It has been thirty years since the original Blade Runner was released starring Harrison Ford. Now the cult classic film has returned to the big screen, more powerful, provocative and humanly relatable.

We live in a world where technology is no longer a desire, but a necessity. As much as we like to think Androids and hover cars are still in the realm of science-fiction, already scientists have been perfecting droid tech and robotic assistance.

The leaps and bounds the human race has made in the name of progress is quite staggering. Blade Runner is a macabre peek into Earth’s future. A grim, disgusting place where all natural life is gone but thank goodness you have your holographic maid to keep you company.

Throughout the film, rain and fog are weighing down the mood into despair.

Plot wise, as a viewer seeing this film before watching the original Blade Runner, it is vital to understand the Replicants, which are Robotic humanoid creations of the Tyrell Corporation to be used as slave labor on the outer planets.

Being ten times stronger, smarter, and disposable, they are the perfect labor force, so no human life is wasted. However, Eldon Tyrell, founder and creator of the Replicants, has been experimenting with his creation in order to make them “More human than humans.”

A creature that can freely think will one day turn on its maker. Have we seen this theme somewhere before? Frankenstein, that’s where. The Replicants turned on humans and that is where the Blade Runners come in. They are the police force whose sole duty is to “retire” illegal Replicants. “Retire is the PG way of saying they shoot them on sight.”

This background from the first Blade Runner takes us into 2049. Only this time, the protagonist is a Replicant himself and he’s hunting his own kind. After all, what better way to identify robots than to use a robot to test them?

The part of K, played by Ryan Gosling, is a Blade Runner who has uncovered a secret child that is full parts Replicant. If a robot can have kids, where is the line between man and machine? What barrier is there between the two now that there is a baby involved?

In the first Blade Runner, the goal was simple: for Deckard, Harrison Ford’s character, to find a group of rebel Replicants and retire them permanently. But the focus has changed dramatically between films.

The realistic idea of the future is what sets this movie apart. With how the world is being taken care of in 2017, this outcome is far more probable than discovering the Force or building a Federation utopia. But above all that, the moral dilemma of creating a species that works to please humans is deplorable. However, looking back on human history, that concept has been abused dozens of times before.

So, if you like science fiction stories with gorgeous sets and believable characters, then purchase the DVD soon. It is definitely worth the time.