Powerful sounds & special effects, a dystopian computer world and a classic human vs. machine battle for survival. What's not to like!? Well, unfortunately enough that it's not an instant classic, but still a terrific addition to sci-fi cinema! What is so cool about the movie is the upgraded but still retro feeling of the Tron world. The detail is striking and pulls us in and keeps us in a strange land. It is a rather bleak world (why didn't they program in some sunlight?)... so we're thankful for the welcome bits of levity and "human-ness" found in the father-son connections. Quorra also provides smiles and such wonderful soulful eyes we can almost sense things will be okay from her gaze alone.
As unbelievable as it might be for Flynn Jr. (Sam) to survive the light disc battles and the light cycles, etc. it does make wonderful visual popcorn. In fact, I think the light cycles with the new multi-layered tracks is one of the best scenes of the entire movie! Other cool stuff is sprinkled all throughout the movie, from the huge claw-shaped ships, to battle arenas with breakable floor tiles to the streamlined flying ships at the end There are a number of things that knock at the edges of this world allowing reality to creep in. First we have the completely CGI Clu, who although impressive for a computer-generated human still gives off that strange vibe of not being "real". When surrounded by real human actors the effect bothers a little.
Second, it is rather unbelievable for a human (even as physically fit as Sam Flynn) to survive highly trained computer programs with lightning fast reflexes. This action-movie convention has always bothered me... and is worsened by the hyper-speed and quick cuts used in this film.
Third, the story is somewhat confusing and requires a lot of exposition by Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges). I like his Matrix-ish powers, but if he has special abilities like that it should've been no problem for him to escape a long time ago. Overall there are just a lot of plot holes, and the motivation behind Clu and his minions is not well explained. For example, why would Clu need to invade our world instead of just visit it? The programs seem happy, so why take them somewhere else? Seems like there's always SOME megolomaniac building an army! In any case, fans of the 1982 original will find some inside jokes and have that nostalgia factor, but the movie is fresh enough that it should create many new Tron fans as well. I imagine the first Tron movie will see renewed interest... I know I wanted to see it again as soon as the credits rolled on Tron: Legacy.
But I have to ask... after all our heroes go through, they drive off on a motorcycle without helmets! C'mon, that's just asking for a spoof ending...
As unbelievable as it might be for Flynn Jr. (Sam) to survive the light disc battles and the light cycles, etc. it does make wonderful visual popcorn. In fact, I think the light cycles with the new multi-layered tracks is one of the best scenes of the entire movie! Other cool stuff is sprinkled all throughout the movie, from the huge claw-shaped ships, to battle arenas with breakable floor tiles to the streamlined flying ships at the end There are a number of things that knock at the edges of this world allowing reality to creep in. First we have the completely CGI Clu, who although impressive for a computer-generated human still gives off that strange vibe of not being "real". When surrounded by real human actors the effect bothers a little.
Second, it is rather unbelievable for a human (even as physically fit as Sam Flynn) to survive highly trained computer programs with lightning fast reflexes. This action-movie convention has always bothered me... and is worsened by the hyper-speed and quick cuts used in this film.
Third, the story is somewhat confusing and requires a lot of exposition by Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges). I like his Matrix-ish powers, but if he has special abilities like that it should've been no problem for him to escape a long time ago. Overall there are just a lot of plot holes, and the motivation behind Clu and his minions is not well explained. For example, why would Clu need to invade our world instead of just visit it? The programs seem happy, so why take them somewhere else? Seems like there's always SOME megolomaniac building an army! In any case, fans of the 1982 original will find some inside jokes and have that nostalgia factor, but the movie is fresh enough that it should create many new Tron fans as well. I imagine the first Tron movie will see renewed interest... I know I wanted to see it again as soon as the credits rolled on Tron: Legacy.
But I have to ask... after all our heroes go through, they drive off on a motorcycle without helmets! C'mon, that's just asking for a spoof ending...