The first TRON, being the universal flop that it was, is actually one of my favorite movies. It's a vastly underrated motion picture with some of the best special effects of it's time and an appeal that would lead it to spawn several video games and a possible TV show. So when I heard that a second TRON movie was in the works, I was very excited, but was worried that this sequel would not pull off the charm and heart of the first. But after seeing TRON: Legacy in all it's glory, I can honestly conclude that this film could very well be better than the first. Yeh! I actually think this film was better constructed than 1982's TRON, and after all this time, Disney has given us a sequel with not only groundbreaking special effects, but great character development and a story that won't send someone's head spinning.
First of all, I can say that this film has suffered from severe merchandising up the wazoo. You can't go through a toy aisle without seeing 10 million TRON toys lined among the shelves. Geez, I wouldn't be surprised if there was TRON toothpaste, or TRON suppositories, heck, even TRON pastries that make your mouth glow neon blue. But the movie makes up for it. And yes, folks, this is one of those films that requires you to watch the first film before seeing this one, otherwise you might be scratching your head in befuddlement. The special effects are where this film shines the most. You will never see as many flashy, neon, brightly lit, lights and effects in a film. They are especially breath-takingly awesome in 3-D! And imagine what it's like in 3-D IMAX. But I really liked the relationship between the characters, particularly Sam Flynn and Kevin Flynn, the protagonist from the first TRON.
I also liked the villain of the film, Clu. He's like an evil clone of Kevin Flynn, and I think the designers of this film did a fantastic job making Jeff Bridges (the Dude) look younger than what he actually is. It's even better than Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan's younger appearances in X-Men: The Last Stand. But my all time favorite part of the film was the light-cycle chase. It was epically incendiary to see all the tricky maneuvers and upgrades Sam and the others could do with their vehicles, another example of how CGI could be used the right way. But with all good films, there comes minor flaws. The pacing of this movie at times seemed a little rushed and some of the characters could have had a little bit better acting. Even some of the effects in this film were a bit unorthodox. But this movie as a whole was pretty darn good. I strongly recommend this film in 3-D and if you can, go see it in 3-D IMAX, because I'm sure that will be even better.
Now that TRON is in limbo in my mind, I think I will go and watch the first TRON again and maybe even go and have a look at some of the video games that have come out throughout the years. TRON: Legacy and Toy Story 3, in my opinion, are the best movies Disney has had released in 2010. Hopefully, the rumored TRON television series is on it's way, and I am looking forward to another TRON movie in the near future, because like I said before, you will never find a more retched hide of bright flashy special effects and villainy!
Michael Sheen was my favorite part of this film because he really represented the character of Zuse in a way that made the movie fun and exciting when it was lagging and too serious. I also thought it was funny how they made the comparison to Microsoft when showing the Encom corporate empire. I didn’t realize that the “big door” was in the original movie because I didn’t remember. I was only like 5 years old when I saw it. I watched it in HD 1080p, the same as Blu-ray with my DISH Network HD receiver on VOD. I love how the picture looks on my 82” TV because anything less than HD is not worth it; plus I get my HD free for life as a qualifying customer with a top package. Sweet!
ReplyDelete