more intense visions of the future.

After an attempt on Paul's life by a Harkonnen agent, Leto places his army on high alert. Suk doctor Wellington Yueh (Chang Chen) disables Arrakeen's protective shields which allows Harkonnen and Sardaukar troops to overwhelm the Atreides forces, and ultimately destroy Arrakeen. Yueh incapacitates Leto and tells him he had no choice but to make a deal to deliver him to the Baron Harkonnen in exchange for freeing his captive wife. Yueh replaces one of Leto's teeth with a poison gas capsule and is killed by the Baron after delivering the Duke. As Leto lies naked in  chair at the end of a long table and in an incapacitated state he murmers, and the Baron leans in to listen. Leto bites down on the fake tooth and releases the poison gas, killing himself and members of the Baron's court almost immediately, but the Baron survives. 

Duncan escapes and steals an ornithopter (a flying machine with the body of a helicopter but the wings that oscillate rapidly like a dragon fly). Harkonnens soldiers capture Paul and Jessica and take them into the desert where they will be dumped to die. However, Paul and Jessica overpower and kill their captors using a Bene Gesserit ability known as 'the Voice', a means of controlling the actions of others through verbal commands. Finding a survival kit left for them by Yueh, Paul and Jessica spend the night in a tent, which by daybreak is buried under the sand. Paul experiences more dreams, this time of a 'holy war' raging across the universe in his name. The next morning, they make their way out of the buried tent and continue their journey in search of the Fremen.

The Baron, recovering from the poison gas attack, gives command of Arrakis to his over zealous nephew Glossu Rabban (Dave Bautista) and orders him to sell spice reserves while the price is still at a peak and restart production to recover the cost of the coup. Paul and Jessica are found by Duncan and Kynes and head to an old unused aquifer station but are quickly tracked by Sardaukar. Duncan and a number of the Fremen sacrifice themselves to allow Jessica, Paul, and Kynes to escape the aquifer on foot. Kynes separates and is ambushed by three Sardaukar soldiers, so she lures a sandworm by thumping with her fist on the sand. The sandworm duly arrives and quickly devours them along with her. Paul and Jessica escape in an ornithopter and fly through an 800kph sandstorm, ultimately crash landing deep in the desert. 

Running to a rocky outcrop they manage to evade a sandworm and there meet a group of Fremen, among them Stilgar and Chani (Zendaya), the girl seen by Paul's in his dreams. Fremen warrior Jamis (Babs Olusanmokun) protests their admission into thier encampment and is killed by Paul in a ritual duel to the death. Against Jessica's wishes, Paul insists on joining the Fremen to fulfil his father's goal of bringing peace to Arrakis, and preventing a holy war spreading across the universe in his name. 

'Dune' is an epic film in just about every sense of the term. From the stunning visuals, the action set pieces, the character development, the cinematography, the ensemble cast, the world building and the Hans Zimmer composed thumping soundtrack this ticks all the boxes and must be seen on a big cinema screen to truly appreciate the scale and spectacle of what Director Denis Villeneuve has delivered. At over two-and-a half hours in length, sure the movie lags in places but it moves along at a swift pace and never leaves you wanting, and whilst some critics have commented that it only covers half of Frank Herbert's novel, that is the Director's intention as the opening credit says 'Dune : Part One'. Aside for being a Sci-Fi spectacle for the ages and all ages, the film has emotional heft and delves into the human psyche as much as it does the grandeur of the set designs and the manner in which the action scenes play out. For a universe set some eight thousand years into the future however, one thing that left me scratching my head was why, oh why, with all their advanced technology, world building prowess and interstellar travel capabilities, do they still go into hand to hand battle with swords and daggers? Clearly, ours is not to reason why . . . ! Bring on 'Part Two'.

'Dune' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 2nd December 2021.

The film awards season has kicked off with the first being the 31st Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards, that were held in New York on 29th November. The nominees were announced on 21st October, with Actors Peter Dinklage and Kristen Stewart, Director Jane Campion, film executive Eamonn Bowles, playwright Kathleen Collins (receiving hers posthumously), and the cast of 'The Harder They Fall' all receiving tribute awards.

Among the list of feature film category winners, grinners and also rans, were the following :-

Best Feature Film

* Awarded to 'THE LOST DAUGHTER', beating out 'The Green Knight', 'Passing', 'Pig' and 'Test Pattern'.

Best Documentary Feature

* Awarded to 'FLEE', beating out 'Ascension', 'Faya Dayi', 'President' and 'Summer of Soul ( . . . or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).

Best International Feature

* Awarded to 'DRIVE MY CAR', beating out 'Azor', 'The Souvenir Part II', 'Titane', 'What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?' and 'The Worst Person in the World'.

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award

* Awarded to Maggie Gyllenhaal for 'THE LOST DAUGHTER', beating out Edson Oda for 'Nine Days', Rebecca Hall for 'Passing', Emma Seligman for 'Shiva Baby' and Shatara Michelle Ford for 'Test Pattern'.

Best Screenplay

* Awarded to Maggie Gyllenhaal for 'THE LOST DAUGHTER', beating out 'The Card Counter' by Paul Schrader, 'El Planeta' by Amalia Ulman, 'The Green Knight' by David Lowery, 'Passing' by Rebecca Hall and 'Red Rocket' by Sean Baker and Chris Bergoch.

Outstanding Lead Performance

* Awarded to Olivia Colman for 'THE LOST DAUGHTER' and Frankie Faison for 'THE KILLING OF KENNETH CHAMBERLAIN' in a tie, beating out Michael Greyeyes for 'Wild Indian', Brittany S. Hall for 'Test Pattern', Oscar Isaac for 'The Card Counter', Taylour Paige for 'Zola', Joaquin Phoenix for 'C'mon C'mon', Simon Rex for 'Red Rocket', Lili Taylor for 'Paper Spiders' and Tessa Thompson for 'Passing'.

Outstanding Supporting Performance

* Awarded to Troy Kotsur for 'CODA', beating out Reed Birney for 'Mass', Jessie Buckley for 'The Lost Daughter', Colman Domingo for 'Zola', Gabby Hoffmann for 'C'mon C'mon', Marlee Matlin for 'CODA' and Ruth Negga for 'Passing'.

Breakthrough Performer

* Awarded to Emilia Jones for 'CODA', beating out Natalie Morales for 'Language Lessons', Rachel Sennott for 'Shiva Baby', Suzanna Son for 'Red Rocket' and Amalia Ulman for 'El Planeta'.

For the complete list of all the winners and nominees in every category, you can visit the official website at : https://www.awards.thegotham.org/

This week we have four new cinematic releases to tease you out to your local Odeon in the first week of the Australian Summer, launching with en epic Sci-Fi adventure story about the son of a noble family entrusted with the protection of the most valuable asset and most vital element in the galaxy. Next up is a revenge thriller that charts the story of an ex-military interrogator turned prison inmate turned gambler upon his release haunted by the ghosts of his past; and this is followed by an Italian film set in 1980's Naples, Italy, where a young man experiences heartbreak and liberation after he's inadvertently saved from a freak accident by soccer legend Diego Maradona. And we close out the week with a Disney animated film about a young Colombian girl who has to face the frustration of being the only member of her family without magical powers.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'DUNE' (Rated M) - is an American epic Sci-Fi film Directed, Co-Written for the screen and Co-Produced by Denis Villeneuve whose previous feature film offerings take in 'Incendies' in 2010, 'Prisoners' in 2013, 'Sicario' in 2015, 'Arrival' in 2016 and 'Blade Runner 2049' in 2017. This film is based on the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert and is the first instalment in a planned two part adaptation with 'Dune : Part Two' now scheduled for an October 2023 release. Originally scheduled for a late November 2020 release, the film was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, instead having its World Premier at the Venice International Film Festival on 3rd September this year ahead of its international release in mid-September. It was then released in US cinemas and streaming on HBO Max on 21st October, and only now does it go on general release in Australia. The film has so far generated largely positive critical acclaim and has so far grossed US$375M off the back of a US$165M production budget. 

Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet), a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe, Arrakis, to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of 'spice' the most precious resource in existence, only those who can conquer their own fear will survive. Also starring an ensemble cast including Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa and Javier Bardem. 

'THE CARD COUNTER' (Rated MA15+) - is an American crime drama film Written and Directed by Paul Schrader, whose prior film making credits include his 1978 debut 'Blue Collar', then 'American Gigolo' in 1980, 'Cat People' in 1982, 'Patty Hearst' in 1988, 'The Comfort of Strangers' in 1990, 'The Walker' in 2007, 'The Dying of the Light' in 2014, 'Dog Eat Dog' in 2016, and 'First Reformed' in 2017. This film saw its World Premier at the Venice Film Festival back in early September and went on release Stateside on 10th September having taken so far US$3.5M in Box Office receipts and garnered generally positive critical reviews. Here then, William Tell (Oscar Isaac) is a gambler who taught himself how to count cards during an eight-year stint in military prison, and former serviceman who sets out to reform a young man seeking revenge on a mutual enemy from their past. Tell just wants to play cards. His spartan existence on the casino trail is shattered when he is approached by Cirk Baufort (Tye Sheridan), a vulnerable and angry young man seeking help to execute his plan for revenge on a high ranking military officer Major John Gordo (Willem Dafoe). Tell sees a chance at redemption through his relationship with Cirk. Also starring Tiffany Haddish. 

'THE HAND OF GOD' (Rated MA15+) - this Italian drama film is Written, Directed and Co-Produced by Paolo Sorrentino who previous feature films take in the likes of his 2001 debut 'One Man Up' followed by 'This Must Be The Place' in 2011 with Sean Penn and Frances McDormand and 'Youth' in 2015 with Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel. This film saw its World Premier screening at the Venice International Film Festival in early September where it won the Grand Jury Prize and where Filippo Scotti, as the lead Actor, received the Marcello Mastroianni Award. The film has been selected as the Italian entry for the Best International Feature Film at next years Academy Awards having thus far collected five award wins and a further six nominations from around the awards and festival circuit. It is scheduled for a limited release this week, followed by streaming on Netflix on 15th December. This is the story of a boy, Fabietto Schisa (Filippo Scotti), set in the tumultuous Naples of the 1980's, and is full of unexpected joys, such as the arrival of football legend Diego Maradona, and an equally unexpected tragedy. Fate plays its part, joy and tragedy intertwine, and Fabietto's future is set in motion in this tale of fate and family, sports and cinema, love and loss.

'ENCANTO' (Rated PG) - is an American computer animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Disney and is the 60th animated feature film produced by the studio. Directed and based on a story co-written by Jared Bush and Byron Howard with eight original songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The film saw its World Premier in Los Angeles in early November before its US release on 24th of that month having so far grossed US$70M off the back of a production budget of US$120M and generated largely positive Reviews. The Madrigals are an extraordinary family who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia in a charmed place called the Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift, every child that is except for Mirabel (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz), However, she soon may be the Madrigals last hope when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is now in danger. Also starring John Leguizamo and Diane Guerrero. 

With four new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

SICARIO : DAY OF THE SOLDADO - Tuesday 3rd July 2018.

'SICARIO : DAY OF THE SOLDADO' which I saw at my local multiplex this week is the follow up film to 2015's Critically acclaimed 'Sicario' as Directed by Denis Villeneuve and Written by Taylor Sheridan. Starring Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin, with Emily Blunt, that film was about a principled FBI agent who is enlisted by a government task force to bring down the leader of a powerful and violent Mexican drug cartel. That film cost US$30M to make and raked in US$85M at the global Box Office and picked up fifteen award wins and a further 153 nominations including three Oscar nods, three BAFTA nods and two AACTA nods. Now three short years later, we have this follow up action crime thriller Directed by Italian film maker Stefano Sollima and once again written by Taylor Sheridan with Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin reprising their roles, but no Emily Blunt this time. The film cost about US$40M to make, has so far recouped US$35M, has garnered generally favourable responses from Critics, and apparently a third film is already in development.

The plot follows the people smuggling exploits at the US and Mexican border as it has elevated to the point where the cartels have also begun smuggling Sicario terrorists, and because this is now more lucrative than the former cocaine market. This forces the US Government under the direction of Secretary of Defence James Riley (Matthew Modine) to enlist the covert expertise of the CIA's Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) to once again team up with ex-hitman and undercover operative Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro) to eliminate the problem. Matters are brought to a head by a suicide bombing in a Kansas City supermarket in which four Muslim terrorists blow themselves to smithereens together with fifteen innocent shoppers, among them two children. The Government suspects that the Mexican drug cartels are transporting Islamic terrorists across the border to carry out their atrocities on American soil.

Graver suggests that the best option to eradicate the problem is to start a war between the major cartel factions, so that they eventually wipe themselves out. Down Mexico City way, Gillick takes out a high profile lawyer of one of the major cartels, by shooting him multiple times at point blank range execution style in broad daylight in the city centre.

Meanwhile, Graver and his elite Team, kidnap Isabela Reyes (Isabela Moner), the teenage daughter of a drug lord, in a covert operation as she is travelling home from school, designed to incite a war between rival cartels. Graver, Gillick, and their team transfer a bound, gagged and blindfolded Isabela across the border by plane to Texas and stage a mock rescue to make her think she was kidnapped by her father's enemies. Gillick forms a staged bond with Isabela, and the team plans to transport her back to Mexico by armoured car with the view to transplant her into territory controlled by her father's rivals so as to further escalate the conflict.

However, once inside Mexican country, the Federal Police escort for their journey by road across barren countryside opens fire on the American vehicles without warning. They also come under siege by short range mortar attack by various cartel members keeping a safe distance. As a result of this sudden ambush Graver and his crew spring on the defensive and take out twenty five or so Mexican Police Officers - of questionable integrity and because they were there at the time!

In the exchange of gunfire and the ensuing chaos, Isabela does a runner and skips the scene somewhat sharpish, fortunately protected with a bullet proof vest. When the bullet ballet has ended, Gillick goes in search of Isabela, leaving Graver and his crew to get the Hell outta Dodge before a major international incident erupts and the authorities descend upon them en masse. Riley via teleconference, advises Graver that the four suicide bombers responsible for the Kansas City killings were not in fact smuggled across the border from Mexico, but were another US based terrorist cell. On this basis, and the fact that the Mexican bloodbath is all over the news, the President has ordered via CIA boss Cynthia Foard (Catherine Keener) that they abandon the mission completely and erase all proof of any American involvement in the incident. Graver is given explicit orders to eliminate Isabela Reyes as part of the cover up . . . and Gillick too. Graver contacts Gillick via satellite phone and orders that he kills Isabela, but he refuses, and so goes rogue to protect her, knowing also that all ties with himself have now been cut, and that his life is at risk too.

Graver is keeping close tabs on Gillick and Isabela from an overhead drone providing real time surveillance straight to his laptop, and via a tracking device that Gillick knowingly implanted in Isabela's shoe in the event that they become separated. Graver, at first wants to see how Gillick's plans play out, but then reluctantly assembles his Team to hunt them down in Mexico.

Gillick and Isabela attempt to gain entry into the US disguised as illegal immigrants. Miguel (Elijah Rodriguez), a Mexican-American teenager who lives just over the border in Texas and has got in with the wrong company thanks to a nefarious cousin, and is a new recruit to the gang transporting the immigrants across the border by the bus load under cover of night. Miguel recognises Gillick from a previous encounter Stateside, some days before. He alerts his boss and Gillick and Isabela are captured, bound, gagged and blindfolded and driven out to a remote part of the desert with several car loads of young goons. Miguel is ordered to execute Gillick as part of his initiation and acceptance into the gang. Meanwhile, all of this is being closely monitored on screen by Graver who is still some way off in a helicopter. 

Miguel shoots Gillick in the head and left bound, gagged and blindfolded presumed dead lying face down in the sand with blood oozing from the close range gun shot. The onlooking goons all cheer, and depart the scene. Isabela was an uncomfortable witness to the shooting fearing that her status as a powerful Cartel linchpin's daughter will mean that she's next. She is carted off unceremoniously with the other goons, who all praise Miguel for his decisive action - which he becomes quickly uncomfortable with and jumps off the truck carrying them all. Graver and his team track the Mexican gang and Isabela with the help of the tracker still in her shoe, and kill all the gang members. The carnage is swiftly delivered and rather than kill the young girl he pities her traumatised and troubled state and loads her into the helicopter and whisks her back to the US for a witness protection programme.

Only one of the great trifecta of talent returns to the Production Team of 'Sicario : Day of the Soldado', and that is Writer Taylor Sheridan. Missing are Director Denis Villeneuve and Cinematographer Roger Deakins, but don't let that fool you. Here Director Stefano Sollima has crafted a worthy follow-up, although not of the same calibre that made the 2015 first instalment so refreshing and gritty. The action rarely seems to let up here; the set pieces are convincingly delivered; the performances are strong, even from the young rebellious Moner; and all this adds up to a dynamic, thrilling, tough and violent story and relevant for the current political climate. The film stands alone in its own right, and the ending keeps the momentum going for the third instalment, but I'm not sure how much more milking can be done from this series that hasn't already been seen. Two's company, three's a crowd may just prove to be the case, but then again . . . .

This film warrants four claps of the clapperboard, from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

BLADE RUNNER 2049 : Tuesday 10th October 2017

'BLADE RUNNER 2049' which I caught earlier in the week in 3D, is released 35 years after the original neo-noir Sci-Fi film 'Blade Runner' as Directed by Ridley Scott which upon release polarised critical opinion and took lacklustre Box Office takings of just US$34M from its US$28M production budget. Here then, and finally, we have the long awaited, eagerly anticipated, much hyped sequel, set thirty years after that first film. The intervening years have been kind to the original movie, now elevated to cult status with many Critics hailing the film as one of the best all time Science Fiction movies, also bringing to prominence the work of Philip K. Dick upon whose book 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' the film is loosely based. Starring Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, Daryl Hannah and M. Emmet Walsh, the film was nominated for two Academy Awards, one Golden Globe, won three BAFTA's and was nominated for a further five amongst its total haul of eleven wins and eighteen nominations. Set in a dystopian Los Angeles in 2019, 'Blade Runner' depicts a future in which bioengineered androids known as 'Replicants' are manufactured by a powerful company to work on off-world colonies. When a renegade group of Replicants led by Roy Batty escape back to Earth in an attempt to prolong their lives, burnt-out LA cop Rick Deckard reluctantly agrees to one last assignment to hunt them down and 'retire' them.

And so this film, which has been in development for approaching twenty years with Ridley Scott on again off again and various storylines coming and going, has finally landed with Director Denis Villeneuve at the helm, Roger Deakins on Cinematographer duty and Harrison Ford reprising his role as Rick Deckard all for a production budget of somewhere in the vicinity of US$175M. Released in the US and Australia last week, the film has so far taken US$93M at the Box Office and early Reviews of the film have met with widespread universal acclaim, with many Critics gushing about the production values, cinematography, CGI, music score, and performances of the principal cast.

Set in a dystopian Los Angeles of 2049, thirty years following the events of the original film, bioengineered humans called 'Replicants' have now been integrated into Earth's general population. Working for the LAPD, K (Ryan Gosling) a more up to date model who is programmed to obey orders and works as a Blade Runner, whose purpose is to hunt down older rogue Replicants and 'retire' them from service.

As the film opens we see K descending in his vehicle on what appears to be a farm where he 'retires' Sapper Morton (Dave Bautista) the farmer breeding synthetic protein maggots on a large scale. There, buried under a large dead tree, he discovers a military strong box which is taken back to LAPD for analysis. Inside there are human remains - carefully preserved bones and hair. Forensics reveal that the remains are of a female Replicant who died from complications from what appears to be an emergency Caesarian Section operation. Further examination reveals a tiny serial number engraved on a bone, revealing this to be definite Replicant remains. K is perplexed as pregnancy amongst Replicants was always believed to be impossible. Later, K returns to the farm for further examination. At the base of the tree he uncovers an engraving of a date which seems to correspond with a date in his own childhood memory about a hand engraved wooden horse which he hid in a redundant incinerator in the orphanage in which he was raised. Before leaving the farm, he torches it, destroying all evidence from those that might come afterwards.

Meanwhile K is ordered to destroy all evidence in relation to this case before word gets out, by his commanding officer Lieutenant Joshi (Robin Wright). She holds the belief that knowledge of Replicants being able to reproduce is dangerous to the new world order and could potentially incite war. K does not necessarily subscribe to this point of view, but he goes along with it. He visits the Headquarters of Replicant manufacturer Niander Wallace (Jared Leto) and is introduced to his Replicant Assistant Luv (Sylvia Hoeks) who helps him identify the body as Rachael, an experimental older model Replicant, but history is scant given the thirty years or so that have lapsed. There is a brief recorded transcript of a former Blade Runner Rick Deckard and Rachael, from which K deduces there was some romantic interest. Wallace who wants Rachels remains for his own analysis, orders Luv to steal the remains from LAPD and follow K as he goes in search of the child, from which he can then engineer Replicant reproduction for the expansion of his off-world operations beyond the nine worlds he currently inhabits.

K visits the orphanage in old Los Angeles where the child is thought to have been raised. There he meets Mister Cotton (Lennie James) who presides over hordes of young orphaned kids whom he sets to work stripping down electrical appliances for spare parts and salvage to sell. There his childhood memory comes rushing back, and searching the incinerator he finds his carefully wrapped up wooden horse, implying that his memory is in fact real, whereas all along he had believed these to be implants. While searching through the birth records for that year (2021) with his holographic female companion Joi (Ana de Armas) he comes across an anomaly in that twins were born that day with identical DNA except for the sex chromosome, but only the boy is listed as being still alive.

K seeks out Dr. Ana Stelline (Carla Juri) a prominent memory designer who advises him that it is illegal to programme Replicants with real human memories, leading K to deduce that he is in fact Rachel's son. K has the wooden horse analysed by Doc Badger (Barkhad Abdi) who finds traces of radiation that lead him to the apocalyptic landscape of old Los Angeles.

There he locates Deckard living the lonely life in an abandoned casino with nothing but books, Whisky and a loyal dog (real or otherwise) to occupy his time. Deckard tells K that he was forced to muddle up the birth records and was forced to leave a pregnant Rachel with the Replicant Freedom Movement to protect both her and their unborn child.

Luv arrives with several henchmen, having tracked K with a homing device planted in his pocket, and having previously killed Lieutenant Joshi. They intend to take Deckard hostage, who has being lying very low for the past thirty years, in the belief that he will lead them to his child to allow Wallace to engineer reproductive Replicants. Deckard and K put up a fight but are no match for the high tech fire power of Luv and her men.

They cart off Deckard, leaving K for dead only for him to be rescued by the Replicant Freedom Movement who take him to their safe house and nurse him back to some semblance of health and strength. Their leader Freysa (Hiam Abbass) tells K that Deckard's child is a girl, shattering K's hopes that he was their child. From this news K surmises that Ana Stelline must be Deckard's daughter given her abilities with implanting the memory into him. Freysa's instructions to K are to prevent Wallace from getting even remotely close to discovering the secrets of Replicant reproduction, by all and any means possible, even if it means taking out Deckard!

Deckard comes around in Wallace's plush HQ surroundings and refuses to co-operate with him, even when prompted to do so by a Replicant duplication of Rachael, which he dismisses because of her eye colour not being of her original green. Luv transports Deckard to one of Wallace's off world colony's to be interrogated and tortured for information that will lead Wallace to his child's whereabouts, even though Deckard really has no clue. K intercepts their fleet of three vehicles bringing down two security vehicles in a blaze of fire and smoke and forcing Luv's vehicle to crash land at the base of a dam, about to release a torrent water supply. Deckard is shackled to his seat while K and Luv fight it out in the rapidly rising waters. Ultimately K overcomes Luv and kills her, allowing Deckard and K to swim to safety. K says that he will report that Deckard drowned in the vehicle so safeguarding him from Wallace and other no good Replicants. K accompanies Deckard to Stelline's laboratory offices to meet his daughter. As Deckard gingerly enters and sees his daughter for the first time, a badly injured K waits outside reclining on the steps in the falling snow looking up.

I liked 'Blade Runner 2049' a lot! The film retains the all the touchstones that made the 1982 film such a classic, and expands upon them without diluting any of what has gone before. It both compliments the earlier film, and stands alone in its own right, and as a companion piece it has the continuity that melds the two films together from the giant neon advertising billboards promoting now defunct organisations 'Atari' and 'PanAm'; through to the Origami paper folding of Gaff (Edward James Olmos who reprises his role very briefly); through to recollections of Rachael. The film is visually stunning down to the smallest details, and the CGI enhances the already solidly smart storyline with visions of a dystopian neon lit, hologram filled future Los Angeles (where it now snows); an apocalyptic garbage dump wasteland that is San Diego; and all the future world gadgets, gizmo's, tech and Sci-Fi notions that you can imagine. A worthy sequel that Villeneuve has made worth waiting for, that will quickly become the cult classic that its predecessor has long since done so, with gritty and convincing performances from its cast, and top notch production values throughout. At a running time of over two and half hours, the film does not outstay its welcome, although it must be said that 'Blade Runner : The Final Cut' has a running time of under two hours.  Earlier this month Villeneuve reportedly said that a third film may be made if '2049' proved a success, and Ford commented that he would be happy to reprise his role if the script added up. Watch this space!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-