Blade Runner: Black Lotus - The Movie Edit

Solid fight choreography, a familiar setting, and some surprising character notes make for a worthwhile watch.

AUDIO/VIDEO QUALITY

I opted for the low quality 1080p file option, as the size/length balance seemed reasonable to me (and I only have a 1080p display).

There was a considerable amount of banding in many of the scenes, and as much as I'd like to say it wasn't distracting, it often was. I can appreciate the difficulty of avoiding that on something that is fully animated, and especially something that's quite dark, but in light of the fact that I opted for the LQ file, I haven't marked this down any.

The added grain was pleasing and not overdone.


VISUAL EDITING

Nearly perfect, as far as I observed, but there is a continuity error at 1:55:40 (with the phone).


AUDIO EDITING

I noticed some audio issues, but they seemed to only be present during the first part of the movie. Maybe the content that comprises episodes 1 and 2? I'm not sure where it switched, but this is what I observed for the first part:

* Overall, the volume level seemed too high. I had to drop the volume in my player to 85% to find a comfortable level. Again, this issue seemed to go away further in, but I can't pinpoint where.
* There are moments in some early scenes where the volume dips noticeably during moments that would normally be punctuated by a larger sound. Or at least that's the best way I can describe it. Examples: 1:40, 4:24, 4:52, 4:57, 24:09. I compared with the original material and the volume seemed nice and level, but for those timestamps it seems like it dips in a strange way. Again, I only noticed this in the first part of the edit, and I'm not sure when I stopped noticing it.

Some other notes I made regarding the audio:

* It seems to be a little out of sync from 55:25 to 56:18.
* There's a pop at 1:20:07
* It seems to be out of sync at 1:53:29
* At 2:13:35 the music/ambient cuts out a little fast
* At 2:23:04 Elle's grunting/breathing is coming from the left instead of the right


NARRATIVE

The story is clear and easy to follow, and while I wouldn't say it's concise, it's straightforward and well-developed.

It was a considerable undertaking to bring the runtime down this far, but I can't help but feel it's a story that could be told in less than two hours. However, the fight sequences are great, and it's unusual for a John Wick movie to be any shorter than 2:20 in spite of being so thin plot-wise, so the same can be true here. The fights get a free pass. :)

There's a moment at 1:48'ish that's great and feels earned.

Very nit-picky, but it seemed strange that the VK test only had two questions. I was primed for three.


ENJOYMENT

I did really enjoy this, but I have to mark this down as I ended up watching it over three sessions. It didn't quite have the right amount of tension and release to keep me engaged for a single viewing. I wouldn't say it necessarily fits as a three part narrative (maybe it does?) but it did feel like 48:00 was a solid break point.

Overall, I found this quite pleasing, and I'm happy to have experienced Elle's story. The expansion of two other notable characters (one major, one minor) were very appreciated, but I'll say no more.

Just about to watch for a second time, this time the 4k version. Something different set in a world that everybody is familiar with. The tv version struggled with its identity, unsure which audience to serve. This version takes the material seriously and has resulted in a great addition to the Blade Runner series.

TLDR: This was damn good.

Let me start by saying I tried to watch the regular release multiple times and failed. Good gravy it just dragged and dragged. You get spoon fed information so slowly that by the time something important happens, you forgot the other stuff you learned and you are just bored. This seems to be a very common thing I've noticed happening more and more. I would put money on this started as a movie and someone brilliant executive said, "This is fantastic! You know what would make it even better? If we made it into a series."

I was probably going to give the original version one more go, as I really love the Blade Runner universe, but I dreaded sitting down to try again. I am so happy that Wakeupkeo tackled this one.

There are other reviews that dive more into technical detail, so I will keep it simple... Did I enjoy it, big check. Were there any major technical issues that pulled me out, nope. Would I recommend this Fanedit, definitely check!

Ps. Just to add, I wondered to myself if this could or should be even shorter. My answer to this is a solid no. I feel it has the proper pacing to feel right at home as a Blade Runner movie.

Wow, this absolutely rocked! I can see that the narrative material isn't revolutionary, but the feel of this was fantastic! Not only did it feel very Blade Runner, but the format captured something about a 90s anime moment for me - I actually really dug the odd animation style. Very nostalgic and vibe-y. I only sat through the original premiere, and between the pop theme song and odd TV pacing - even if I had committed - I would have lost interest week to week. But It really really worked for me here as a film, I'm glad I got to see this project in some form. I never would have. I quite like this.

Surprised to learn this was originally 12 episodes! I didn't feel like I had missed anything and felt invested in everything. My only note is that some of the cutting around Officer Davis put on leave and the aftermath of Wallace Sr's death, while technically solid, stood out as clunkier storytelling than the rest of the movie. Particularly when I don't think anything comes of Davis' dismissal. It feels like she just ignores it; maybe that entire beat in the story could be cut.

Loved this!

I've been watching this edit since version 1.0something, and I love it. It's been wonderful watching Keo take out the bloat and unnecessary flashbacks. I didn't know how he would combine the episodes without the end scenese that had music, but wow. This thing flows pretty well. There are a few parts I wish he had kept in, but overall I think it's spectacular.

There are subtitles. All the best edits have subtitles, so thank you for bringing them with you when you did the edit.