I will keep this as spoiler free as I can.
I just got back from seeing it, and I'm very happy.
They did a very good job explaining/showing the general setting and character motivations.
I was disappointed in the origins for
, and the sometimes over the top good/evil color code-ing.
But I was pleasantly surprised with how they side stepped the heroic return of
, though this does leave the door open for a sequel. But if that is done with as much love as they did this movie, I have no problems with Tron #3.
The only technical problem I had, was that young Jeff Bridges sat firmly in the uncanny valley. Otherwise, fantastic special effects.
All in all, it's a good movie. If you liked the original, you'll love this.
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
Had you read the comic book bridge/prequel before seeing the movie?
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Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber." --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.
...or the video game?
_____
DEATH is Certain. The hour, Uncertain...
Is Tron 2.0 included as part of the backstory?
I have not read the comic nor played the video game. I'll have to hit wikipedia for video game plot later
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
Bob? Want a nifty hook for a possible Step? Spoiler in white...
Quorra's Digital DNA is a triple helix.
--Sam
"The streets will run RED with Santa!"
Quote:Bob? Want a nifty hook for a possible Step?
I won't look until I get a chance to see the movie, which won't be until the end of the week at the earliest.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
Saw it on Christmas Eve. Hm. Bit of a deus ex machina, wouldn't you say?
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
sweno Wrote:I will keep this as spoiler free as I can.
I just got back from seeing it, and I'm very happy.
They did a very good job explaining/showing the general setting and character motivations.
I was disappointed in the origins for , and the sometimes over the top good/evil color code-ing.
But I was pleasantly surprised with how they side stepped the heroic return of
, though this does leave the door open for a sequel. But if that is done with as much love as they did this movie, I have no problems with Tron #3.
The only technical problem I had, was that young Jeff Bridges sat firmly in the uncanny valley. Otherwise, fantastic special effects.
All in all, it's a good movie. If you liked the original, you'll love this.
I did have some minor issues with the uncanny valley of Young Jeff Bridges, but it worked for when it was Jeff Bridges Deaged As Clu, to some extent, since Clu amounted to a Degraded Copy. The real issue with it for me was the bedroom scene with Young Sam, and mostly that his eyes didn't seem to be looking the right direction.
As for the over the top color coding of alignment, it is a Disney flick, things tend towards high contrast with them anyway.
I like how everyone had their motivations, no one was truly evil, some were just trying to get by, others merely had been given very badly worded instructions. ("Computer, create an opponent capable of defeating Data." level of badly worded.)
--
"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor
I also loved how the elder Flynn is consistently stuck in the 80's.
Saw it in 3d.
First off - there was nothing in the 3d presentation that really lent itself to the medium. The more 3D films I see, the more it appears to be a gimmick. It distracted from rather than encouraging immersion in the film itself. I don't think a lot of directors have adequately integrated 3d into their toolboxes. It might as well have been feel-o-vision, smell-o-vision, shake-o-vision or any of the other gimmicks in the past.
Which is a shame. For what it is, this is an enjoyable film. The lead, in the abandoned child douche-bag role is considerably less douche-baggy then many of his film contemporaries. Jeff Bridges is excellent, and the progression from the original Tron to something between The Dude from The Big Lebowski and a full on Messiah figure (okay - the Dude has elements of the Messiah) is, in the context of the movie world, believable. The update to the look of the first film was nicely handled. Everything looks recognizable immediately - upgrade versus reboot.
Okay Michael Sheen. Loved the performance. If David Bowie and Mick Jagger ever made a digital spit roast of the C++ Kernel, then Michael Sheen's character would be their completely over the top mincing, prancing, offspring.
Physics? Okay, the jets on the recognizers and ships seemed off somehow; or rather the need for them seemed off (jets and engines, etc.) Either that or Flynn nicked the Valve physics engine and wanted to play.
I enjoyed it - the stage is set for a strong sequel.
Actually, this is about the only movie I've seen where I'll give the use of the 3D gimmick a pass, given it was only used in 'Tron-space', where reality is already weird. For me, the 3D worked.
It's still a stupid gimmick though.
Re: Michael Sheen -- seconding everyone's raves. I especially liked the brief moments where he mimicked WC Fields and Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
So, non-spoiler analysis:
Great film, and much better paced than the original (which I've yet to watch in its entirety, but took a *long* time, relatively speaking, out of its runtime to get to the point of the flick).
Sam is rather nice in that, as people have noted, he's much *nicer* than the average "I was abandoned by my parents before I was old enough to drive" archetype. Plus, he can emote pretty well. The reunion in the chalet was actually heartwarming between both his and Jeff Bridges' performances really coming off perfectly and not forced.
Quora was just damn exceptional. Her actress pulled off the Action Girl role well, but more importantly, she can act. All sorts of little touches in every scene she was active in make her performance believable and like someone reacting to actual events, especially during the dinner (The "Ooooh, awkwaaaaard." expression was just priceless). Her wide eyed naivete and awe at most "normal" things when outside life and death situations was refreshing compared to how she could've been done as a hardened badass. I want to see a sequel just to see more of her (the fact she's not hard on the eyes being a minor side note in this case). The fact that the actress herself in interviews has expressed an interest in a sequel involving her reactions to the real world (and equated it to Splash's fish out of water theme, of all things) just really impresses me.
Clu was just excellent, and I find it interesting that everything about him is a development from Flynn in the original. Flynn in the present has had a while to think on his mistakes and mature, but Clu is the result of his older personality: brash, cocky, and self-assured, always taking risks without thinking about them. Naturally, not stopping to double-check himself led to the most infamously worded command to a program ever, which results in the inevitable Programmer's Bane: "A computer will do exactly what you tell it to."
Also, one moment that, despite not having seen the entirety of the original, still managed to get pulled off with panache and feeling, which gets slotted in here above the spoiler block: "I fight for the Users."
Finally, the acting was just...wonderfully done. Body language and everything being as important as dialogue, perfect deliveries in a number of places, and motivations that make sense for everyone involved at every step of the way...just wonderful.
Okay, now. Spoilers and sequel speculation below:
- Besides the obvious spoiler hook at the end of the film, one earlier is much more obvious: a programmer named Dillinger, very heavily involved in the development of Encom OS 12, the "most secure OS ever", which has been broadcast worldwide, for free, because of Sam. Ties back to the original, a known actor that only got one scene, and gross nostalgia suggest to me that he may end up causing the return of the MCP, and possibly Sark, if Dillinger Sr. had a backup copy...
- Clu's reintegration into Flynn and Rinzler/Tron's apparent drifting death are by no means permanent, assuming that Disney can get Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner back for the sequel. Given their obvious establishment of badass cred in Legacy, the possibility of adding them to the good guys side against the theoretical antagonist listing mentioned above allows for the possibility of a good old Five Man Band featuring Sam, Quorra, Tron, Clu 3.0, and Flynn (or Yori, if they REALLY want to re-use everyone, and to explain her absence in Legacy).
- The comparison between Sam and Flynn was well done, with Sam being very impetuous like his old man's younger years, while Flynn has learned patience after an apparent 1000 years inside the Grid. But in the end, it's not one or the other that's right, but balance between the two, all done without having to hammer it into our skulls with an anvil and crowbar.
- I have my theories regarding Castor/Zuse being yet another ISO that survived Flynn's purges by making himself useful. This explains his aforementioned history with Quorra, and why he becomes uncomfortable when it's mentioned around him, while she trusts him implicitly. Naturally, when Clu has no further use for him, he finishes what he started by blowing up the club. Also interesting is that Zuse features something no one else does, in personal ranged weaponry(his machine gun staff from the fight scene), implying that *someone* made the thing from scratch...which ISOs are capable of, given their unique nature. Though it's also possible that it was a gift from Quorra, tying into her history with him, I find the odd mark on his forehead suspicious.
- The bit with Rinzler/Tron refraining from finishing off Sam when he had the chance in the arena is a clever bit, as it initially appears he does so out of loyalty to Clu (who wants Sam for his own purposes), but actually ends up being also a case of Rinzler's Heel Face Turn starting, in that he refuses to kill a User, as his initial program was to protect them. While Clu can repurpose him into slaughtering hordes of resisting programs as his personal champion, killing Sam is so against Tron's original purpose that he can't do it. Notably, almost every time Rinzler attacks Flynn and Sam later, he's holding back ever so subtly, but Quorra has no such immunity. This trumps itself when Clu essentially forces him into an impossible decision: obey his Rectified objective or his original purpose...and his base code wins out, complete with the aforementioned shout out. It was all quite cleverly done as a way to prevent Tron from overbalancing the good guys against Clu, while simultaneously limiting Clu's final assistants to mindless Rectified drones and a traitor waiting to happen...and also lets Tron be badass...just for the wrong side.
In finishing, great movie, would watch again, will buy, and want a sequel now, thank you, yes.
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"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
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