Blade Runner 2049 first reactions praise 'mind-blowing,' 'groundbreaking' sequel

Ridley Scott's original Blade Runner originally hit theaters in 1982. Now, 35 years later, select critics have gotten a sneak peak at Denis Villeneuve's much-anticipated sequel, Blade Runner 2049 — and they're already over the moon.

The sequel stars Ryan Gosling as one of the titular "blade runners," law enforcement agents tasked with neutralizing renegade replicants. Over the course of the film, Gosling must appeal to the original blade runner himself, Harrison Ford's Rick Deckard, for help. Gosling told EW's Sara Vilkomerson about what he learned from their collaboration: "The best part is that you hang out with him and you realize that all those iconic moments from his films that you love are his — like 'I love you,' 'I know' from Star Wars, or shooting the guy in Indiana Jones. He's just like that all the time. Normally I'd say there are hundreds of ways to play any scene. Unless you work with Harrison and you realize there's only one great way and he's already figured it out."

But despite those two leading men, many of the early raves about Blade Runner 2049 focus on its visuals. The film once again teams Villeneuve with veteran cinematographer Roger Deakins — and like their previous collaboration, Sicario, this one seems to have a very distinctive visual signature. Some who have seen the film are already banging the drums that Blade Runner 2049 should finally get Deakins his long-awaited Oscar (the cinematographer has been nominated an incredible 13 times, but has yet to win).

Blade Runner 2049 hits theaters Oct. 6. Check out some early reactions below.

This post has been updated to remove a "joke" tweet about Blade Runner 2049 that featured a photo of Steven Seagal.