Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford star in a scene from the movie “Blade Runner 2049.” The Catholic News Service classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (CNS/Warner Bros.)

By Catholic News Service

Misogyny hangs over this science-fiction epic, a continuation of the story begun with Ridley Scott’s 1982 film, as blithely as the thick yellow fog of the post-apocalyptic Los Angeles it portrays.

A police officer (Ryan Gosling) has the job of rounding up stray rebellious replicants while also exploring the meaning of being human and interacting with technology. Director Denis Villeneuve, working from a script by Hampton Fancer and Michael Green, has made a two-and-a-half-hour film that, in its solemn eagerness to have its audience savor every special effect and linger over every underlined point about artificial life developing authentic human emotions, feels more like four hours.

Female nudity, a discreet sexual encounter involving a holograph melding with a human prostitute, frequent rough language and some profanities. Catholic News Service classification, L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. Motion Picture Association of America rating, R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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