EDITORIAL: THE CURSE IS BROKEN?

Normally when a sequel to a classic film hit theaters it’s a box office dud. It doesn’t do as well commercially, critically, and ends up being forgotten. Take for example the “Chinatown” sequel “The Two Jakes,” IMDb users have given it an average star rating of 6.1 and movie critics on metacritic gave it an average score of 56 (as opposed to the 86 given to “Chinatown”) and to top it all off “The Two Jakes” made $10 million on a budget of $19 million. There are some few exceptions of sequels surpassing the original however, such as “T2: Judgment Day” and “Mad Max: Fury Road.” But no sequel has had more pressure on it than Dennis Villeneuve’s “Blade Runner 2049”.  Last Monday, the first official trailer was released and many were quick to respond. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. I think that the trailer was fantastic with its absolutely mesmerizing cinematography, violence that looks overwhelmingly brutal, and showcasing Harrison Ford (who’s reprising his role of Deckard) just enough to get fans appetites running. I feel that if “Blade Runner 2049” is just as good as the official and teaser trailer then it could be a modern classic alongside the likes of “The Departed” and “Mad Max: Fury Road”. With the talent involved I wouldn’t be surprised if this sequel surpasses the original in every possible sense.  When you have a director has hasn’t had a single misstep in his filmography and cast that includes Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling, and Jared Leto, you know something special is happening.  If this film tops the original however , you know what that means…Hollywood will start adding sequels no one asked for to classics such as “Scarface” and “Taxi Driver.”