If you haven't seen this yet, make a point of catching it on the big screen while you can. Apparently, crowds have been staying away in unexpectedly high numbers, resulting in disappointing box office numbers that will likely doom the film to early "retirement" from theaters.
 
We paid 5 bucks extra to see it in the "RPX" room. That means a slightly larger screen, somewhat better seats and, most importantly, high-fidelity full-spectrum audio. Although at times a bit too loud, the 7.1 sound was pretty awesome. Of course, there's the famously retro synth track, but the film also has some really good sound design. In reverberant spaces, the sound bounces off the wall behind you. Even something as basic as gunshots have a satisfying whump to them.
 
It was a weeknight, and the movie was showing in 3D next door, so the audience in our auditorium was sparse. Perfect. That meant I was able to snag the best seat in the house, right in the sweet spot 1/3 of the way back from the screen and equidistant from each side wall. We'd lit up a bowl of high-grade marijuana mixed with Lebanese hashish (making it especially hard to walk past the snack bar) to assure maximum sensory assault.
 
Why is nobody going to see this movie? Well, the pre-show trailers told the story. Every film advertised was mindless gung-ho militaristic eye candy aimed at teenagers. The Pacific Rim sequel looked especially disappointing. Only Spielberg's upcoming Ready Player One showed any promise, and I'm not even sure about that one. The market for intellectually-engaging sci-fi seems to have disappeared.
 
So go see this one in the theater while you can. It won't be the same experience on DVD, no matter how good your home theater setup is.

Bit, maybe this is perfect.  Wasn't the first one the same way?  I was a kid when the first one came out, with Star Wars fresh on my mind and I didn't give it 10 minutes.  It wasn't until 20 years later I fell in love with it.  
 
I have never really understood the action mindset after I got out of my teens.  I always wanted a deep story for the action to compliment.  To me, action is pointless if there's no drama behind it, which requires story and that takes time and talent.  
 
We are also spoiled with the glory that is "television" right now.  The long form nature of series and the quality we are getting today makes movies feel too rushed and hyperactive, for me.  I almost don't care much for movies at all.  Almost...
 
But I've been waiting for this one...I hope to see it with the same sensory alterations you enjoyed.  

bitflipper
 
... right in the sweet spot 1/3 of the way back from the screen 

The sweet spot for me is at least 2/3 of the way if not against the back wall ... it is a visual thing for me.
 

bitflipper
 
Why is nobody going to see this movie?
 

 
I don't know ... maybe because they don't have access to high-grade marijuana mixed with Lebanese hashish.
 
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I remember when we first saw Blade Runner.  A few of us went to the movie theater with no plan (we were in HS at the time) and multiplexes were just coming into their own in the early 80's, so we just randomly picked Blade Runner after we got there (i.e., no expectations).  We walked out at the end of the movie absolutely dazed.
 
I think I am going to take my son this weekend (he's 14).

I seem to recall that the first one was also a slow starter. I read that the studio was hoping for $50 million in it's first weekend, but I wonder how long it took the original to make that much (inflation adjusted) money?
Plus, Blade Runner kept coming back to theaters every few years and gained more popularity over time.
 
The critics's  blurbs in the ads are positive (I don't think there would be a "boring Sci-Fi dreck" blurb in the trailers, though) but since when have the critics ever affected the sales numbers?

The original was a sleeper. It wasn't until years later that it became a cult classic that continued to grow.
 
I haven't seen it yet as I was waiting for the crowds to subside some. Maybe that is not really an issue.

I'm not exactly a movie goer.  The last movie I saw in an actual theater was the premiere of the Rock with Sean Connery! 
 
(It was eggshellint though!)

I hate battling big crowds, regardless of the entertainment medium. That's why I wait a week before seeing new films, always go mid-week, and choose the earliest showing of the day.
 
I was a full-time musician when Close Encounters came out. There were lines around the block for it, but being a night worker that meant I could catch a 10:00 AM Wednesday morning show. My band were literally the only patrons in the theater. Plus it was one of those old downtown theaters (in Vancouver, B.C.) with the comfy chairs and great acoustics.
 
BTW, I suggest you re-watch the original Blade Runner before seeing the sequel, especially if it's been awhile. Anyone going into 2049 without knowledge of the original film will have a hard time following the story, because it is an actual sequel, not a re-envisioning or an "inspired by". It's faithful to the Blade Runner universe, just grander visually. Gosh, I hope they make money on this one. I really want to see another installment (assuming I live long enough).

I'm really looking forward to seeing 2049. Probably over the weekend...

Big fan of the original and I make a point of seeing it at least every 3 to 4 years. An absolute classic as far as I'm concerned.

I usually shed a year at the end of Roy Batty's speech at the end *sniff*

Rutger Hauer, what a treasure. He wrote that soliloquy himself.
 
I was really hoping he'd make a cameo in the sequel, but that would have problematic, given that his character died in the first film. That hasn't stopped other sequels' characters, though. Sean Young does appear, not in person but as a clip from the first movie.
 

 
BTW, Gene Siskel called Blade Runner "a waste of time" when it came out. I haven't taken him seriously since.
 

Quite under-rated, Rutger Hauer. Terrifying in 'The Hitcher'. Enjoyed his cameo in 'Sin City' too.