2049 is fantastic. There just needs to be less slow walking. Gosling does it for like a total of 15 minutes in the film and it's the only thing that hasn't held up to me on repeated viewing.
The female characters, to me, were also very complex. Both Joi and Luv. I wouldn't describe Armas' role as "thankless" especially considering what she had to pull off in order for her character and the film as a whole to work.
you do realize her job in 2049 was incredibly difficult and had to deliver a nearly subliminal performance while also communicating one of the hardest jobs thematically right
-Vader
Armas really aced that, which proved her talent. Sometimes all you need is one film which gives you a compelling character to bring to life to prove what you're capable of. Charlize Theron's performance in Monster was impressive, not only in and on itself but because before that, she got quite some thankless roles.
