Mature sci-fi sequel is almost as good as the original.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a lot
Guns and shooting. Stabbing. Trickling blood and bloody wounds. Crashes and explosions. Brutal fight sequences. Martial arts fighting. Violence against women. Gun shot to head, with blood spatter. Applying "glue" to heal wound. A drink glass is smashed and crushed into a character's hand, blood dripping down. Character's back broken. Brief raging, shouting.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
Several women (some human, some sculptures/holograms) are shown topless. Naked bottoms. Brief hints of full-frontal nudity. Male bodies lying on tables, pubic hair visible. Main character kisses two women at once (one is an intangible hologram, and the other is a prostitute); sex is implied but not shown. (The prostitute wakes up in his bed.) Prostitutes hang out; sex sounds and obscured sex vaguely seen through frosted window.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
Tackles complicated, big-picture themes without easy answers, such as the value of life, what it means to be human, and what it means to be alive. Asks what it means if a being is artificial but feels alive.
Positive Role Models
very little
Characters tend to be somewhat violent and destructive, with few consequences for their actions, but they sometimes show touching hints of understanding and compassion. Women are a big part of the story, and some are capable of taking action, though the main story is male-driven.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Blade Runner 2049 is the highly anticipated sequel to the 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner, set 30 years after the events of the original and again starring Harrison Ford (as well as Ryan Gosling). Violence is frequent and strong, with brutal fighting, guns and shooting, stabbing, crashes and explosions, and bloody wounds/blood spurts. Women (some human, some holograms/sculptures) are shown naked -- mainly breasts and bottoms -- and a man's pubic hair is shown. It's implied that the main character has sex with a prostitute, with his hologram girlfriend superimposed over her. Sex noises are heard in a red-light district, with vague sexual images glimpsed through frosted glass. Expect a few uses of "f--k"; characters also drink from time to time, but never to excess. The movie isn't without its flaws, and it certainly could have gone a bit deeper, but there's enough thoughtful, visually spellbinding stuff here to make it well worth seeing. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
For parents wanting to know if their children should watch this movie, know that the most "iffy" parts about Blade Runner 2049 are the multiple scenes of both male and female nudity. These scenes aren't crucial to the story in any way and can easily be skipped. For those wanting to know where and why, here's a list:
24:00 - 24:10 A deceased male is laying down on a table, frontal nudity is shown
32:58 - 33:17 Nude statues, with both male and female nudity, are seen in cases
38:22 - 42:44 A nude female replicant falls out of a bag, full frontal nudity is shown
44:18 - 44:30 Blurred sex in the background, no nudity is seen
1:30:00 - 1:30:40 A woman undresses, sex is implied, no nudity is shown
1:31:08 - 1:31:14 A woman gets out of bed, her breast is briefly shown
1:41:12 - 1:41:22 Two female statues with breasts are shown
2:17:10 - 2:18:08 Nude female hologram's breasts and buttocks are shown
Could have been an excellent film if not for normalising exploitation of women
I would not want my son to watch this at any age. There is no need to use exploitation of women, showing a naked woman/replica abused then stabbed in the abdomen while standing trembling and terrified or any of the other sex or nudity. The more we allow these things to appear in films, the more we are putting into boys minds that 'that's just how it is' 'that's what women are for'. Gone off Jared Letto now!
What's the Story?
In BLADE RUNNER 2049, a new breed of replicants has been created to serve without rebellion. K (Ryan Gosling) is one of them, working for the LAPD as a "blade runner." While on a routine hunt for one of the older, renegade breeds of replicant (Dave Bautista), K discovers clues -- a box buried in the ground and a date carved at the base of a dead tree -- that send him on a new mission. One of the clues is a carved wooden horse, which leads him to a woman (Carla Juri) who creates memories for replicants. From there, K tracks down former blade runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), who has gone into hiding. As K gets closer to the solution of his puzzle, powerful replicant maker Niander Wallace (Jared Leto) and his super-strong henchwoman (Sylvia Hoeks) attempt to bring him down.
Coming 35 years after the iconic original, Denis Villeneuve's sequel is a little heavier on spellbinding visuals than emotions or profound themes, but it still provides worthy food for thought. Villeneuve's best films -- Enemy, Sicario, Arrival -- are masterful at placing characters in unfamiliar or alien spaces and drawing memorable ideas and feelings from that clash. While Blade Runner 2049 doesn't quite reach that level, it still has many strong sequences that ponder themes of what it means to be alive -- or even human.
Certainly movies like A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Her -- not to mention the original Blade Runner -- probed a little deeper, but this sequel has more than its share of amazing, provocative moments. The spaces and images frequently clash; the cityscape and giant holograms or sculptures that are created by humans feel so inhuman at the same time. Images of wood and water also contribute to more primal themes. Not to mention that it's great to see Ford again, and he finds new levels in his old character. The movie's extreme length wears a bit, as does a slight detour into sillier, more ordinary sci-fi storytelling. And Leto overacts in an unappealing way. But these flaws are few, and the overall trip is well worth taking.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Blade Runner 2049's violence. How intense is it? Is it gratuitous or necessary to the story? How does it relate to the themes of the movie? What's the impact of media violence on kids?
How does the movie portray sex and nudity? Is it part of loving, respectful relationships? Parents, talk to your kids about your own values regarding sex.
How does this movie compare to the original? What's different? What's similar? How has the Deckard character endured? Why do you think the first movie became so iconic?
The main character dreams of having a soul, of perhaps not feeling like an outcast. Have you ever felt that way? How did you change it?
What are some of this movie's themes? What's the value of life in this world?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
