Ryan Gosling enjoyed a great decade throughout the 2010s, starring in many notable films and box office success stories - many of them being original movies. It's exceptionally rare in today's movie landscape for an actor to get famous from original films, but Gosling has done it through his charisma and talent.
It's hard to pinpoint Gosling's greatest work, as opinion will always differ. But two of his most acclaimed films from the 2010s were La La Land and Blade Runner 2049. Both are exceptional movies, and they couldn't be more different from each other.
La La Land: It's An Original Movie
Points go to La La Land for being an original film. There's nothing inherently wrong with sequels, and Blade Runner 2049 is a great movie. But the fact that it's a sequel to a 40-year-old movie may throw off some moviegoers - especially if they haven't seen the Harrison Ford original.
La La Land can be fully enjoyed on its own, without any prior knowledge of existing material. Yes, it takes numerous cues from old Hollywood musicals, but a knowledge of musicals is certainly not required for enjoyment.
Blade Runner 2049: The Heavier Themes
Because La La Land borrows so heavily from what came before, it may seem like its themes are a little "been there, done that." It is both a love letter to and an admonishment of Hollywood, and the tragic love story at the heart of the film is nothing that hasn't been done before.
And while the headier themes of Blade Runner 2049 may not be original either, it helps make the movie more "academic" and "serious." When it comes to more "meaningful" stories, Blade Runner 2049 arguably has La La Land beat.
La La Land: The Shorter Runtime
There's no denying that Blade Runner 2049's extended runtime hurt its performance at the box office. While a great movie, and while many felt it utilizes the bloated runtime well, others were thrown off by the 163-minute runtime.
Verging on three hours is a big ask, especially for a slow, dense, and methodical movie in the vein of Blade Runner 2049. La La Land runs at a far more agreeable 128 minutes, and it earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing.
Blade Runner 2049: More Ambitious
It's not that La La Land isn't ambitious. It certainly is. But Blade Runner 2049 is very ambitious. The movie runs nearly three hours long, it tells a dense science fiction story, it spans multiple extravagant locations (including an irradiated Las Vegas), the story twists and turns through time and memories, and it tells a complex story about what it means to be human.
This ambition is also represented in the movies' budgets: La La Land was made for a paltry $30 million, while Blade Runner 2049 was made for $185 million.
La La Land: Easier Viewing
While ambition is certainly great, that doesn't necessarily equate to a better viewing experience. For many, La La Land will make for the more "entertaining" movie - especially for those watching with friends or family.
Blade Runner 2049 isn't exactly a Friday night dinner with the family sort of movie. While telling a rather sad story, La La Land is nevertheless very fun and engaging, complete with robust musical numbers, humor, and a charming relationship between Gosling and Emma Stone at its center.
Blade Runner 2049: The Visual Effects
As mentioned previously, Blade Runner 2049 was made for an astounding $185 million. Luckily, every single penny is on full display throughout this gorgeous and wonderous film. The visual effects of Blade Runner 2049 are nothing short of outstanding, whether it be through the use of green screen, CGI, or model work.
In fact, it may be one of the best-looking films of the 2010s in terms of visual effects, and it rightfully won the Academy Award for just that.
La La Land: The Music
While the music of Blade Runner 2049 is great, it has nothing on the music of La La Land, which makes sense, considering La La Land is a musical.
Composed and orchestrated by Damien Chazelle's longtime collaborator and friend, Justin Hurwitz, La La Land is filled with great music and songs like "Another Day of Sun," "Someone in the Crowd," "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)," and "Mia & Sebastian's Theme." Hurwitz also won two Academy Awards for his work on the movie - Best Original Score and Best Original Song for "City of Stars."
Blade Runner 2049: The Cast
La La Land belongs to Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. And aside from some brief appearances by John Legend and J.K. Simmons, it isn't exactly a star-studded film. That distinction belongs to Blade Runner 2049.
The movie features an exceptional cast, including Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Jared Leto, and Dave Bautista. All are perfectly cast, and all bring a little something to the movie.
La La Land: The Cinematography
La La Land is a beautiful film that has been richly photographed and captured by the Swedish director of photography, Linus Sandgren. While Sandgren served as DOP on a few American movies prior to La La Land, it was La La Land that served as his major breakout.
The movie's cinematography was widely acclaimed, and Sandgren won a slew of industry awards, including the Academy Award, the BAFTA, and the Critics' Choice Movie Award.
Blade Runner 2049: The Cinematography
With that said, Blade Runner 2049 was also an exceptionally shot film. With esteemed DOP Roger Deakins at the helm, Blade Runner 2049 was filled with countless expansive shots, fluid and inventive camera work, and a popping neon color scheme that included numerous shades of blue, green, pink, and orange.
It's one of the most gorgeous films of the 2010s, and it serves as a perfect showcase for 4K HDR displays. Deakins's cinematography was also widely awarded, winning an Academy Award and an American Society of Cinematographers Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography.