OK here are my thoughts, which are pretty much in line with Laserjock's post a page back or so. I saw it at midnight in a local theater, no IMAX but in 3D.

Let me preface my reviews with this: SPOILERS!

I really enjoyed the movie - it was entertaining which is important. The Disk Wars and light-cycle sequences were absolutely perfect. I liked it much more than AVATAR as it wasn't a condescending film and they had some good ideas. The movie didn't ignite my imagination as much as the original but I was a kid then so who knows.

Why don't people get the ISO's? They are a new form of life that sprung from code and that's why they were significant, as was the fact that the less advanced computer programs massacred them. In that sense it's a little aspect from Star Trek, seeking out new life(which is something they don't bother to usually do in Trek films). I thought it was pretty clear what they entailed but I guess it wasn't for most people.

I liked the references to TRON peppered throughout but you also have to be careful to not overdo it - they needed to focus a little more on creating some iconic dialogue of their own. It would have been nice if Bit(s) was in it - I imagine that Castor's character could have played well with a Bit by his side. Even if Flynn or Quorra had one, it could have been a nice touch and helped with the humor which was a little flat at times. No one really laughed at all in the theater I was at even at the parts which were humorous.

One thing I guess I also desired was to see some new, imaginative ideas tried out. The original gave us a lot to chew on with tanks, recognizers, carriers, bits, disk wars, light-cycles, the MCP, the solar sailor, etc. Sure TL did give us light jets and a light car but it seems to me that there is more they could have done.

I do think that they should have started showing Tron's face after it was "revealed" who Rinzler really was. I'm guessing the director was too afraid to try that out since the effect with Clu didn't work out exactly as planned. It would have been much better to show him anyways. I do like how Tron is a more advanced fighter than ever and I think that we will see him in the next one, if Disney decides to do another, which I hope they do. I also hope that Sam restores Flynn's and has that arcade rocking again.

I also was hoping for a big disc battle at the end. That was a letdown as well, I expected Rinzler/TRON vs Clu. The fact that they didn't do that doesn't really make sense - you could have had Tron defeat him but end up falling into the Sea of Simulation so we're not sure what happens to him and Kevin F. sacrificing himself to join up with a dying Clu anyways. That would have been better in the end, IMO.

Not been a fan of Daft Punk before but I am certainly a fan of their soundtrack. That really helped the movie in many ways.

I will go and see it again - it's fun and epic. I hope it does well enough for Disney to go ahead with a sequel and not shelve it for another 30 years. They could have done worse(much much worse in fact - as far as reboot films goes, TL is quite good) but they could have done better and honestly for being the first film that the director has done I think he did an amazing job with the lack of experience.

flotilla Wrote: Deadly Disks Wrote: To each his own, my friend. I liked Legacy, but I can see past the visuals, and think beyond knee-jerk "WOWIEE ZOWEE I LOVED IT" kinda of reactions. Legacy has strong visuals, excellent design, a blah main character (Sam), and a reasonably satisfying father/son vibe going that is no where as dynamic and entertaining as the Kirk/Spock/McCoy one. Clu is an interesting yet uninventive villain in the same vein as Trek's Nero--a simple foil to keep the plot moving along." It's good to see that someone actually understands the bad points of Tron Legacy. Reading all the positive reviews here it almost feels like everyone is brainwashed or something. Yes, Tron Legacy has some great parts, but as a whole it is close to Fail. Legacy has an amazing soundtrack and some very stunning visuals, but it does suffer from a very bad plot breakdown and is also very boring in many parts of the movie. I have seen the original Tron more than 300 times and I can honestly say I will not be watching Tron Legacy anywhere near that number, in fact, the number would be less than 3 or 4. I'm sure I'll watch it at least once or twice on bluray, but it just is not that great of a movie, and that is coming from someone who is an absolute fan of the original.

What you should understand is that it is all personal opinion. There is no brainwashing, nor is it definitively "close to Fail". Whether or not it's a great movie, again, is based on the individual viewer's perspective. This is your opinion, and because others aren't of the same mind it doesn't mean they're delusional. It's how they feel and I wouldn't slight them for that. Yeah, the negatives are there and I acknowledge them, but who's to say the negatives can ruin the positives?

I'm glad you enjoyed it (what little you did, it seems), but others love it. There's nothing wrong with that, just as much as there's nothing wrong with people who completely trash it.

It would have been nice if Bit(s) was in it - I imagine that Castor's character could have played well with a Bit by his side.

The Bits were in it. In Kevin Flynn's layer, Clu picks one up and looks at it. It is a neutral bit.

FlynnsWrist Wrote: Quicksort Wrote:So I saw this two days ago on opening day in Australia. A little background about myself: I saw the trailer to Tron back in '82 and while the shot of the MCP freaked me out (I was four), the concept stayed with me. I saw the film in '85 and was programming on a TRS-80 CoCo2 by '86. I'm now a computer science student doing research into data mining and evolutionary computation. In the last 12 months in particular, I've been fascinated by the ability to "evolve" solutions using natural selection, memetic algorithms, etc. Fascinating stuff. To see Tron: Legacy and realise that, hey, they're talking about guys like me! Well, that was a pretty big buzz. The first film inspired me. The second film told me I'd arrived at my destination. Wow. Now let me expound upon the idea of ISOs a little bit. I really need to see the film again, but my understanding is this: Everything from here on may be spoiler-ish. ISOs are essentially new, totally conscious lifeforms spontaneously generated as an emergent property of the system. This runs in total opposition to both dualism and much of religious dogma, because it implies that consciousness emerges from the brain and is a totally natural phenomenon. It also shuts down creationism (as do genetic algorithms (GAs) in general) since it demonstrates the viability of natural selection. Finally, it demands a completely new way of thinking about our place in the universe, since conscious life can spring forth from any sufficiently complex system, even in cyberspace. Now the thing about GAs is, they're stochastic. They're not deterministic like traditional algorithms, so each run will produce different results. But that's their beauty and also their source of power. Rather than building a system that searches a space very methodically, you're creating a population of candidate solutions that breed and mutate over generations, and you can't predict the pattern of evolution at all, except to say it moves towards optimisation over time. CLU interprets this stochastic behaviour as chaos and an aesthetic blight. It's antithetical to the clean, sharply-defined lines of determinism. The ISOs are like weeds springing-up in a hedge-maze. Genocide is the answer to this problem. But I can't recall whose disc CLU was after. Was it Flynn's? If so, presumably has the necessary code for program-to-human mapping, which he needed to become a Real Little Boy. Presumably he'd appear in the real world with some cronies before setting-up a larger facility for inter-world transport. I doubt he was planning on zapping the whole carrier through. Or did he actually say that? you sir are genuinely up there with the ethos and mythos of the movie theme. Thanks for explaining, I am beginning to understand and appreciate the movie more and why the whole grid was more systematic and less vibrantly coloured than the encom one. It made sense now as CLU desired control, a corrupt part of flynns character? dualism? Just got the sound track and it really grows on me. beautiful. To add, I notice the ISOs tattoo to be somehwat interesting. like an "OI-" a mutated binary code where the "I" had a middle dash "-" perhaps saying that electrical impulses have 3 directions than just a linear current stream. Ok, i flunked at electrical engineering but thats what gave me the impression.

No the ISO tatoo is a stylistic representation of the male and female symbols we have in our world. Males have a Hexagon with a cross and Females have a Hexagon with an arrow. Get it?

laserjock Wrote: The idea of Clu "invading" the real world with an army of 10,000 armed with Bo staffs is ludicrous. I think the National Guard could handle that. It would have been better to use the Internet angle; they would somehow connect to the Internet and attack/invade cyberspace which would be far more effective/dangerous.

IIRC the Liseberger script for the Tron sequel was based upon the invasion and disruption of the internet by a malicious progam.

Saw it in IMAX 3D last night in a packed theatre in the mall....

Obviously, there could have been more things include in the plot that could have made more reference to the original or other technical details.

However, I was satisfied with what i saw. Maybe an extended edition DVD/Blu-Ray can come out of this? Please Disney on line abortion pill misoprostol dose abortion medical abortion pill online

As much of a TRON (1982) fan as I am, I must say I'm completely and utterly thankful that I was graced with not seeing the original film until sometime around mid-2008. From the moment the film started, I was blown away by the innovative animation and CGI used to produce a computer-esque world. It was beautiful and by far still one of the best visually unique films ever conceived. While that was a major draw to the original, the acting was occasionally rather hokey, but what I didn't expect were the layers to the story most seemed to gloss over. The religious and oppressive government allegories were spot on and were conveyed in a way that hadn't been seen at the time. Many say that a film is boring when it uses an age-old plot or premise, but it isn't always what the storyline is, but how you choose to make it stand out above the crowd.

It's easy to say that TRON is one of my favorite films and a costly obsession of mine. Not seeing it earlier than 2008 became a welcomed "miss out" of sorts due to the fact that my hunger for a sequel was immediate. The fact that most fans, many of which were children when the first film debuted, had to wait 28 years for a sequel is incredible and torturous in equal measure. Two years really is incomparable, but from my standpoint it was a long ways away.

The original "teaser" trailer was made just to interest the studios in a possible sequel. It was successful and audiences given the chance to see it were ecstatic beyond description...and so the film was soon underway, with Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner on board, along with Steven Lisberger (the director of the original) as a producer.

Admittedly, I've been a bit foolish, thanks in no small part to my fanboyism and my overzealous nature. As the ACTUAL film trailers began to show up on the internet, my interest piqued and I was hooked. As soon as I saw the action figures and weapon replicas and diecast vehicles...I felt this innate need to have them. And so began what could have gone one of two ways: my ascent into the eventual enjoyment of the film and the preemptive shopping spree that came along with it, or my descent into a hole that I've dug for a movie I could possibly downright hate. Option B wasn't ever in the forefront of my mind. Posters, exclusive (and expensive) statues/figures, etc. all filtered into my daily life and anticipation was certainly high. Counting down the months, then days, then hours, then minutes...


...until I was sitting in the theater at 11:59 PM, waiting for the long-awaited show to begin.


I had read reviews of it, and they had chipped away at my usually impenetrable indifference to critics. This is where the doubt had set in and I felt it seep in deep. What IF the movie was awful and I had spent all this time and effort towards something I hate/dislike? It was disheartening, but I just forged through my doubts and sat down in my seat, TRON clad (shirt and hoodie, not the actual suit...which would have been awesome, though) and ready to go.

So, what did I think? I loved it.

It was a pay-off I was relieved to have. Was it perfect? Absolutely not. But it was great regardless. I haven't had so much fun at the movies in years. All this being sad, let's break it down:



Pros:


-Visuals/Special Effects: Might as well get the obvious out of the way. If you were blown away by "Avatar", there's no reason this won't give you the same feeling. It is unlike anything you've seen, a definite evolution of the original TRON universe. The darkness of The Grid really gives you the sense that this otherwise gorgeous digital world is undergoing dark times. The contrast of the orange, blue, and white colors of the Programs between the landscape which is mostly black (highlighted by the colors of light) makes it feel like the isolation of space. It's mysterious and alluring.

-Score: Daft Punk has never been one of my favorite groups, but I've never disliked anything I've heard of their work. The somewhat lukewarm reception to the score may stem from the fact that it is neither very close to Wendy Carlos' TRON score, or Daft Punk's typical electronic/house-electro offerings. This score is a combination of their expected work, as well as a beautiful composed orchestral sound. The two marry together and create what is entirely appropriate for this film. There isn't a track I particularly dislike (I have the soundtrack in my car and I've been listening to it a lot lately), but some higlights are, "Adagio for Tron", "The Grid", "Son of Flynn", and "Derezzed" (which is the most reminiscent of Daft Punk's music).

-Disc War and Light Cycles: Among some of the most visually astounding moments I've seen in recent memory. The first Program derezzed (killed) in the games is a beautiful sight to behold. He falls to the floor and his body disintegrates into a sea of pixels. It's an interesting and fitting concept. The best part is Sam's battle with one of the main villains, and starting out in the enlarged arena, and eventually fighting upside down.

The light cycles were amazing to see realized. The original light cycle scene is probably one of my favorite moments in the film, and this one doesn't disappoint. Sam sees his team of Programs go up against Clu and his team. Seeing as how he rides a motorcycle in the real world, he states, "Now this is something I can do." This leads into a beautiful slow motion shot from Sam's side, he ignites the baton given to him which holds the information for the light cycle. It forms around him, showing the inner workings before hitting the Grid floor and zooming off, a bright blue ribbon of light (or jetwall) trailing behind it. It's all a spectacle for even the most jaded of souls.

-Characters: Kevin Flynn steals the show thanks to Jeff Bridges' usual infallible acting ability. His character has been trapped in The Grid for 20 years, which is the equivalent of 1000 years inside the computer. Having no way to return home, and having to only interact with Programs and no real humans, meditation has become his outlet for warding off insanity. His character, still stuck in the 80's, spits out dialogue from the time and it seems natural. In addition, his character seems to have taken a few notes from The Dude (The Big Lebowski), but it works as it seems like a sort of natural progression for young Kevin Flynn to grow into. He is a goof and a visionary, and he takes hold of every scene he's in. NOT TO MENTION he (Bridges) also plays his digital counterpart, Clu, who appears as a younger Kevin Flynn. The duality of the actor, ultimately each other's foil, is quite an interesting thing to behold.

Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), while not quite up to par with Bridges, holds his own well enough as the films main protagonist. He enters The Grid and adapts with what seems to be practiced bravado. He is likely the least interesting character, but he and his father are also the core of the heart that the film possesses.


Quorra and Castor both are quirky and delightful to watch, especially with Castor's effeminate and flamboyant charm. Rinzler, Clu's right hand man, is silent but a force to be reckoned with.

Tron, who the film is named after, surprisingly has very little screen time (sort of...Spoiler? ;D). He is shown in the form of his User, Alan Bradley in the real world, however the actual security program is shown only in flashbacks. Regardless, when you see him, you know it's Tron and he's here to kick some ass.

-Story: The storyline itself is disappointing in that it doesn't have much to offer. However, the ideas (which aren't necessarily well fleshed out or explained for a non-Tron fanboy audience) are really quite thought provoking. I don't want to go into detail to ruin it, but it is deeper than most give it credit (though I won't boast it having an immense depth, surely). The religious allegory returns and is easily applied.

-Father/Son Relationship: When Kevin first sees Sam again, you can see in his eyes a spark of disbelief and joy which he hadn't felt in what was, to him, an eternity. The resonance cannot be overstated and it is touching when they reunite. What goes from here is a tumultuous journey through not only The Grid, but through their personal pasts. They argue, they laugh, and you know that Kevin and Sam love each other more than anything else, and you get a sense of how much they've missed and needed the other. Many have claimed this to be weak in execution, but I feel like it was done just right. It wasn't over the top, nor was it incredibly subtle...just right.



Cons:

-Story: The Isomorphic Algorithms, the so-called "miracles" of The Grid and never quite expanded upon by Kevin Flynn, despite his claims that they are the key to changing human perception of the real world. Also, Kevin greatly stresses the importance of a certain object, but seems almost nonchalant about it when it's lost. The others are concerned with retrieving it, but he seems almost at ease with it being missing. Perhaps he had confidence in their escape from The Grid so it wouldn't be a problem, but it seems a little illogical on his part.


In all honesty, that's my main gripe. The story has a few logical gaps and doesn't give much needed elaboration on some of the more important plot points. Also, the painful lack of Tron, who is quite the valiant, strong character type I'd at least would have enjoyed seeing have a showdown with Clu at some point.

So, it seems rather obvious the film wasn't perfect, but it's also apparent that I enjoyed it thoroughly. I was pleasantly not let down by it and I'm already anticipating further viewings before it is out of theaters. This will definitely be a first day buy for me on blu-ray.

As a TRON fan, I love this film. All the references to the original (replicated lines of dialogue, characters, etc.) were wonderfully done and a nice nod to the long-time fans. I'm looking forward to a possible third installment, as well as the already planned animated mini-series and full-fledged series coming out sometime next year. For your average movie-goer, go for the visuals and the action...but for a Tron fan, go for that, but also for the characters you know and love, and some new ones for you to enjoy.



8.5/10.


A worthy sequel to the 1982 cult classic. While it's not quite as good, it also isn't far behind it. To me, the critics were a bit off base on this. They weren't wrong in many aspects, but I feel as though they missed out or downplayed the strong-suits and transformed them into negatives.



Some of my favorite quotes:



"You're ruining my zen thing, man."



"What's Wi-Fi?"

"Wireless interlinking."

"Wi-Fi? I thought of that in '85."



"I fight for the Users!"



"Sam?"

"Long time."

"You have no idea...You're here. You're here!"

"...I'm here..."



"The thing about perfection is... its unknowable and yet its right in front of us..."

Why do the critics keep bashing Tron with words like stench, flop, and failure? If it weren't for so many people still enthusiastically liking the movie for almost 30 years, TL would have never been made. Not many other movies can stake that same claim.

Tron is the George Bailey of the movie world.

Still digesting on my thoughts about Tron Legacy.

I can't say I really loved it-- but I'm kind of somewhere around on 8.0 out of 10-- (I can't score the movie accurately)

SPOILER... Mouse Over To Read:

The other problem. TRON. DEAR GOD. SHOW ME MORE OF TRON. Quite plenty of Rinzler but Tron? Flashbacks and that bit in the sea of simulation where he just falls in. Even Silver was like "Why didn't they show us his face again?" (And he liked the movie!)

My impressions are colored by the fact that I had to do with a junior novelization (without that last chapter: Disney = Troll) so I got pretty much screwed with the dialogue. (Protip: If anyone isn't aware of this, I'm deaf.) I had to literally guess some lines (my lip reading skills aren't perfect) while some lines I did know from people having commented on them from trailers/tv clips.

I just hope this gets open captioned! (There's a thing that my home city does-- random movie open captioned on Sundays...) I do plan on seeing the movie again because I feel that just watching it once doesn't do it justice.

The movie definitely hit the emotion notes for me, alright. I cried at Kevin and Sam's reunion (but I was left with a very sinking feeling of despair when Kevin sacrificed himself to wipe the game grid clean.)

The IMAX theatre in WIchita, KS was jampacked! And as far as I know, the tickets have been sold out for the weekend showings for that theatre alone o_O (I also got a lot of complements on my costume, hee hee)

Here, have a funny quote from Silver;
Silver-Streak: BRIDGES FIGHTING BRIDGES ON A BRIDGE


ETA-- edited my post because I got yelled at. -_-;

The desk would belong to Encom, not the CEO personally.