TRON: Legacy - Review and Grading
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When did that happen?Chick_McGeester
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Is there a movie where David Bowie is actually the music program or am I imagining this all wrong? I swear I saw something in the past where David Bowie was actually a music program. Not in Tron but something else.
He may have planned to trap people in the grid, to allow programs to use their bodies.
Crap. I thought for sure I'd heard she'd passed several years ago. But according to Wiki and Notable Names Database, she's still alive and kicking.
Color me embarrassed.
Must have somehow confused her death with that of Robert Moog, though how I managed to do that is beyond me. Nevertheless, she is still alive, so it's clear I screwed up somewhere. Maybe confused her death with that of another composer? Who know?
Needless to say, I'm overjoyed to learn that she's still around. And sorry as Hell if my misstatement caused anyone alarm.
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I have never seen the original TRON, and was not too excited about the new one. The previews looked cool, but the nostalgia factor just wasn't there for me. I ended up seeing it on Friday though after my holiday travel plans where stopped by a snowstorm.
The plot itself was kind of "meh" at times, but I really enjoyed the visual effects, and the music was just awesome. I think I may end up buying the soundtrack. I also think that the whole cast did a good job in their roles. As a big B5 fan, it was cool getting to see Bruce Boxleitner in something new.
My only big complaint is that I don't feel like the movie ever really explained what The Grid is, and how it worked. Is it one computer? Is it the internet? Where did a computer come from that is powerful enough to simulate reality and populate it with sentient beings? Even the most powerful supercomputers in the real world can't simulate a single human brain, and The Grid is supposed to have been around since the 1980's. Or am I all wrong and The Grid has some kind of metaphysical nature?
I feel like this movie requires a lot of suspension of disbelief to be fully enjoyed.
I would give the movie an A+ for the visuals and a A+ for the music, but a C for the story.
The plot itself was kind of "meh" at times, but I really enjoyed the visual effects, and the music was just awesome. I think I may end up buying the soundtrack. I also think that the whole cast did a good job in their roles. As a big B5 fan, it was cool getting to see Bruce Boxleitner in something new.
My only big complaint is that I don't feel like the movie ever really explained what The Grid is, and how it worked. Is it one computer? Is it the internet? Where did a computer come from that is powerful enough to simulate reality and populate it with sentient beings? Even the most powerful supercomputers in the real world can't simulate a single human brain, and The Grid is supposed to have been around since the 1980's. Or am I all wrong and The Grid has some kind of metaphysical nature?
I feel like this movie requires a lot of suspension of disbelief to be fully enjoyed.
I would give the movie an A+ for the visuals and a A+ for the music, but a C for the story.
I'm not sure what you mean here. Last I saw, Wendy Carlos is still alive and well.
That being said, her score for Tron is wonderful (as are our her scores for A Clockwork Orange and The Shining which I hear parts of in the Tron score) and Daft Punk did a wonderful job in honoring her score.
What I did like was when Sam Flynn got the "stick" he makes his bike from, for the first time, and is trying to figure out what to do with it and holds it like a light saber--and the program gives him this disgusted roll-eyes tone and says, "Not THAT."
Oh, and I totally agree with those who said Sam was just like nuKirk. Kind of an ass.
But far, far too much is that Hans Zimmer crap where a single theme (or just a progression of chords!) is repeated, over and over, louder and louder. It builds tension all. But, then, rhythmically hitting someone in the head with a hammer would build suspense about the next blow, too. At one point I was writhing in agony.
That part I disagree about, with Hans Zimmer. Sometimes he's gone a bit far, but I actually thought it worked GREAT in Inception.
Irony being, we then have to ask, if the Users aren't doing the creating, then who or what is? You can answer that one either way.
And sorry if someone's already pointed this out...this is a VERY long thread and I only read about 3 pages of it, but did anyone else see the enormous costume blooper with Flynn Sr., where he had his identity disc on his back after it got stolen and before he stole it back?!
Overall, I liked the 3D and enjoyed the soundtrack. The movie was thin on the plot, but I don't regret going, and I don't regret seeing it in 3D.
I loved how 80s the whole movie seemed. It was pretty awesome
POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW
In the original movie, the "Grid" was a self-contained computer system (the film was vague on whether it was a bunch of servers or what have you, in today's terminology I would probably say it was a server farm of some sort). Inside of it, there was a whole world of "sentient" programs portrayed very similarly to the ones we see in "Legacy". Many had their own personalities, physical appearance, desires, sense of humor etc. To your question, the implication is that the "computer world" of The Grid has always been capable of sustaining such beings since the 80's, so in the "Tron" universe this is how it's always been in the computer world.
You are right, it was never said implicitly, but the computer that "ran" the Grid was made up of the equipment in Flynn's arcade basement. At the end, we see Sam load it up into a mobile device and the chip around his neck and then shuts down the equipment. So yeah, it's never said but more implied through actions.
I do believe there was a metaphysical aspect to the film. The ISO's coming out of "nowhere" represent a new life form (as Flynn says) and that definitely implies something more than just simple programming.
And absolutely - Tron as a "world" does take a ton of suspension of belief. Like many other scifi "worlds" there are some basic conceits you have to be willing to accept to enjoy the ride.
Side notes: In the "Tron 2.0" video game released in 2003, they actually addressed some of your questions in a different way. For instance, the original "Tron" server is a board in the game that is a standalone system that you play. The Internet is actually shown as a board as well. It was really nicely done with advertisement messages scrolling everywhere and so on. However, I think the "Tron 2.0" continuity is quite separate from the "Legacy" continuity.
Checked this out again the other day and I was surprised to find I actually enjoyed it more the second time. I think after being able to look past all the razzle dazzle, I could focus on the story and the emotional layers a bit more, and what I only saw hints of the first time I "felt" a lot more this time out, especially the whole "father-son" storyline.
I definitely want to see it a couple more times on the big screen before it's gone. The last film I saw on screen several times was "Star Trek" and I was happy I did. I don't have a super-duper surround sound mega system at home so having that "cinema" experience is a big part of certain films to me, and this one counts for sure!
I definitely want to see it a couple more times on the big screen before it's gone. The last film I saw on screen several times was "Star Trek" and I was happy I did. I don't have a super-duper surround sound mega system at home so having that "cinema" experience is a big part of certain films to me, and this one counts for sure!
But far, far too much is that Hans Zimmer crap where a single theme (or just a progression of chords!) is repeated, over and over, louder and louder. It builds tension all. But, then, rhythmically hitting someone in the head with a hammer would build suspense about the next blow, too. At one point I was writhing in agony.
That part I disagree about, with Hans Zimmer. Sometimes he's gone a bit far, but I actually thought it worked GREAT in Inception.
This is the only thing I thought would be controversial when I posted. But I wasn't exaggerating about writhing in my seat.
The thing is, it was "only" the biggest action scenes with the monotonous pounding. The rest of the score, when the producers weren't ordering the music amped up to force the audience into wanting a climax (in sheer self defense of the tympani, if nothing else,) harmonized with the original movie score, was fittingly electronic for the movie's look, yet fresh and lively. I'm thinking about getting the soundtrack myself. I've noticed Howard Shore and Danny Elfman pruning away some of the hammy excess the producers wanted. As for Zimmer himself, he can do good work (Backdraft was a superb heroic score a la Williams, for instance.) I still think his work for Nolan is wretched. I am willing to suggest it's because Nolan wants it that way. (I'm not a big Nolan fan.)
Are you sure you were seeing the actual disc on his back? Maybe it was just the mount that the disc clamps onto. It looks kind of like the disc itself. It's visible on the back of Flynn's coat even when he doesn't have a disc.
I liked all the nods to the original, such as Sam's line about "Now THAT is a big door!" (when he was breaking into Encom), and when Sam is outfitted for the Grid, the sirens give the same speech that Sark did in the original about his identity disc: "If you lose your disc, or fail to follow commands, you will be subject to immediate deresolution."
Do you mean after they got off the Solar Sailer and Quorra tried to create a distraction? Because that would have been Quorra's disk, not Kevin's, on his back...
Saw it today,
It was good Visually great, the story line was not as good as it could have been.
I spotted a few Vancouver land marks.
Massey Tunnel , Granville st bridge, Scotia Bank Bldg ( I missed the Coast Capital one), Stanley causeway.
It was good Visually great, the story line was not as good as it could have been.
I spotted a few Vancouver land marks.
Massey Tunnel , Granville st bridge, Scotia Bank Bldg ( I missed the Coast Capital one), Stanley causeway.
Yeah, that could've been clearer - the clamps going dark, for instance.
And for making such a big deal about protecting his disk, Flynn didn't seem that upset about losing it, did he? Though he himself thought its protection was so important that he hid away for years and years, when the baddies got it, he not only didn't go charging back to retrieve it, but instead bantered and joked with Sam. I was all, wut? Wasn't that a huge setback?!
^ Doesn't explain why got more worked up discussing the possible repercussions of losing he disk than he did when he actually lost it.
That sorta killed the movie's momentum for me right there. It was actually kind of interesting to see how much they slowed the pace down for character stuff on the barge, and doing so even made it weirdly memorable, but then they had to ape the A New Hope gun turrets and then swipe Iron Man's trick of flying so high the other guy's ship freezes up (which was itself lifted from Hulk). It was never less than enjoyable, but it should have been better.
Still, I've relented a bit as the movie's strengths have stuck with me, and have kicked my C+ up to a B-.
That sorta killed the movie's momentum for me right there. It was actually kind of interesting to see how much they slowed the pace down for character stuff on the barge, and doing so even made it weirdly memorable, but then they had to ape the A New Hope gun turrets and then swipe Iron Man's trick of flying so high the other guy's ship freezes up (which was itself lifted from Hulk). It was never less than enjoyable, but it should have been better.
Still, I've relented a bit as the movie's strengths have stuck with me, and have kicked my C+ up to a B-.