I saw the original Tron for the first time this week. Now, before you tell me that I need to hand in my geek card, it turned out I read the novelization in the fifth grade (my first novelization as I recall) and actually owned a copy of the DVD (I bought it in the early 90s) that was still in the shrink wrap. I found the movie to be rather slow, and confusingly over complicated and simplistic at the same time, but still enjoyable. I am not going to comment on the special effects since that wouldn't be fair to the movie as it is three decades old. I will say that Jeff Bridges was fun as Flynn, although I found him mighty comfortable and accepting of his new surroundings. All in all, the movie, like the Disney's other sci fi foray, Black Hole, is a worthy addition to my collection.
But, the quality of the original Tron is not what this discussion is about. Several years ago, a sequel to the movie was announced at San Diego ComicCon and the fans went crazy. Since then, there I have attended three ComicCons and three Tron panels. I went to Tron parties and met the cast (I don't expect that they will remember me as I'm sure Olivia Wilde meets a lot incoherent people that sound like blathering idiots when they try to talk to her). The film went from Tron 2 to Tr2n to Tron 2.0 to Tron Legacy and from 2D to 3D. Disney World repainted a monorail and the company added an ElecTronica party to their theme parks. There is also a Tron encore to the World of Color show at Disney's California adventure. Not to mention more low and high end merchandise than you can shake an identity disk at. Disney even offerred a free preview last month that "sold out" in minutes (I couldn't get a ticket and was disheartened to hear the theater by me was empty with no shows.). It is clear that, regardless how the film does, Tron (and Tron Legacy) will be firmly entrenched in our pop culture subconscious.
But, is it a good movie?
I wanted to find out before getting tainted by other reviews. So, I trekked out into the snow to see the 12:01 3D IMAX show (I should note that before the movie, there was a disclaimer about how some of the scenes were shot in 2D, but I didn't notice the difference.) The theater audience was a respectable size given the weather. (Apparently a record breaking crowd saw the film.)
The lights dimmed. There was cheers for the Pirates 4 trailer, (to my disappointment) groans for the Thor trailer, and just general confusion and head scratching about The Eagle and Mars Needs Moms.
I wanted to find out before getting tainted by other reviews. So, I trekked out into the snow to see the 12:01 3D IMAX show (I should note that before the movie, there was a disclaimer about how some of the scenes were shot in 2D, but I didn't notice the difference.) The theater audience was a respectable size given the weather. (Apparently a record breaking crowd saw the film.)
The lights dimmed. There was cheers for the Pirates 4 trailer, (to my disappointment) groans for the Thor trailer, and just general confusion and head scratching about The Eagle and Mars Needs Moms.
But, is Tron Legacy any good?
I guess that depends on what you are looking for.
Tron Legacy tells the story of Sam Flynn's search for his father, Kevin Flynn (the star of the original Tron), who vanished 20 years ago. Sam search brings him into the world of the Gird, a visually stunning computerized world.
Given that the Tron movies deal with the world within a world concept, in many ways you might be tempted to compare it to the Matrix or Inception. If that is your benchmark, you will be disappointed as the story has been done before and script is exposition heavy at times and there are needless characters that are introduced, but never followed up on (like that uncredited character played by Cillian Murphy that ties back pretty directly to the first movie and I thought would be a major player in this one). But, if you are looking for a fun otherworldly scifi tale that has beautiful special effects and great action, Tron Legacy will not disappoint. To put it another way, to see if I liked a movie, the criteria I set for myself when I see these midnight showings is whether I fall asleep or check my watch. I did neither during the two hour movie. The action scenes are well done, the characters fun, and the plot, while filled with logic leaps and some holes, is a good enough Macguffin to support the movie. Olivia Wilde's performance (and the costume department) has ensured that, should I ever meet her again, I will be equally incoherent and twice as blathering.
I guess that depends on what you are looking for.
Tron Legacy tells the story of Sam Flynn's search for his father, Kevin Flynn (the star of the original Tron), who vanished 20 years ago. Sam search brings him into the world of the Gird, a visually stunning computerized world.
Given that the Tron movies deal with the world within a world concept, in many ways you might be tempted to compare it to the Matrix or Inception. If that is your benchmark, you will be disappointed as the story has been done before and script is exposition heavy at times and there are needless characters that are introduced, but never followed up on (like that uncredited character played by Cillian Murphy that ties back pretty directly to the first movie and I thought would be a major player in this one). But, if you are looking for a fun otherworldly scifi tale that has beautiful special effects and great action, Tron Legacy will not disappoint. To put it another way, to see if I liked a movie, the criteria I set for myself when I see these midnight showings is whether I fall asleep or check my watch. I did neither during the two hour movie. The action scenes are well done, the characters fun, and the plot, while filled with logic leaps and some holes, is a good enough Macguffin to support the movie. Olivia Wilde's performance (and the costume department) has ensured that, should I ever meet her again, I will be equally incoherent and twice as blathering.
I also should give a nod out to Daft Punk for the score. I was so impressed with their music that I stopped on the way home and picked up the soundtrack (huzzah for the 24 hour Walmarts of the world). I can best describe the score as having a Hans Zimmer Inception quality but done electronically.
So, in summary, while I doubt Tron Legacy will go down in history as a great thinker's movie and not spark debates about reality, it is certainly worth seeing on the big screen (especially if you wear those goofy IMAX glasses and watch it in 3D.)
Edit: I received three emails since this went live asking if you need to see the original Tron to enjoy the sequel. You do not. In fact, in some ways, it would have been better if I didn't just see the original Tron because some things from the original film are ignored (like the character of Dumont, played by the late Barnard Hughes, who was integral to the plot of the original Tron yet not even mentioned in Tron Legacy). PS: thanks for the emails, it means someone is actually reading it :-)
Edit: I received three emails since this went live asking if you need to see the original Tron to enjoy the sequel. You do not. In fact, in some ways, it would have been better if I didn't just see the original Tron because some things from the original film are ignored (like the character of Dumont, played by the late Barnard Hughes, who was integral to the plot of the original Tron yet not even mentioned in Tron Legacy). PS: thanks for the emails, it means someone is actually reading it :-)
Click to set custom HTML
RSS Feed