Released nearly forty years after the original, Blade Runner 2049 earned widespread praise for virtually all aspects of its production. Of particular note was Roger Deakins's beautiful cinematography, the imaginative world-building, and production design, and the philosophical writing from screenwriters Hampton Fancher (who wrote the original Blade Runner) and Michael Green.
The writing was wonderous and engrossing, telling a great detective-mystery story while offering up tantalizing musings on humanity and memorable quotes that will be repeated for years to come. Many characters within Blade Runner 2049 are quiet and contemplative, but they offer up lines of dialogue that shine. These are some of the best quotes from the movie.
"GOD DAMN IT!"
Obviously "God damn it" isn't a great movie quote. It's a very common saying in everyday life, and hundreds–potentially even thousands–of movies have used it. But none to the resulting popularity of Blade Runner 2049. K screams the phrase after learning that his memory is real, thinking it means he's the child of Rachael.
Ryan Gosling's performance sells the quote, and it instantly became a popular internet meme.
"Go Meet Your Daughter."
K's character arc helps define Blade Runner 2049, and his journey from replicant to human (even if he's not technically human) proves the movie's biggest theme. Therefore, it's a wonderfully cathartic moment when K tells Deckard to go meet his daughter.
There's tons of emotion behind both the quote and the sentiment, with K having risked his life to save Deckard and reunite him with his long-lost daughter.
"...I Like This Song."
Blade Runner 2049 is a heavy movie, but it's not without moments of levity. The Las Vegas sequence is filled with tension, as Deckard displays mistrust against K. He tries shooting K, who launches himself over a railing and runs away.
When they finally meet in the colorful lounge, Deckard continuously punches K in the face...that is, until Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love" begins playing over the speakers. Deckard stops punching K, declares that he likes the song, and proceeds to offer him a drink.
"He Liked To Work Alone. So Did I. So We Worked Together To Keep It That Way."
There's nothing much more ironic than two loners working together to ensure they work alone. K visits Gaff, a retired police officer who used to know Deckard. Wishing to glean information about the man, Gaff tells K that he liked to work alone and that he's likely living somewhere remote and peaceful.
The above quote is both very clever and dryly hilarious while also serving as an anthem for lone wolves everywhere.
"You're Not Even Close To Baseline!"
Following an intense assignment, all replicants are forced to undergo a baseline test after returning to the police station. The test is meant to gauge their mental states. K kills Sapper Morton without flinching and passes the baseline test with flying colors.
However, he fails the test after discovering that his memory is real, resulting in one of the movie's most famous and oft-repeated lines - "You're not even close to baseline!"
"Mere Data Makes A Man. A And C And T And G. The Alphabet Of You."
Blade Runner 2049 deals with themes of humanity and what exactly it is that makes someone "human". It seems to argue that K is human owing to his selfless sacrifice and for fighting for the right cause. But it also deals with the science and biology behind humanity, and that's wonderfully summarized in this poetic line from Joi.
Joi, a machine, can't help but be amazed at the inner workings and biology of humanity, gazing at the "mere data [that] makes a man" and summing them up through the DNA molecule.
"You Newer Models Are Happy Scraping The S***. Because You've Never Seen A Miracle."
Sapper Morton is willing to die at the hands of K to protect the secret of Rachael's biological birth. He rightfully regards the birth as "a miracle" (considering Rachael is a bioengineered machine and not a human) and is willing to make a personal dig against K before he goes.
With these simple words, Sapper Morton became one of the noblest and heroic characters in the entire Blade Runner franchise, despite his very limited screen time.
"To Be Born Is To Have A Soul, I Guess."
The overarching theme of Blade Runner 2049 is introduced in the first 20 minutes. K is tasked with tracking down Rachael's child and "retiring" it, as Lieutenant Joshi fears an impending war between replicants and humans should the secret be discovered.
And for the first time, K actually shows some hesitance against his orders, arguing that, "To be born is to have a soul". K sees this child as something "other" than a mere replicant, and he desperately wishes it in himself.
"You Look Like A Good Joe."
Blade Runner 2049 does not have a happy ending. K discovers that he is not the special child born to Rachael, but just another replicant. Furthermore, Joi is destroyed by Luv in Las Vegas. Both events leave K without a clear sense of direction, and when he goes walking, he comes across a massive hologram Joi.
Joi speaks to him, saying, "You look like a good Joe". And with that, K realizes that even the loving relationship he had with Joi was fake, manufactured, and pre-designed. He's a nobody known by a letter and who was given a default nickname by his mechanical girlfriend.
"Dying For The Right Cause. It's The Most Human Thing We Can Do."
However tragic the Joi plot thread is, it inspires K to make the selfless decision to save Deckard and reunite him with his daughter. The quote is attributed to Freysa, who uses it in the context of the impending replicant revolution. But K is lonely and he desperately wants to be seen as something other than a machine. He wants to be human.
So he decides to die for the right cause, which is exactly what Freysa says makes someone–or even something–human.