"Greetings, programs!"
It was a long time coming, but the wait was worth it. While theatrical sequels to The Last Starfighter and War Games may or may not come out in the near future, and I am left hoping and praying for big-screen adaptations of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series and Doc Smith's Lenman Series...Tron Legacy is here now (in glorious 3D) courtesy of Disney. I saw it on opening night in 3D with a huge box of kettle corn, a large group of friends...and I was first in line for the showing. Naturally my expectations were high.
The Grid
To be sure, this movie is visually and audibly stunning in every way. Everyone who was tantalized by the trailers and got excited by the visuals will NOT be disappointed with the art design or special effects. As they were leaving the showing before us, many people had neither a positive nor a negative expression on their face. They simply looked...stunned. Shocked. Out of it. And after seeing the movie I think I understand why.
This must be what it felt like to see Star Wars the first time in 1977. Seeing Tron Legacy (especially without seeing the first Tron) is like being transported to an alien planet through an inter-dimensional gateway. There simply has never been anything like this on the big-screen in history. The film cost 170 million according to box office records I read online, and you can see where the money went.
The computer world is literally a city of light. The first time you see it, it takes your breath away. The action sequences featuring light cycles, flying discs, and various flying vehicles are some of the most amazing ever captured. From the moment I saw the visuals that became the film's logo I knew the visual style of this film was spot on and I was going to love it.
The Game Has Changed
When you compare this movie to the first Tron, it's a MAJOR upgrade in just about every way (the one area I think it's inferior is the acting not quite on the same level). The dorky outfits of the first movie have been replaced with the new skin-tight outfits with glowing edges, the discs no longer look like ceramic Frisbees, the light cycles can make curved turns, ect. In truth, this was something I was worried about when I first saw the previews. It seemed to break from the feel of the first Tron film too much. But now...
This is how i feel about the overall feel of Tron Legacy compared to the first: I have seen many animated TV shows that were then made into feature films, and you almost always have the same feeling that characters were changed around, and usually some past events were totally re-written. In a good movie adaptation the essence is maintained but the experience is different (like an alternate telling or a what if?). Thus, while Tron Legacy breaks from many of the traditions of Tron (digital people now look much more like real people, real food exists in the Grid instead of just energy), at its heart it is a continuation of the story, characters, and world you have grown to love.
Flynn Lives
Yes, at its heart, this is the same world you loved when you saw the first Tron, with the same features and flaws. The first Tron was a visual masterpiece with unique music and visual flair, a simple but deep plot, and characters you grew to love on an age-old but engrossing quest to save the computer world and along with it the real world. This film is no different in these fundamentals. The visuals are amazing, the music is astounding, and the main plot is almost identical to the first movie (get out of system, defeat the evil program who rules the computer world with an iron fist).
The now older Kevin Flynn who was trapped in the digital world is no less likable, but expectedly changed as anyone would be after decades spent inside a computer. His son Sam is the kind of guy you immediately like. He's rich but not snobby, attractive but not superficial, a good guy but maybe just lacking some purpose and direction in his life. At any rate, he makes a great protagonist. Jeff Bridges is a bit subdued compared to his other roles lately, but his whacky zen charm still makes him fun to watch. His digital younger (flashback and arch-nemesis) self does not fare as well because while a digital world evil Jeff Bridges that feels a bit unnatural is no problem, when it's supposed to be Kevin Flynn in the past it just comes off as strangely artificial.
Probably the first thing everyone noticed from the trailer besides the light cycles was Olivia Wilde's character Quorra. She manages to be beautiful, innocent, courageous, loyal, child-like, fierce, and in all other ways awesome for the duration of the film. Her acting is flawless. Michael Sheen is totally over-the-top in a role that people will probably either love or hate, and Beau Garrett's Gem and Cillian Murphy's Dillinger will have you wishing they had larger roles. And of course there is one surprise I wasn't expecting regarding an old favorite character. But let's not kid ourselves...the real star of this movie is...the soundtrack!
Derezzed
The soundtrack...to Tron...is one of the greatest soundtracks in history. Please understand, I do not use these terms to describe a soundtrack lightly. My favorite kind of music to listen to is orchestral movie and TV music. From anime soundtracks like Vision of Escaflowne and Magic Knight Rayearth to under-rated scores like A.I. and the New World, I am a HUGE fan of orchestral tracks. I have literally hundreds of movie themes performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. I listen to the Star Wars soundtrack from beginning to end. I even recently wrote the Prague Philharmonic an email requesting that they record music on my wish list. That is to say...I take movie musical scores SERIOUSLY.
You should know that I am a fan of Daft Punk's album Discovery. Look it up on Amazon and you'll see my ecstatic review. Some people have unfairly criticized the soundtrack for Tron Legacy, simply because what they wanted was another Daft Punk album, another Discovery. This is NOT a Daft Punk album. This is a FILM SCORE, featuring a full orchestra in addition to the electronic wizardry of Daft Punk. And it is destined to become legendary. From the first moments of the film when the main theme kicked in I was blown away by the music, but there is much more to it than just that the music is phenomenal.
I would say that from 60 to 75 percent of the brilliance of this movie is the film score, and the reason for that is that the film was actually CUT to the film score, rather than the score being cut to the film. What this means, is that the film and its music are almost perfectly synchronized. Anyone who has watched a really good AMV on the Internet has seen the magic that happen when you cut the action to the music and it works magic in this film. The disc battles, light-cycle sequences, and chase scenes and fight scenes (Derezzed being the stand-out) are incredible because of how the music not only fits, but drives these scenes. And when the epic climax of the movie rolls around the music makes it a hundred times better because it is brilliant, and it is so loud, so strong, so appropriate, and so flat-out amazing that it just makes everything WORK. Some have said that they listened to the music on its own in order to more fully appreciate it. I say the opposite. See the movie to appreciate how the music was MEANT to be used. Awesome.
The Creator
Some critics and others might dismiss Tron Legacy as a simple candy-coated popcorn flick with all the depth of Super-Bowl commercial. "Tron Legacy isn't actually trying to be smart"? You have got to be kidding me. But then again...people said EXACTLY the same thing when the first Tron came out, and when the Matrix movie came out as well. I'm starting to think that every time someone says a movie has no plot what they really mean is "I didn't understand it."
This movie is NOT simplistic. The spiritual overtones of Tron once again are pronounced. Love them or hate them, they are what drive this story, not the basic premise of the plot. In the first Tron the Users were seen as gods, the ones who had a plan for everything, the great beings who watched over the Grid with benevolence. When Tron was given a mission by his User, it was akin to pulling The Sword From The Stone or learning to Use The Force. Likewise, Kevin Flynn's User powers are seen from time to time, making him seem like a sort of mythological wizard (Merlyn, Gandalf, or better yet Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars: A New Hope). When the creatures of his self-created Grid turn on him we cannot help but see an allusion to our own world where in films and popular culture everyone sees to be angry at God despite the fact that he made them. This spiritual metaphor does not come off as silly or cheesy (at least in my opinion) but rather lends significant gravity to an otherwise straightforward plot.
There you have it. The new Tron is an amazing film in just about every way. Not perfect, but definitely the best movie to come out in years. The 3D is nice, but not required, as it is not quite up to the par of Alice in Wonderland and Avatar. It would be better to see this film on a digital screen where the wonders of the world of the Grid can really shimmer and pop off the screen in razor sharp detail (the icing on the cake would be digital 3D). I've seen it multiple times in the theater. You should do the same. This one movie you do not want to rent and watch on a tiny TV for your first viewing. You want to see it on the big screen. And then buy the Blu Ray and watch it on your home theater. This is one movie that would show off a high-def setup in spectacular fashion. Tron: Legacy (Four-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy) - Fantasy - Adventure - Disney - Action'
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