I remember watching TRON as an awestruck little 9-year old. I remember the impact the special effects and particularily, the Snake/motorbike races, had on me as a kid - I loved it. It was a great film to watch as a sci-fi hungry kid.
Now, almost twenty years later I decided to buy the special edition dvd which was released last year, mostly because I wanted to see it again, but also to see how well/badly it had aged.
I had expected it to be a nostalgic, but unimpressive rewatch - full of bad matte lines and badly animated cgi. And, ok, there are lots of fat matte lines around the characters, but the cgi is still good, actually. It's animated well, and it's clear that a lot of thought went into creating the basic design and look of the film, which is wonderful. Thankfully, the filmmakers chose to go with a completely alien look, meaning that they never wanted the film to look realistic or life-like. This is the main reason why the film and it's effects have stood the test of time. I must admit, there were times when I went 'wow, that looks really cool!'
I also think that the film is exciting and suspenseful and the action scenes still feel very original and fun. Gotta love those race scenes - they're great!
And, combined with a great electronic soundtrack, this was a highly enjoyable revisit. I heartily recommend it to anyone who loves sci-fi and effects-driven films.
I give it an 8/10 for still feeling as fresh and interesting, as it was all those years ago.
Now, almost twenty years later I decided to buy the special edition dvd which was released last year, mostly because I wanted to see it again, but also to see how well/badly it had aged.
I had expected it to be a nostalgic, but unimpressive rewatch - full of bad matte lines and badly animated cgi. And, ok, there are lots of fat matte lines around the characters, but the cgi is still good, actually. It's animated well, and it's clear that a lot of thought went into creating the basic design and look of the film, which is wonderful. Thankfully, the filmmakers chose to go with a completely alien look, meaning that they never wanted the film to look realistic or life-like. This is the main reason why the film and it's effects have stood the test of time. I must admit, there were times when I went 'wow, that looks really cool!'
I also think that the film is exciting and suspenseful and the action scenes still feel very original and fun. Gotta love those race scenes - they're great!
And, combined with a great electronic soundtrack, this was a highly enjoyable revisit. I heartily recommend it to anyone who loves sci-fi and effects-driven films.
I give it an 8/10 for still feeling as fresh and interesting, as it was all those years ago.