Tron Legacy

Well I just got back from watching this landmark.

Let me say this first. At 43 I am just glad that I lived long enough to see a sequel to the original TRON film. I saw the first one in the cinema when I was 15 and ever since, it has remained my overall favourite film of all time (and that’s saying something, given the fact that I spent about 8 years working in the big budget film sector here in Sydney in the ‘90s and so I’m well versed on what it takes to bring a film such as “TRON” to the screen). That any sequel was made at all was a miracle. But I must say that some aspects of “Tron Legacy” were an absolute delight while others were annoying and fell expectedly well short.

Despite what many other reviews have stated I must strongly disagree that this film is short on story. Quite the opposite is true. It’s rare nowadays to find a film of this genre with such a strong and complex plot line - one which kind of keeps you watching because you just have to know what’s going to happen next. The only thing I have in agreement with the critics was that there was definitely far to little “tron” in TRON:LEGACY. Oh well. A little bit is better than none at all I guess.

As with many modern films it took a long time to get where it wanted to go and this was probably mostly no thanks to repeated use of modern “Matrix style” slow motion beats to help remind us of when something historically significant was supposed to be happening. The film was enjoyable, the soundtrack refreshing (if not a little loud in the cinema we saw it in) and from the first frame it differentiated itself as unmistakedly TRON. The most reassuring thing (to me) about the film was that the producers resisted the urge to create the film entirely in CGI (a-la “Avatar” style) and that the film was largely still deliberately driven by live performances, some of which were clearly on par with or even better than the original. The shortcomings of CLU were virtually invisible and more than appropriate since he was supposed to be a computer generated entity anyway.

Now the brickbats. As I suspected well before I went to watch it, the serious downfall with “TRON:LEGACY” is the almost non existent art direction and seriously deficient production design. The first TRON will always stand as an artistic masterpiece – and art was sadly the most lacking component in this almost annoyingly dark and monocromatic film which seems to have been shot entirely using black, blue and orange and just about nothing else.

All the “Disney Hallmark” awe, wonder and “otherworldliness” of the original TRON is completely absent from this film. The mastery of Syd Mead and the many other designers who set the artistic foundation for the original TRON was either completely ignored or it looked like someone had run the design through a 20 year old photocopier about 100 times. The costume design was atrocious. You may as well have fired the entire wardrobe department and just done your shopping at the local motorcycle clothing shop. Perhaps they did? The “Black on Black” colour scheme made movement hard to watch and I simetimes found myself wishing that they HAD instead used CGI characters – at least we would have been able to see all of them!

Most of the ground rules set by the original TRON were well and truly broken, leaving me somewhat feeling betrayed and confused. Other critics have focused on Sam’s arrival in the TRON world in his regular street clothes as the best example of this (and I agree) however in short the TRON world didn’t look anything like ”another world” at all.

The complicated procedure of transferring a human between worlds - done so elegantly in the first fiilm – was completely ignored in “TRON – LEGACY”. Just about everything (including all the vehicles, clothing and especially Flynn’s Pad) worked towards trying to convince us that “the grid” was a REAL place where the laws of physics and matter apply just the same way as they do here on mother Earth.

This (in my opinion) was a drastic mistake and centres on the biggest shortcoming of this film especially when compared with the original and particularly given the fact that the storyline so closely references that original in almost every line spoken in the film. With the link between worlds being such a pivotal plot tool in the storyline it is amazing that Sam’s transfer into the computer world made it look more like he had just walked into the next room rather than been transferred into an alien, incredible and frightening alternate reality.

To summarise. Hmm. Both the original TRON and the very appropriately named TRON:LEGACY stand alone as good films worthy of viewing in their own right. Fans of the original (like me) will find themselves feeling shortchanged on some aspects but very satisfied with others. Audiences who have not seen the original are likely to now want to seek out same and watch it. This will in turn rejuvinate interest in what I still feel stands as the most artistically significant film of the 20th Century, even if it fell short in other areas. It seems natural that within a few months we will see a re-released Blu Ray Hi definition release of the original to satisfy the hunger of many to experience just what the “Legacy” was all about.

I can’t but help thinking that TRON:LEGACY would have worked out far better (and more profitable) on a much smaller budget. Same excellent story line - but with a bit more emphasis on content and a lot less on the need to “keep up with the Joneses”. As I suspected, the 3D works very well with this property The fact that it took this long to realise, TRON:LEGACY is testament to the fact that it was probably worth the wait.

Given the 27 years we had to wait for TRON:LEGACY, no sequel could ever have lived up to the expectations left behind by the original. However the name now leaves us all in search of the truth – a “legacy” between the two now truly exists – and it will be a brave director indeed who agrees to take the property to it’s next level. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another 27 years for that to happen.

Paul Matthews
Sydney Australia
http://artelex.com

Kosinski said he wanted to bring physics, gravity and weight to things in T:L. I still struggle with that artistic decision. On one hand, I love the scene where Sam gets carried away in a jet propulsion recognizer. And other scenes where more real-world elements occur. On the other hand, I'm not sure it was necessary. T:L doesn't feel as computery digital other-worldly as I feel it should. Too palpable. That said, I will be seeing it a 6th time later this week.

There's more to it than just that. Lightning, rain/umbrellas, dining room table feast, a homeless guy sipping from bottle, offroad tires, spinning wheel smoke, lightcycle crashes like motorbikes, a club with DJs, etc. Some of this I really enjoyed and it doesn't really bother me too much. Thoroughly enjoying to watch the recos and lightcycle crashes. I just wish it felt more like a digital world than an alternate real world.

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Drinking was established in the original TRON movie. Clu in his tank drank some cup of something. The escaped Conscripts drank the water (which you got the impression that was electricty).


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I'm not really a fan of the 3D. I don't think they've perfected it yet...that being said, I'm going to see it in 3D tomorrow night. I should make an informed, case by case, decision.

Just saw the movie today and it was great! It was quintessential Tron. Disc battles, Lightcycles, the escape. It played out in almost exactly the same way that the original did, and that was nice to see. There were a couple of plot points that I thought were a bit detrimental to the spirit of the original movie though:

How did the Tron world go from being a paradise back into a desolate place, even when Tron, Clu, and Flynn were there at the same time? Why would Flynn go to make a Utopia when what was most desired in the first movie was a free system?

Tron becoming Rinzler, How they handled that I thought was a bit lame. Definitely the most disappointing part of the movie for me. They don't even show his face! It felt as if Tron simply wasn't in the movie at all. At least they kept him there for the possible 3rd sequel at the end. It would have been cooler if Rinzler had been say, the son of Sark or something. And Tron the one who busted Sam Flynn out of the Light Cycle Grid. Then Rinzler could've fallen into the Sea of Simulation and been the possible nemesis of the 3rd movie. Would have been so much more satisfying overall IMO.

The visuals were ugh. They were nice, but nothing like the original Tron movie, nowhere near as unique. Familiar, but forgettable. They made Jeff Bridges look really good in CGI though.

As for comments more about the movie itself:

The whole ISO plot didn't really have any significance to the movie, which makes me really hope that they greenlight a 3rd movie. It needs to do well! It was kind of disappointing not to get as much closure as the original Tron movie had. The twist at the end was definitely unexpected and sad, but was good.

It was also enjoyable to see what was borrowed from Star Wars, such as Sam Flynn going into a stance to face off with the oncoming light cycle (Luke Vs. Speeder in Return of the Jedi) and Sam Flynn being in the turret against the ship, just like Luke and Han against the TIE fighters in A New Hope. Gave that classic Sci-Fi feeling.

The music was fantastic of course, I love Daft Punk, and they did as revolutionary of a job as Wendy Carlos did with the original soundtrack. Nice to see that Journey had a song in there too, just like the original movie.

Overall though, it was great. My problems with the movie were only a bit minor, and I'm really hoping that a 3rd one will make it into theaters, and maybe another ARG to go along with it.

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ShadowDragon1 Wrote:The Iso actually were a big part of the underlying story. Read the graphic novel "Tron: Betrayal" and look up an outline of the narrative to Tron: Evolution as well. I recommend seeing the film again and pay close attention to what Flynn said about the Isos and when he accesses Qourra's digital DNA...

I ordered the book from my local comic book store a week before I went to go see Tron: Legacy. Still waiting for the guy to call me and say it has come in. Looking forward to reading it.

Personally, I had no problem with the T:L world looking ultramodern and relatable to the "real world" because that's precisely what video game tech of this day and age has progressed to. The original TRON had a reference point of 8bit arcade shooters and the like, and what was imagined as the world behind the screen was largely inspired by what was being seen in arcades and on crude home console systems at the time.

As far as the whole "to 3D or not 3D" argument goes, we saw Avatar in 3D at the Arclight Dome in Hollywood and it was less than impressive. Seeing Tron Legacy in IMAX 3D was a complete revelation, despite T:L's lack of "in yer face" gimmicky action. It was more of an immersive experience, which was a nice touch. Is it enough to make me want to sink a couple thousand into upgrading our home theater into a 3D capable setup? Not really. Still glad we saw it in 3D though, and looking forward to the HD blu-ray experience.

Oh, and this too:

Hipster: Referring to young people of around 18-30 years of age, who drink cheap beer (most often Pabst Blue Ribbon, on occasion Budweiser), smoke Parliaments, Lucky Strikes or hard to obtain foreign cigarettes (such as Gauloises) and take recreational drugs, coke being the most popular. Use a great deal of sarcasm, claim to be ironic. Are usually less than 5% body fat, drink copious amounts of coffee and eat childrens cereal. Listen to Indie Rock, rely heavily on Pitchfork Media to tell them what's cool. Don't dance at concerts. Wear a mixture of thrifted clothing and items bought at American Apparel (commonly Tri-blend v-necks) and Urban Outfitters. Extremely tight jeans worn by both sexes, pairing these with either a band or b-movie t shirt and a plaid shirt/v-neck and a cardigan along with Nike hi-tops/Vans/Keds. Females often wear retro style dresses and racerback tank tops without bras. Eschew public transport and instead choose to ride fixed-break bikes. Often claim to know about literature and film - will have Googled a good deal of Vonnegut and French New Wave cinema.

Hippie: One who was raised under the ideological system that came out of the tumultuous 1960's in North America and western Europe. They are either of the flower-child/baby boomer generation or that generations' subsequent offspring. They possess a core belief set revolving around the values of peace and love as being essential in an increasingly globalized society, and they are oftentimes associated with non-violent anti-governmental groups. There is a stigma of drug abuse attached to the hippies that is prevalent to this day, specifically the use and abuse of marijuana and hallucinagens. Many rock movements,poets, artists, and writers from the 1960's to today have associated with this movement, most prominently The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, and Phish. There are others too numerous to name. The movement, then and now, is considered a sub-culture by sociologists that associates itself with the left in all its political opinions. The conservative right often berates and abuses the opinions of people who associate themselves with the hippie movement and/or lifestyle, as the consider it dangerous and degenerative to a society to favor liberalism to such an extent.