TRON: Legacy - Review and Grading

[Arpy]

I never saw the original, except for bits here and there on TV. The overall look of the game world kept me away as a kid, and the story's simplicity never drew me in as an adult.

I went to see the sequel yesterday on 3D IMAX with my 13 year old niece and nephew and we all loved it. As others have said, the story in this one was simple, but the overall experience made up for it.

That it wasn't an exploration of the effect of the virtual world's increasing effect on our lives seems, though very interesting, an unfounded criticism for the film. Perhaps a missed opportunity, but I'm also grateful the opportunity was also missed to lazily rehash real v. virtual world fear-mongering.

I don't think this one is going to go down in history as any greater a movie than the last one. In ten years, the CG Clu and 3D abilities here are going to make this look as dated as the first Tron does today. But right now, it's one hell of a ride, and you're missing out if you're not taking it. I say splurge and enjoy – it's a heck of a ride.

As for the story, what it does say is good, but for an adult, well, I'm glad my main concern was that my niece and nephew would have a good time. I mean, mainly because I do wonder about the effect all these superhero or super-whatever movies have on them with these gorgeous actors performing impossible physical feats achieving unrealistic ends. ...I mean how is Garrett Hedlund gonna be CEO of a multi-billion dollar global corporation? Kids are growing up in the age of Paris Hilton, a woman famous only due to her bred looks and inherited wealth. This at a time when the disparity of wealth is greater in America than it was during the age of the Robber Baron! Only we think that b/c this is America, the fault is ours if we're not Bill Gates or Kevin Flynn.

Calvin Coolidge had this great quote pointing out that even individual genius doesn't change the world, but then went on to say that individual will does. Yeah well, just ask a hormonal teenager how much just wanting someone actually gets them for you.

Meanwhile Bill Gates can't stop talking about how the greatest accumulation of individual wealth ever was created with the help of everyone who ever worked with, taught, fed, cleaned, and otherwise supported him and he wants to see a lot more of it made by a lot more people.

Apologies for the digression, but I've been mulling this over for a while when I go to the movies and it was especially with me when I took my niece and nephew to see wizard-like computer genius Kevin Flynn and avenging-prince Sam.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I mean how is Garrett Hedlund gonna be CEO of a multi-billion dollar global corporation?

Sam is the majority shareholder, and I presume that gives him the right to name Alan as chairman of the board, but AFAIK it doesn't automatically make Sam the CEO.

For Sam to become CEO of Encom would mean he would have to be appointed to that role by the board of directors.

 

[Trekker4747]

TRON: Legacy

Rated: PG

Running Time: 2 Hours

My Grade: B

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TRON: Legacy is a sequel to the 1983 movie "Tron." In that movie a computer program developer hacked into the mainframe of a company helped create (but was swindled out of) in order to, somehow, "prove" he created the company in order to get it back. In "Legacy" events take place nearly 30 years later when the son of that developer, on a quest to find out what happened to his father, manages to find himself trapped in the same virtual world fighting to prevent the system's AI from potentially taking over the world.

Honestly story in this movie, and it's predecessor, doesn't make a whole lot of sense or adds up. It's hard to understand "where" this world is, what powers it and how it exists. Why is it in a virtual world where time is measured in "nanoseconds" (meaning a "long time" that passes in the virtual world is an instant in the "real world) a man who has been digitized into the world ages 30 years? Why does this man need to sleep and eat inside the virtual world? And why does his apartment look like the rooms at the end of 2001?

All of this is meaningless and is waved away with a hand because the story in neither of these movies is as important as the spectacle and "action" of the whole thing. On that note I think the first movie does things better but only because the virtual effects in that movie were not only a marvel of their time in the use of them but also how it was pulled off. The blocky "ships" and "worlds" with the layered lighting process really pulls of the eeriness and other-worldliness of this virtual world. In this movie it simply looks like a futuristic alien world rather than a virtual one, that said the special effects here look very nice but somehow the action "game" scenes are missing some of the "feeling" of game-ness that the first one had. I'm not sure how to explain it be the "ring toss" game in the sequel didn't quite have the same vibe to it that the ring-toss game in the original had. In one it feel like an other-worldly video game, here it just felt more like an alien gladiatorial battle which, again, I think goes with the visual effects looking too good. Which, I guess, is the problem with trying to make this movie look as much like a "product of its time" as the first one does of its own time.

There's some nice elements here and call backs to the original in some forms, some Matrix-ian feeling and even some nice stereotypes of the "Human-like artificial life-form" is used.

Fun movie to see but light on substance, really very much like its predecessor. Jeff Bridges does a good job here and to the credit to the man whose career has come along way and netted him some notoriety in the intervening time that he's willing to be a piece of fluff like this there's even times during his performance where it feels more like he's playing The Dude from The Big Lebowski more than he is Flynn. The de-aging CGI used for the younger version of himself in this movie is also nicely done, would've been nice to see the same done for Boxleitner when Tron shows up during the events of the film.

At the same time Oliva Wilde, playing a virtual creation of "life" does a good job here and, as always, is just a stunning woman to watch. Wow.

On the 3D I wasn't impressed and considering much of the 3D portion of the film is CG you'd think it'd have been easy to make it the same stunning depth that Avatar had but the 3D in this movie more often than not felt like either one of those lenticular pictures you see on DVD boxes or what I call "colorform" CGI where it looks like pieces just laid on top of a back ground. Not much use of depth and realism here but, again, the bar has been set pretty high by Avatar. If I had to guess I'd say this movie was "converted" to 3D and was filmed to be this way. (Which, again, it'd be easy to convert the CG elements to 3D more than it would in-camera elements.)

Fun movie to see, runs perhaps a bit long, little story, Bridge's performance is good, Olivia Wilde is stunning and the effects in it are great but the whole is just missing a certain something and paying more to see it in 3D is probably a waste.

 

[DarthPipes]

did like Jeff Bridge's channelling "The Dude" for Flynn. I don't remember if there were elements of that in the original character or not but I thought it worked here and even provided some needed laughs from the audience.

Having watched the original movie recently, it doesn't seem like it was too off. He seemed more like a fun-loving guy in the first Tron.

 

[Mr Light]

I say excellent!

I liked the original Tron and went into this with mildly high expectations. But I was really blown away! Good story, good characters, amazing action, visuals, music.... I really loved it. It's definitely my favorite movie of the year (Inception is a better movie but this was a hell of a lot more fun).

I don't really have any major complaints about this movie, which is a rare thing. CLU's CGI face looked a tad fake at times, but that's about it. I hope they make a sequel because this was a wonderful "new" world they introduced us to and I want to see more.

 

[Kaijima]

Actually, I'd see Sam Flynn as a possibly positive role model for kids. Yes, yes, he inherited the control of a corporation. But Sam is an almost complete dropout from popular culture; as much of his character was defined, it sure seems as if he has zero interest in type-A hyper capitalism and glamour.

There's actually potential for Sam to be greatly developed in a Tron 3 - it's all up to what he chooses to do with Encom now that he's asserted control. You can bet he's not going to do anything that would appeal to a modern American capitalista, considering we are introduced to Sam in the act of giving away the world's newest and most valuable operating system for free.

Plus, while it only examined its themes lightly (as stated above), this movie did definitely promote a theme that reaching for power and control in anything is destructive not just to the world, but to the self. Upon reconsideration, Flynn's sacrifice at the end of the story isn't just heroic sacrifice. It's accepting that he essentially destroyed himself, and the two halves of his personality erased each other when brought back together.

The business about perfection was hidden behind a megalomaniac villain. But much of what is sick with western culture is the mad and ill-conceived drive for perfection - the perfect body, perfect career, perfect fortune, perfect house, wife, kids, possessions, education, and life. Waxing philosophic for a moment beyond the bounds of the film, I think that in an ironic way many of the modern techno-geek whizzes who are the real life Kevin Flynns possess the exact same blind spot as young Kevin. They think of things in a binary fashion, and a kind of simplistic idea of science and rationalism. They hate anything that is imperfect and can be obsessed with chasing order and achievement, very OCD about it all. Perhaps to be expected, with a generation of technophiles, hackers, designers, and programmers. They've lost touch with the organic.

I've known too many young wizards who have no ability to deal with the disorder and chaos of life, and retreat into computer realms because those offer them the chance to build a flawlessly controlled world under their complete control. (Or so they think.)

 

[Corran Horn]

did like Jeff Bridge's channelling "The Dude" for Flynn. I don't remember if there were elements of that in the original character or not but I thought it worked here and even provided some needed laughs from the audience.

Having watched the original movie recently, it doesn't seem like it was too off. He seemed more like a fun-loving guy in the first Tron.

Yeah, I saw that as something of a natural 'evolution'.

 

[marillion]

Brilliant.. Just brilliant.. Saw it in 3D and love the action sequences. At the beginning, they tell you several scenes were shot in 2D so "don't freak out" and take off your glasses.. I felt the light cycle race was particularly effective with the 3D.. I will wait till I see it later this week in 2D (with a friend who gets headaches from 3D movies) before I judge whether or not the 3D was a waste.

The story was really nice. My daughter, who has never seen the original, really enjoyed it, while my 10 year old son, who was mostly there for the action was left a bit "meh", as he couldn't really follow along with the more philisophical aspects.

The blending of the old and new, the music, the pace.. All worked well for me and I can't wait for part 3.. I don't think that there's anyway this won't at least break even with the worldwide take.

I will now take bets on the title being "Tron: End of Line.".... Takers??

 

[Agent Richard07]

Why does this man need to sleep and eat inside the virtual world? And why does his apartment look like the rooms at the end of 2001?

All of this is meaningless and is waved away with a hand because the story in neither of these movies is as important as the spectacle and "action" of the whole thing. On that note I think the first movie does things better but only because the virtual effects in that movie were not only a marvel of their time in the use of them but also how it was pulled off. The blocky "ships" and "worlds" with the layered lighting process really pulls of the eeriness and other-worldliness of this virtual world. In this movie it simply looks like a futuristic alien world rather than a virtual one, that said the special effects here look very nice but somehow the action "game" scenes are missing some of the "feeling" of game-ness that the first one had. I'm not sure how to explain it be the "ring toss" game in the sequel didn't quite have the same vibe to it that the ring-toss game in the original had. In one it feel like an other-worldly video game, here it just felt more like an alien gladiatorial battle which, again, I think goes with the visual effects looking too good.

Real video games are far more sophisticated and look more real than they did 20 or 30 years ago, so I can imagine the same advancement happening with the virtual world in Legacy. The gap between virtual and real is narrowing.

The only thing about the Tron universe that was jarring for me was the actual people/programs in the first movie looking unusually real in a world that was pretty blocky.

 

[General Kang]

I saw it with my three kids (17, 13, 10) and all four of us liked it a lot.

Visually it was just stunning. The fact that they're creating a digital world, that it can look however they want it to look, gives them license to go whichever direction they wish, and they really came up with some beautiful visuals - inspired by the first movie, but waaaay beyond them obviously.

I think my favorite aspect of the film is that Clu really comes across as a Lucifer-type character, in that he and Flynn (the "Creator") worked together to create this world that was going to be perfect - and then, inexplicably (to Clu) the Creator goes and gets himself obsessed about these new 'life forms', completely abandoning the original plan. The difference is that in this world, Lucifer's coup is successful.

Pretty lights, pretty girls, pretty special effects = good time!

A-

 

[Trekker4747]

Why does this man need to sleep and eat inside the virtual world? And why does his apartment look like the rooms at the end of 2001?

All of this is meaningless and is waved away with a hand because the story in neither of these movies is as important as the spectacle and "action" of the whole thing. On that note I think the first movie does things better but only because the virtual effects in that movie were not only a marvel of their time in the use of them but also how it was pulled off. The blocky "ships" and "worlds" with the layered lighting process really pulls of the eeriness and other-worldliness of this virtual world. In this movie it simply looks like a futuristic alien world rather than a virtual one, that said the special effects here look very nice but somehow the action "game" scenes are missing some of the "feeling" of game-ness that the first one had. I'm not sure how to explain it be the "ring toss" game in the sequel didn't quite have the same vibe to it that the ring-toss game in the original had. In one it feel like an other-worldly video game, here it just felt more like an alien gladiatorial battle which, again, I think goes with the visual effects looking too good.

Real video games are far more sophisticated and look more real than they did 20 or 30 years ago, so I can imagine the same advancement happening with the virtual world in Legacy. The gap between virtual and real is narrowing.

The only thing about the Tron universe that was jarring for me was the actual people/programs in the first movie looking unusually real in a world that was pretty blocky.

Yeah, I get why it look different -obviously- but I was arguing that it looking so realistic makes the whole "virtual world" thing harder to accept since it looks like reality. (Unlike the first movie.)

 

[davejames]

I'm not sure how to explain it be the "ring toss" game in the sequel didn't quite have the same vibe to it that the ring-toss game in the original had. In one it feel like an other-worldly video game, here it just felt more like an alien gladiatorial battle which, again, I think goes with the visual effects looking too good. Which, I guess, is the problem with trying to make this movie look as much like a "product of its time" as the first one does of its own time.

I loved the "realness" of the world and the updated disc battle, but after rewatching the original I do agree there were a few elements I missed seeing. Such as the discs erasing segments of the floor, and the need to jump over those parts while playing.

And the idea that these characters were pieces in an actual arcade game being played up above was a cool one too.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I loved the "realness" of the world and the updated disc battle, but after rewatching the original I do agree there were a few elements I missed seeing. Such as the discs erasing segments of the floor, and the need to jump over those parts while playing.

In the original, that didn't happen during disc battles, only during the jai alai-like throwing game.

 

[God Magnus]

In the original, that didn't happen during disc battles, only during the jai alai-like throwing game.

Not only that, but that element was in the Disc Battle in "Legacy". When Sam faces off against his first opponent, a piece of the floor is smashed (and becomes a key element of that sequence). That said, the actual sfx used looks different so I'll agree it's not 100% the same.

 

[Kaijima]

I took Flynn's hideout and his "need" to eat realistic food as a personal choice. Flynn had spent his imprisonment recreating selected objects from the real world to maintain a connection to it. For example, I'm sure the text for all the books on his shelf was merely entered into the system as data files, but he designed and rezzed up aged looking books on purpose.

Likewise, the End of Line club shows that Programs merely imbibe a liquid form of energy if they wish for the experience or pleasure. Likely, Flynn taught Quorra about food from the real world (she was his "student"). Flynn and Quorra didn't really have to eat and sleep normally, but it was a choice.

I will say I liked the altered physics of the disc battles and the general way the discs worked as combat weapons. If one notices, the discs entirely ignore the global gravity and inertia of the environment and fly based on their own rules. But there was an interesting sense of weight to them, and how they rebounded off the environment - until normal objects, the discs lost no momentum when striking a surface and deflecting. So there was something pure and fascinating about the geometry of their flight.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Likewise, the End of Line club shows that Programs merely imbibe a liquid form of energy if they wish for the experience or pleasure.

We saw programs do that in the original film as well (in the hideaway that Flynn, Tron and Ram discover after escaping from the tanks), so that's not surprising.

 

[DarthPipes]

Likewise, the End of Line club shows that Programs merely imbibe a liquid form of energy if they wish for the experience or pleasure.

I think they were all drinking that stuff in the dinner scene.

 

[Unicron]

I saw it tonight in IMAX 3D and enjoyed it, though I do agree that the 3D element isn't a huge necessity.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I just got back from watching the film and I loved it. I won't bother comparing it to the original but I will say it's a worthy sequel. I was very happy to see Tron play a role in the film even if it was rather small (but important). I wasn't surprised by the revelation that Tron had been reprogrammed because I figured Clu hadn't actually derezzed him (although I thought he had taken Tron prisoner).

My only complaint about the film is I wish we had gotten to see a longer sequence of Sam being digitized like we saw in the original, as well as seeing Sam and Quorra returning to the real world.

My review would be longer but Kaijima has covered everything I would say in his original review. I also want to say that I love his post of postulations of how the Grid works.

Speaking of that boardroom scene...
Cillian Murphy appears in an uncredited role as Edward Dillenger, apparently the son of the villain from the first TRON. I thought he looked familiar. I would guess if there's a sequel he will be the new villain.

Damn! I thought I recognized him but I couldn't put my finger on it.

 

[Mr Light]

^^

I think that was a fake-out because when Sam exited the Grid and then he's talking to Alan I was disappointed because I thought she would get to go to the real world but she wasn't there, then BOOM!