Buy4now
07-22-2010, 07:38 PM
I finally saw a full length preview of TRON Legacy when I went to see Prince of Persia last week. I've been really looking forward to this one coming out. I'm a little concerned that I didn't see a lot of familiar faces in the cast, so I'm wondering how well the script was received by the acting community. I was glad to see Jeff Bridges playing the role of Flynn again (he ain't the young college drop out that he played in the 1982 original, that's for sure). That was his breakout role, in my opinion.
The original TRON was ground breaking for its time. It was the first movie to use a 100% computer generated stage for the actors, iirc. It even predated the on-line gaming boom. Back then, if you wanted to play video games, you had to go to the local arcade... just like they did in the movie. It's become a cult classic period piece.
I'd recommend the original TRON to people (since this is the movie review section), but I'm just afraid it would look rather campy and basic by today's "sci fi" movie standards. The idea of an avatar inside a gaming/virtual world is commonplace now, but it was way ahead of its time back in its day (before The Matrix, Lawnmower Man, Avatar, and Disclosure).
Much of the appeal of TRON for me was the good vs. evil and the little guy vs. Corporate Corruption (it even has a David and Goliath parody... I hope that's not a spoiler for anyone that sees it... I don't think it will be).
I'm afraid the gaming scenes just won't stand up to the test of time though -- in the old TRON movie... or the new TRON Legacy. Back in 1982, audiences were saying, "I can't believe they can do that" and now audiences might be saying, "I can't believe they thought we'd be impressed by that". I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they do a better job on this sequeal than the did with The Lawnmower Man... woah, what a steaming pile of crap that was! They really waited a loooong time to come out with TRON Legacy... I hope they didn't wait too long (I'm afraid the skin tight suit might give Jeff Bridges' vericous veins some trouble... yikes).
I think it's funny that TRON didn't receive a nomination for "Best Special Effects" for 1982, because the Academy of Motion Pictures said it "cheated" by using computers to generate its effects... now that's GROUND BREAKING :)
The original TRON was ground breaking for its time. It was the first movie to use a 100% computer generated stage for the actors, iirc. It even predated the on-line gaming boom. Back then, if you wanted to play video games, you had to go to the local arcade... just like they did in the movie. It's become a cult classic period piece.
I'd recommend the original TRON to people (since this is the movie review section), but I'm just afraid it would look rather campy and basic by today's "sci fi" movie standards. The idea of an avatar inside a gaming/virtual world is commonplace now, but it was way ahead of its time back in its day (before The Matrix, Lawnmower Man, Avatar, and Disclosure).
Much of the appeal of TRON for me was the good vs. evil and the little guy vs. Corporate Corruption (it even has a David and Goliath parody... I hope that's not a spoiler for anyone that sees it... I don't think it will be).
I'm afraid the gaming scenes just won't stand up to the test of time though -- in the old TRON movie... or the new TRON Legacy. Back in 1982, audiences were saying, "I can't believe they can do that" and now audiences might be saying, "I can't believe they thought we'd be impressed by that". I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they do a better job on this sequeal than the did with The Lawnmower Man... woah, what a steaming pile of crap that was! They really waited a loooong time to come out with TRON Legacy... I hope they didn't wait too long (I'm afraid the skin tight suit might give Jeff Bridges' vericous veins some trouble... yikes).
I think it's funny that TRON didn't receive a nomination for "Best Special Effects" for 1982, because the Academy of Motion Pictures said it "cheated" by using computers to generate its effects... now that's GROUND BREAKING :)