Tron: Legacy

[pzarquon]

So, did anyone race out to see "Tron: Legacy"?

It was one of the big stories out of the last two Comic Con conventions in San Diego. It was the talk of the geek corps for weeks. And it took the top box office spot opening weekend ($43 million).

I may get my geek membership card revoked, but I've not been in a hurry to see it. Reviews have been mixed (with critics scoring the flick more harshly than the moviegoing public). It seems more compelling as another experiment in 3-D movie making than a story.

I think people are more nostalgic about the idea of "Tron" than the original movie itself... which was actually pretty bad.

So. Go for it in IMAX? Catch a matinee? Wait to rent it? Or skip it?

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Tron: Legacy

IF I get the last of my Christmas shopping and wrapping done tomorrow morning (I have the day off work), I plan to go see an afternoon IMAX showing. But having also read a number of far-less-than-glowing reviews, I'm also not in a big hurry to see it.

The AFK was interested originally, after (a) knowing I was interested, and (b) seeing a trailer at the latest "Harry Potter" in IMAX, but she saw the same reviews, so I have "released" her from her offer to go see it with me; poor thing - I even made her suffer through the wretched dialogue of the original recently, as advance prep.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Tron: Legacy

I may get my geek membership card revoked, but I've not been in a hurry to see it. Reviews have been mixed (with critics scoring the flick more harshly than the moviegoing public). It seems more compelling as another experiment in 3-D movie making than a story.

I think people are more nostalgic about the idea of "Tron" than the original movie itself... which was actually pretty bad.

The original Tron was primarily a 90 minute marketing vehicle for Disney, looking to sell any kind of merchandise it could. Tron video games, toys, clothing, posters, school supplies, etc. The sequel is no different, with the studio looking to squeeze out as many dollars that they can from this franchise. (Maybe this time, they'll come out with a Tron breakfast cereal? Yum!!!) With this in mind, eye candy to dazzle the kids takes precedence over every other element, including the plot.

Back in '82, the "serious" sci-fi geeks were enthralled by Blade Runner and Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. Tron and E.T. were for the kids.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Tron: Legacy

If you saw the original, then you might enjoy the new one - if only to see the evolution of the world of the grid, as well as a "fleshing out" of many of the old simple line-element effects. The new effects are nice in 3D, but nothing wow-worthy. Story line is predictable, dialogue is so-so, but some great visuals and a few decent performances (especially the lounge-operator, Castor, looking like a little brother to Limahl-from-Kajagoogoo and David Bowie-in-"Labyrinth").

Necessarily, much of the movie is spent explaining the evolution of the grid after twenty years, and the product placements are exceedingly obvious: Coors beer, prominent use of Nokia phones for downloading/uploading data, Ducati motorcycles even worked into the script.

Favorite aspect: the city scenes, especially at the end, which I recognized immediately as Vancouver, BC (having spent a lot of time there).

Least-favorite aspect: the not-at-all subtle Christian undertones of the script, with Kevin Flynn referred to as "the creator" and Sam Flynn as "the son of our maker," as just two examples.

(Maybe this time, they'll come out with a Tron breakfast cereal? Yum!!!)

Either Special-256K or De-Rezzin' Bran, I should think.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Tron: Legacy

If you saw the original, then you might enjoy the new one - if only to see the evolution of the world of the grid, as well as a "fleshing out" of many of the old simple line-element effects. The new effects are nice in 3D, but nothing wow-worthy. Story line is predictable, dialogue is so-so, but some great visuals and a few decent performances (especially the lounge-operator, Castor, looking like a little brother to Limahl-from-Kajagoogoo and David Bowie-in-"Labyrinth").

That's a nice capsule review. The movie is what it is. If it provides the audience with an enjoyable 2 hour escape from the real world, then that's all good.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Tron: Legacy

"Mythbuster" Adam Savage says:
I saw Tron. It's lovely. But the script is... well, I'm sure a whole bunch of people worked hard on it-- and that THAT was the problem.

[shaveice]

Re: Tron: Legacy

i was basically disappointed; i mean, it was okay but i was hoping for great!

[zff]

Re: Tron: Legacy

I'm a huge fan of the original Tron, but I didn't care much for Tron: Legacy. I guess that was inevitable, given how epic the first one was.

I don't know how many of you saw the original Tron in the theater in 1982 or remember how un-computerized our world was back then, but when it came to computers and the mainstream media, the original Tron changed everything. Back then, computers were barely mentioned in mainstream movies or TV shows. If they were, they were stodgy old mainframes with text-only consoles that never did anything cool. Even video arcades -- that seemed to be everywhere at the time -- were never prominently featured in movies or TV. Movies like Wargames or The Last Starfighter followed, but Tron was the first to bring video games and interesting computers mainstream.

I think most people knew the effects in Tron were generated by computer, and given what the public perception of computers were back then, I doubt most people had any idea a computer could do anything like that. In addition to the revolutionary effects, there was the revolutionary story. The notion of a virtual world inside a computer, while old hat today, was a concept most people had never seen before.

Tron: Legacy is great, but it's nothing new. There aren't any visual effects we didn't know were possible or story elements we'd never heard of before. I think anyone who remembers how mind-bending the first one was will be disappointed by this one. Maybe that's why they waited an entire generation for a sequel.

[salmoned]

Re: Tron: Legacy

Or maybe because the first movie wasn't very good. That movie suffered from the same problems as video games of the era.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Tron: Legacy

I liked the music in the original, by Wendy Carlos. That's really what drew me to it in the first place. Beyond that...meh. As FM said earlier, if it gives you a decent two-hour escape, that's something good.