I am stunned. Overwhelmed. I’m in awe of a delicate balance between wonder and poignance that few films achieve.

“Blade Runner 2049”, directed by Denis Villeneuve, the auteur behind other masterpieces such as “Arrival” and “Sicario,” is unforgettable on every level.

Starring Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Robin Wright, and Jared Leto, the cast’s performance exceeded my expectations, even for featuring such reputable members.

The movie centers around Agent K (Ryan Gosling), a Blade Runner for the Los Angeles Police department. His job is to hunt down and decommission androids called Replicants, who are indistinguishable from humans.

Villeneuve crafts this universe with remarkable deftness and sufficient homage to the the film’s predecessor. The atmosphere is consistent yet multifaceted,  flowing naturally from the hazy orange of a dessert to the almost suffocating black sky of technological dystopia.

The experience immersed me fully, every frame eye catching and mesmerizing. Roger Deakins, the iconic cinematographer behind “The Shawshank Redemption” and “No Country for Old Men,” among a host of other works, fills his role perfectly. He expertly captures the motif of existential duality throughout the film through panned out, lingering shots and ingenious camera angles.

Just like in the original Blade Runner, the film’s score is ambient and an intrinsic. Hans Zimmer, the bombastic composer who wrote the soundtracks of “Gladiator,” “Interstellar,” and the Dark Knight trilogy, brings out the best of his talent here. He makes most of drawn out, echoing electronic whispers while shifting to his more typical intensity at the perfect moments. When the main Blade Runner theme played, I smiled knowingly. Yet the score forms its own identity, refusing to become engulfed in Vangelis’s original work.

While “2049” clocked in at 2 hours and 45 minutes, exceptional pacing granted the film gritty momentum and inward contemplation simultaneously. Agent K’s journey never lulled; the agonizingly patient unravelling of the movie’s central mystery kept me constantly engaged. I wasn’t just watching a man discover profound human truths. I was discovering them myself.

And perhaps that is why this film instantly delighted me.  The cinematography, the score, and the atmosphere prompt fundamental questions about human existence, questions that mankind has pondered eternally. I gazed at the last frame with a earnest yearning to answer find these truths and to understand what makes one human. The best movies are the kind that articulate their messages on a universal level, and “2049” is no exception.

I implore those reading to find the biggest screen and the loudest speakers possible to see this movie. I am utterly amazed by its technical proficiency and thematic potency. “Blade Runner: 2049” is not just entertaining or eye-opening, it is an emotional, prophetic experience that defines skillful storytelling.