Man I'm so glad I read a reply like yours among all the others, because it so perfectly mirrors my own views on BR2049.
I saw it last Thursday when it opened in the UK, being fully aware of the long running time and yet still excited and in anticipation of a defining cinema experience. I was too young to see the original in theatres, but it's still one of my favourite ever films. I even loved the PC game because I felt it managed to capture some of the magic of the film.
My biggest criticism, like you, is the running time. It simply did not need to be THAT long to tell its story. Within the first 90 minutes, at least 30 could've been cut and still retained some atmosphere. It felt like for every line of dialogue there had to be two minutes of slow camera panning shots. For me the movie only really wakes up when Deckard makes an entrance and actually the last hour I really enjoyed, but by then I already had a sense of disappointment (and a sore ass) which wasn't going to go away.
Visually it's stunning, and I didn't mind the sound (maybe I sat far enough back that the volume was tolerable), though I missed the Vangelis score - impossible to eclipse - but I just wished it could have been edited a bit more aggressively.
I'll definitely watch it again when it's available on-demand. I suspect in the comfort of my living room with a pause button for rest breaks it may actually be more enjoyable.