TRON: Legacy - Review and Grading

[Joy]

So, for the midnight showing, we had at least 60 people in a 90-person auditorium. It was a private event held by our local 1980s arcade (called 1984), so I think we actually had a good turnout, considering the price was $30 (which got us unlimited pizza, a free drink, hours of 1980s arcade gameplay, a viewing of the original movie, and the private 3D showing of Tron: Legacy). Oh, and we also all got Tron: Legacy messenger bags!

Overall, an awesome, fun evening/night, and it made for a unique atmosphere while watching the movie because we had all just come from a 1980s arcade, so when Sam walks into Flynn's and "Sweet Dreams" starts playing... man, it was surreal (because "Sweet Dreams" had actually been one of the music videos that played on the TVs at the arcade earlier this evening!).

Maybe I'm being too easy on the script. I dunno. But I LOVED the movie, I hope they are able to make it into a trilogy, and my grade is an A- (so I voted Excellent).

Oh, and I totally recommend this movie in 3D. I think it was brilliant the way they used 2D versus 3D, and personally, I thought this was one of the few movies that was really made to be seen in 3D (like Avatar). I'm certainly not a huge proponent of 3D films (for example, I think Tangled was probably better in 2D), but this is definitely one of the movies I'd recommend seeing in 3D.

[Neroon]

YOu got all that, for only $30???


That's a steal!

[Emh]

No kidding! I'm seriously jealous of you, Joy.

[stonester1]

God, me too. That sounded AWESOME!

[ElimParra]

Joy that sounds awesome. I wish there was something like that here in Newcastle. I also would like it to be a trilogy.

[stonester1]

Just the existence of an arcade dedicated to 80s era videogames, that's awesome alone. We used to have such in Denton, TX, when I was going to college there in the 90s.

Long gone now. *sniff*

And the Mall arcade I did most of my 80s videogaming at? The Silver Ball? Also just closed last year.

*double sniff*

[Haggis and tatties]

Joy wrote:

---

So, for the midnight showing, we had at least 60 people in a 90-person auditorium. It was a private event held by our local 1980s arcade (called 1984), so I think we actually had a good turnout, considering the price was $30 (which got us unlimited pizza, a free drink, hours of 1980s arcade gameplay, a viewing of the original movie, and the private 3D showing of Tron: Legacy). Oh, and we also all got Tron: Legacy messenger bags!

Overall, an awesome, fun evening/night, and it made for a unique atmosphere while watching the movie because we had all just come from a 1980s arcade, so when Sam walks into Flynn's and "Sweet Dreams" starts playing... man, it was surreal (because "Sweet Dreams" had actually been one of the music videos that played on the TVs at the arcade earlier this evening!).

Maybe I'm being too easy on the script. I dunno. But I LOVED the movie, I hope they are able to make it into a trilogy, and my grade is an A- (so I voted Excellent).

Oh, and I totally recommend this movie in 3D. I think it was brilliant the way they used 2D versus 3D, and personally, I thought this was one of the few movies that was really made to be seen in 3D (like Avatar). I'm certainly not a huge proponent of 3D films (for example, I think Tangled was probably better in 2D), but this is definitely one of the movies I'd recommend seeing in 3D.

Ok you just swayed me to go and see it again in 3D.

[Joy]

Seriously, this arcade is amazing. You pay $5 to get in, and you get unlimited time to play unlimited games on all the classics: Tetris, Frogger, Tron, Centipede, Sinistar, etc etc etc. They've modified the games so that instead of putting coins in, you just push a blue button and it gives you a credit. The only paid-for games are the pinball machines, which is 25-cents a play.

And they always have 80s music videos playing on TVs throughout the arcade, which makes for an awesome atmosphere.

So, if you're ever in Springfield, Missouri, you should totally check it out. It's called 1984.

Oh, and the owners are so good at faces and names that if you pay to get in and later want to go grab some dinner and come back, they'll remember you and you won't have to pay again to get in!

Hmmm... something on topic.... Well, it was amazing to be able to play Tron on the same night as seeing the original movie and going to see the sequel. I kinda suck at the game, though. LOL

[RAMA]

Going to see it on Sunday with 5-6 people. I'm tempted to go sneak out tonight but I have an xmas party to go to..

RAMA

[marillion]

Joy, You are incredible fortunate for that kind of experience. A local gaming store was hosting a screening event too and had nowhere near that kind of swag or other goodies.

I was going to sneak out last night and see a midnight show, but a blizzard hit Albuquerque, and by 10pm, I had 5 inches on the streets in my neighborhood. 5 inches in albuquerque has the same effect on traffic as a foot does in other places. It's best just to stay inside..

So it looks like a Sunday evening 3D show for me and my boy.. The girls have no desire to see it.

[Chick_McGeester]

So with the blue button to give you free credits how do they deal with people hogging machines? Usually its the money aspect that gets people off machines so other people can play them. How do they deal with that?

[Joy]

Not sure... it's only the second time I've been there. But then again, it's Springfield, and we have an inordinately large percentage of very nice, patient people. It's not typically uber-crowded, as far as I know, and even last night with so many people there, we all managed to have a go on our favorite games.

[Agent Richard07]

Just saw it. It was one of the most visually stunning movies I've ever seen, right up there with Jet Li's Hero. I'd give it an excellent just for that alone, but I'm going with "good" once I factor in the story.

Now for the rundown...

- I saw the 1982 TRON for the first time six days ago. I wasn't going to see Legacy without having seen the original, so it's fortunate that I got that opportunity. After seeing TRON, I was unimpressed. The story was pretty thin and unengaging and the world felt equally so with the 80s CGI and the colorized unsaturated look for the characters. It was an experience though and it laid the foundation for a franchise I was looking forward to getting into.

- As I said, the sequel is quite a sight to see. The visual experience is worth the price of admission alone. Some things like the outfits were completely redesigned, while other things like the vehicles were simply made to look better with modern CGI capabilities. And much better they did look. I was pleased to see so many things from the original in this movie, but with a superior look.

- I wasn't going to see the movie in 3D, but when I got the theatre, I found that my only two options were IMAX or 3D, so I grudgingly went with 3D. I found that it added nothing to the movie-going experience. In fact, I don't think that 3D technology is all that good anyway. Objects and people may look "3 dimentional" in that they jump off the screen, but I never feel like I'm looking at something real. Plus, I could see the rims of the glasses in my field of vision and that was annoying. Fortunately I was able to put it out of my mind just enough so that it wasn't a total distraction.

- The story wasn't earth-shattering, but it was much better and more engaging than the first movie. It almost followed the same sequence of events as the first one (User enters the grid, fights, rides light cycles, meets allies to fight the big bad guy, then makes his way to the core using a light sail), but looked better. It also had some nice ideas in there with the ISOs, beings that just came to life inside the grid.

- It was nice to see Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner reprise their roles 28 years later.

- We got to see a young version of Kevin Flynn who was apparently done with CGI. His facial movements which were captured from the real Jeff Bridges looked alright, but his appearance was off. His skin looked too plastic and smooth, that was a part of it, but there was something else. He didn't quite look like the guy I saw in the 1982 movie. Still, what they did was a very good attempt at recreating the younger character.

- The ladies looked nice. I very much liked their "cyber girl" look. That goes for both Quorra, played by Olivia Wilde, as well as Gem.

- Sounds like you had a great time Joy. I found myself imagining you at Flynn's arcade.

[Kaijima]

Awrite, I saw it.

Visceral reaction: my favorite movie of the year, much more than a worthy sequel to Tron, and it very, very carefully updates Tron for the modern era in the only ways that truly could have worked and not been seen as total hokey cheese.

Rational thought: I think I can understand the critical panning and the nerdrage better now. 1. It's an "idea film" much like say, 2001 (I am not placing it on the same pedestal as 2001). It is honestly about the journey, and the "story" as it were, is in the visuals, the mood, and yes, the music. That is because it is supposed to be a look inside the head of a technologist, and a person of a generation beyond what many critics who see the film will have any connection with.

Without spoilers, people who don't pay attention to the dialog or just dismiss it as nonsense because it's invoking concepts many people sneer at, such as Zen philosophy (yes Virginia, there is philosophy) won't get the story, and will see the screenplay as vague and poorly explained. Not to suggest the screenplay is outstanding. It could be tightened up here and there, and a few things could be justified and explained better so that an overage of thought isn't required to work backwards and rationalize why something happened. Yet, there are actual ideas here and for me, that counts more than an utterly pristine script. Also, there's a certain theme in the story about the illusions of perfection that make complaining about the flaws ironic if taken too far.

The big bitch point that some reviewers have had, that the "father son" relationship "sucks", well, that's going to be subjective. A lot of folks, I think, are expecting Sam Flynn to bubble and cry when he finds daddy, and for there to be some kind of big heartwarming message. In point of fact, there is emotion there, but it's subtle and not the focus of much of the story. I'll say this: this isn't a father son reunion story or a father son emotional relationship story, so much as it is what the title says: Legacy.

This is a son who lost his father before he formed a mature relationship seeing his father's work, and his father's true self (as embodied in the world he created), and going on a trip that explains his heritage. The development of Sam as a character, and the son of Flynn, is something more appropriate to a 3rd film, if one is made.

I see the challenge and problem that the filmmakers had here, is the thing. They were tasked with a sequel to a movie with an iconic character - no, not Tron, but Flynn. Kevin Flynn is a hero to a generation of geeks, and practically the originator of the modern hacker, and "space cowboy" characterization. But Jeff Bridges, bless the Dude, is old. He's great, but he cannot just come back in, and give audiences a continuation of Kevin Flynn.

Therefore, I believe the tactic chosen was to take the audiences on a tour of Flynn's imagination and in a sort of postmodern sense of nostalgia for a 1980s saga we never saw. The Grid insinuates that for almost a decade, the Flynn we imagine from the original movie had all these wild adventures in another dimension. There's a bit of desolate longing when we see the now Ancient Flynn, who's prime has passed and is a distant memory.

Honestly, I think this is a film that will benefit from multiple viewings. Once initial expectations are met (or dashed), you'll be able to take in what the movie really is.

One more word though, on Tron himself. This has been a controversial point for those who are giving impressions. I find myself conflicted. On one hand, the way Tron is worked into the movie was totally satisfying for me considering the concept of "legacy" in both story, and the actual title of the film. Had this movie been called Tron 2, or Tron Returns, or whatever, I would have been let down by how Tron (and Bruce) are used. But I'm actually very happy. I believe the way he is used adds powerfully to the themes I remarked on, up above.

Okay, a bit of a spoiler if you really can't wait:

Bruce appears as a youthful Tron in a long flashback, explaining how Clu took over and tried to kidnap Kevin. This actually is practically a scene right out of the Tron Betrayal graphic novel and is god damned cool to see. Tron kicks ass, saves Flynn, and is apparently derezzed. In the present, we only see Tron in his Rinzler persona, controlled by Clu, until Tron breaks free of Clu's reprogramming. But Tron's modern face is intentionally hid from the viewer, as if to keep the nostalgia and memory of a "pure" Tron, in the past and unreachable. It also solves the issue of having yet another fully digital main character taking up a lot of screen time, which really, may be for the best.

Oh and I will say this about CGI Clu / young Kevin. Yes, the effect isn't perfect. But it's "enough" and you know what? It's a bold move. I truly appreciate it for that boldness; without it, we wouldn't have gotten to see scenes we really would yearn for, such as flashbacks of a young Flynn bridging the gap to the present, or the great idea of Flynn's program persona being the primary villain.

[Dac]

I simply cannot understand why anyone would bitch and moan so much as to give it one star in a review.

Sure, there's nothing really deep about it, but whats there means something - which is kinda the point of the whole film.

Philosophical BS out of the way, I adored this movie. Not enough films these days go to worlds beyond our own, but Tron Legacy fulfills the promise of a foreign, alien world better than Avatar did. Visually its stunning, and I enjoyed all of the characters. If there's one or two things that bugged me, its these.

Clu, while technically very accomplished was poorly animated. It wasnt until halfway through the film I saw his eyebrows move. Now, thats an odd thing to say, but being an animator eyebrows are probably more expressive than the eyes, which is why everything he said seemed flat and robotic, which I could understand for Clu, but the very start which features young Flynn suffered the same problem in my eyes. Toward's the end of the film, his facial animation improved dramatically.

The second thing that kinda bugs me a bit is the ending...it all happens a bit too quick for my liking. I'd have preferred it if we got some more detail on how Quorra made it into the real world, and then seeing some of the impact she had on it, but I guess they're banking on a sequel. Which by the way is something I'd really like to see happen, its just a shame the stars are seemingly aligned against that happening.

Aside from that, its a great film. The 3D aspect is ok I guess, but it kinda works more so in a symbolic aspect than it does in a technical one. Its not necessary, but if your willing to give it a shot, or havent seen a 3D film before, i'd say just go for it. After all, it doesn't take anything away from the film.

I voted Excellent.