Loved the visuals, loved the sounds/music. Story was fairly uninspiring popcorn flick excuse for the action sequences, which were absolutely brilliant.
Overall, a big thumbs up from me, and I'll buy the blu-ray when it comes out.
Anyone else seen it?
Posts: 1323 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I was a bit disappointed. I just couldn't get my head around the anthropomorphized software and the story was pretty weak. Effects and music were great, but I was hoping for more.
Posts: 3275 | Registered: May 2007
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I went to it last weekend with a friend who asked me and my brothers out to a movie before deciding which movie to see (a practice that had hitherto been alien to me).
I never saw the first Tron, but I liked this one, despite a few problems it had. There's not much to say about the visual and sound effects that hasn't been said many times (though I really, REALLY liked the gladiatorial arena and light-bike segments, in addition to the climax towards the end). I also would like to posit that the "story weaknesses" everyone seems to be talking about are ill-founded. Here are the main problems I had with the writing:
1. It doesn't explain how you get a carbon-based lifeform into a digital form and (most egregiously) vice-versa. Though maybe this is explain or at least hand-waved in the first movie; I don't know. I'm sure Clu knew what the plan was when he was trying to lead an army out of the portal. I also didn't understand the nature of the humanoid "programs" and the script was vague on what was actually so special about the ISOs besides their potential to "change everything we know," though maybe I just missed it. The science is pretty stupid, but it's about as unstupid as it can get in a movie about a virtual world with digitized avatars of people. 2. The backstory, from the nature of the Grid to what happened to keep Flynn trapped in it, was explained very incrementally, and it was left to the audience to piece it together. I don't really mind as much when a movie does this, because at least it isn't insulting our intelligence by spoon-feeding us the obvious. 3. Plot devices that are very familiar to many audiences, from a pretty, selfless last-of-her-kind mysterious chick, to a dystopian world built in an attempt to reach perfection, to a blatant Star Wars parallel with Tron (the character). I think how well you accept these are largely based on the mood you're in when watching the movie. 4. Sam Flynn was kind of unlikeable until he finally got into the Grid. I understand in retrospect why they developed the character this way, and it really seems very clever now that I look back, but when I was watching the first half-hour I disliked the protagonist for his recklessness. 5. The good guys are all blue-white and the bad guys are all orange. Especially stupid when the good guys hijack an orange bad guy fighter, which promptly turns white. Wha?
However, I liked the relationship between Kevin and Sam Flynn once they met in the movie, and Olivia Wilde's portrayal of Quorra is great, with a fitting naivete for a being who never saw the real world, but an aura of someone who is inherently selfless and innocent, but capable in a fight.
Since I had no expectations, I ended up liking the movie, though I acknowledge that it is intended for a certain group of people and I'm sure a lot of critics will tear it apart because the movie isn't for them. I understand this movie was overhyped as a godsend to geekdom or something, when in reality it's just a good movie that some people will really enjoy and some just won't understand. I'm sure history will be kinder to this movie than the initial backlash to the hype will.
Posts: 1029 | Registered: Apr 2007
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The "digitizing" technobabble actually makes a fair amount of sense (for technobabble). In the first movie, the same company that's working on the computer system is also developing a teleporter, which works by scanning, digitizing and then rebuilding you. Flynn originally gets into Tron-world (does it have a real name?) by getting caught in some weird malfunction (or maybe the Master Computer did it on purpose, not sure).
If you have the technology to rebuild matter into teleported humans, creating an army out of digital beings isn't unreasonable. Granted, if you have the ability to build matter out of nothing.... that seriously is orders of magnitude more crazy than a computer filled with sentient people.
Posts: 4136 | Registered: Aug 2008
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The music was fantastic, the visuals were awesome, the acting was pretty solid all in all, and the plot worked fine for me. The 3D effects worked quite pleasantly as well.
Well worth the price of admission for me, I'd see it again.
Olivia Wilde was ridiculously attractive in this one too.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Got prepared by reading bad reviews, so pretty much enjoyed a fun action flick.
Loved the music and the blend of electronic/symphonic instruments. Only major beef was the lack of screen-time and the annoyingly fast resolution of the Tron character's storyline.
Watched House already, so not really getting the Olivia Wilde love Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006
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quote:1. It doesn't explain how you get a carbon-based lifeform into a digital form and (most egregiously) vice-versa. Though maybe this is explain or at least hand-waved in the first movie; I don't know. I'm sure Clu knew what the plan was when he was trying to lead an army out of the portal. I also didn't understand the nature of the humanoid "programs" and the script was vague on what was actually so special about the ISOs besides their potential to "change everything we know," though maybe I just missed it. The science is pretty stupid, but it's about as unstupid as it can get in a movie about a virtual world with digitized avatars of people.
Yeah, I was really wondering why the Iso's were "so cool." They seemed to be like the anthro'd programs to me, except that Flynn said they were "just there" and that they'd not actually been written by a user. Perhaps their ability to leave the grid as Quorra did at the end was what supposedly would "change everything?" Wouldn't that have been a fun twist -- that Clu wanted to take an army into the real world, but his programs couldn't make the jump and he'd killed all the Iso's that could have done it for him?
TBH, I didn't think too much about it. Hand-waved it off, as you said.
quote:2. The backstory, from the nature of the Grid to what happened to keep Flynn trapped in it, was explained very incrementally, and it was left to the audience to piece it together. I don't really mind as much when a movie does this, because at least it isn't insulting our intelligence by spoon-feeding us the obvious.
I like it when movies do this, and consider this to be a big plus.
quote:4. Sam Flynn was kind of unlikeable until he finally got into the Grid. I understand in retrospect why they developed the character this way, and it really seems very clever now that I look back, but when I was watching the first half-hour I disliked the protagonist for his recklessness.
Same boat here. I thought he was an arrogant jerk until he went into the Grid.
Something my wife pointed out to me after the movie was that he had this apartment that was essentially 3-sided and looked out on to this incredible view with a big tower in the middle of it, and when he got on Grid, his dad's living space was 3-sided with an incredible view including a big tower in the middle of it. she thought it was kinda fun how that drew a parallel between Sam and his dad -- they lived the same way, in spite of being in different worlds.
quote:5. The good guys are all blue-white and the bad guys are all orange. Especially stupid when the good guys hijack an orange bad guy fighter, which promptly turns white. Wha?
This is a carry-over from the 1st movie, which you didn't see, so you wouldn't know. But yeah, the programs loyal to the Master Control Program in the 1st movie were red, while the "free" programs were blue. Except oddly, the "bad guys" drove blue lightcycles while the good guys drove yellow, orange, and red ones. But anyway, at one point Flynn punched out a bad guy and due to the contact his lighting turned red. Later he hooked up with Tron and when he and Tron clasped hands he turned blue again. There really wasn't any reason for it to happen then either. I think that it was really just a way for us as the viewers to easily identify "good guys vs the bad guys." And it carried on through to this movie -- bad guys were orange, good guys blue.
quote:The "digitizing" technobabble actually makes a fair amount of sense (for technobabble). In the first movie, the same company that's working on the computer system is also developing a teleporter, which works by scanning, digitizing and then rebuilding you. Flynn originally gets into Tron-world (does it have a real name?) by getting caught in some weird malfunction (or maybe the Master Computer did it on purpose, not sure).
The MCP did it on purpose. My wife and I actually watched the original one the following day. I've seen it enough I remembered it all, but it'd been long enough for her that she kept getting surprised at points.
quote:If you have the technology to rebuild matter into teleported humans, creating an army out of digital beings isn't unreasonable. Granted, if you have the ability to build matter out of nothing.... that seriously is orders of magnitude more crazy than a computer filled with sentient people.
In the 1st, they kinda talked about this with the digitizing laser -- said it turned the matter into energy and stored it in the beam until the computer reassembled the molecules by extracting them from the beam. Legacy did had-wave it off, simply assumed that the digital avatars could come on out any time they wanted, so long as they ad Flynn's key. I actually did have to pull my suspension-of-disbelief hat down hard on my head to swallow that. It did make for a nice scene at the end when Quorra got to see her 1st sunrise, though.
*****
Generally I only see a movie 1x in the theater, if even that. I want to see this one again, so I think that means I really liked it, in spite of the flaws.
Posts: 1323 | Registered: Aug 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: I have to say this is the best music video daft punk has made yet.
Hahahahahahaha! Yeah, Daft Punk really did a great job on the music. It really carried the movie. The soundtrack only has about 24 songs on it, but supposedly there are over 10 more tracks out there that haven't been released.
Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Magson: I'm not seeing one, so...
Loved the visuals, loved the sounds/music. Story was fairly uninspiring popcorn flick excuse for the action sequences, which were absolutely brilliant.
Overall, a big thumbs up from me, and I'll buy the blu-ray when it comes out.
Anyone else seen it?
I was a big fan of the original and I had a lot of fun seeing Legacy.
Posts: 305 | Registered: Jan 2008
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[QUOTE]5. The good guys are all blue-white and the bad guys are all orange. Especially stupid when the good guys hijack an orange bad guy fighter, which promptly turns white. Wha?
This is a carry-over from the 1st movie, which you didn't see, so you wouldn't know. But yeah, the programs loyal to the Master Control Program in the 1st movie were red, while the "free" programs were blue. Except oddly, the "bad guys" drove blue lightcycles while the good guys drove yellow, orange, and red ones. But anyway, at one point Flynn punched out a bad guy and due to the contact his lighting turned red. Later he hooked up with Tron and when he and Tron clasped hands he turned blue again. There really wasn't any reason for it to happen then either. I think that it was really just a way for us as the viewers to easily identify "good guys vs the bad guys." And it carried on through to this movie -- bad guys were orange, good guys blue.
In the first movies Flynn was able to change colors and repair programs because he was a User. He was essentially coding on the fly. The Users are literally gods int he Grid.
Posts: 305 | Registered: Jan 2008
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