Tron (1982) was before my time. I first saw it when I was a kid, and was amazed. The special effects were mind blowing for the time. When previews for Tron: Legacy first showed in theaters, I was stoked. I, admittedly, had unreasonably high expectations. They were let down some, but not too much.
I knew that I wanted to see Tron: Legacy in 3D. My fellow movie critic, Tony Route, decided to go IMAX 3D. At a hefty pricetag of $17.50 I nearly choked, but I'm glad I saw it in IMAX 3D. The huge screen made quite a difference. There were times that it really did feel like I could reach out and touch the action. I think that 3D makes a huge difference in the experience of watching this movie. Now on to the film itself.
Tron: Legacy takes place 20+ years after the first film. Without giving up too much of the story, Jeff Bridges character, Kevin Flynn, has been trapped inside The Grid for over 20 years. His son, Sam played by Garrett Hedlund, is grown up now and has turned into something of an angry rebel. No one, including Sam, knew what happened to his father. Sam accidentally finds his father's lab and gets sucked into The Grid. There he encounters his father's electronic doppelgänger, Clu (Codified Likeness). The plot reveals that Clu, Flynn and Tron had worked together to create a perfect digital world. When Clu staged a coup, Flynn found himself trapped inside. Sam and Flynn work together, along with Olivia Wilde's character, Quorra, to escape from The Grid and prevent Clu from escaping it.
The special effects in this movie are beyond top notch. Flynn and Clu are both played by Bridges, but their appearance is over 20 years difference. Clu is still young, while Flynn is old and gray. The effect to make Bridges look young again is done with CG. While not perfect, it is very good. I can't think of a better example of a human likeness in a movie done by CG. The light cycles, etc are awesome. The architecture, and design of The Grid are beautiful to watch, and in 3D they feel like they are coming right out at you. The movie is stunningly beautiful (as are the women characters LOL).
The plot leaves many questions unanswered, and some parts of it are a bit hard to follow. I'm guessing these areas will be expanded upon when a director's cut (or commentary) blueray is released. There are a few moments that are very cheesy and play to the vast majority of people who have no clue about computers but have watched CSI too much. Like when Sam accesses his dad's computer by typing "backdoor". Instead of being sent to a porn site, he magically bypasses his dad's security and has access to everything. Despite the cheese, and the vague areas, the movie is entertaining and could be much worse (see nearly every other sequel in the past decade).
The performances of the actors playing the main characters were not bad. Bridges's playing both a protagonist and antagonist, young and old, stood out above the rest. Some of the supporting characters were a bit on the bland side. It wouldn't be so noticeable, considering they are supposed to be playing computer programs, except that some of the other characters/programs are extremely emotional and animated.
While Tron: Legacy is not perfect and did not live up to my lofty expectations, it is still a very entertaining movie. One I would encourage you to go and see in theaters on a 3D screen. I give it 8 / 10.
*Edit*
I'm hearing from my buddies that have seen Tron in non-3D format that it doesn't look nearly as good as it does in 3D. Without the stunning visuals, I think an appropriate rating would be 6.5 / 10.
I knew that I wanted to see Tron: Legacy in 3D. My fellow movie critic, Tony Route, decided to go IMAX 3D. At a hefty pricetag of $17.50 I nearly choked, but I'm glad I saw it in IMAX 3D. The huge screen made quite a difference. There were times that it really did feel like I could reach out and touch the action. I think that 3D makes a huge difference in the experience of watching this movie. Now on to the film itself.
Tron: Legacy takes place 20+ years after the first film. Without giving up too much of the story, Jeff Bridges character, Kevin Flynn, has been trapped inside The Grid for over 20 years. His son, Sam played by Garrett Hedlund, is grown up now and has turned into something of an angry rebel. No one, including Sam, knew what happened to his father. Sam accidentally finds his father's lab and gets sucked into The Grid. There he encounters his father's electronic doppelgänger, Clu (Codified Likeness). The plot reveals that Clu, Flynn and Tron had worked together to create a perfect digital world. When Clu staged a coup, Flynn found himself trapped inside. Sam and Flynn work together, along with Olivia Wilde's character, Quorra, to escape from The Grid and prevent Clu from escaping it.
The special effects in this movie are beyond top notch. Flynn and Clu are both played by Bridges, but their appearance is over 20 years difference. Clu is still young, while Flynn is old and gray. The effect to make Bridges look young again is done with CG. While not perfect, it is very good. I can't think of a better example of a human likeness in a movie done by CG. The light cycles, etc are awesome. The architecture, and design of The Grid are beautiful to watch, and in 3D they feel like they are coming right out at you. The movie is stunningly beautiful (as are the women characters LOL).
The plot leaves many questions unanswered, and some parts of it are a bit hard to follow. I'm guessing these areas will be expanded upon when a director's cut (or commentary) blueray is released. There are a few moments that are very cheesy and play to the vast majority of people who have no clue about computers but have watched CSI too much. Like when Sam accesses his dad's computer by typing "backdoor". Instead of being sent to a porn site, he magically bypasses his dad's security and has access to everything. Despite the cheese, and the vague areas, the movie is entertaining and could be much worse (see nearly every other sequel in the past decade).
The performances of the actors playing the main characters were not bad. Bridges's playing both a protagonist and antagonist, young and old, stood out above the rest. Some of the supporting characters were a bit on the bland side. It wouldn't be so noticeable, considering they are supposed to be playing computer programs, except that some of the other characters/programs are extremely emotional and animated.
While Tron: Legacy is not perfect and did not live up to my lofty expectations, it is still a very entertaining movie. One I would encourage you to go and see in theaters on a 3D screen. I give it 8 / 10.
*Edit*
I'm hearing from my buddies that have seen Tron in non-3D format that it doesn't look nearly as good as it does in 3D. Without the stunning visuals, I think an appropriate rating would be 6.5 / 10.
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