Sunday, February 27, 2011

Sunday Movie: TRON Legacy

The greatest irony about the twenty-something-years-late sequel to Disney's "TRON" is that it will be someday as dated as its predecessor. And that time is coming sooner than most would think.

Let's look at the film itself:

Slow-mo Matrix fighting: been done for the last decade.

The impressive soundtrack by Daft Punk: a product of its times as much as Wendy Carlos' score was in the '80s.

Computer graphics: "Legacy" is beautifully rendered, but nothing beyond what we're capable of nowadays. In fact, the all digital effects of the original "TRON" were groundbreaking, and, even now, the graphics are stylish and "retro"-ish.

The movie is available in 3D, which I saw, but there was no shot that was too impressive using this technology. I was more blown away by the 3D trailer to "Tangled" than the whole of "TRON Legacy."

The film itself is a nice nod to the original while being a fairly strong film on its own. It's borderline re-make/sequel territory that "Superman Returns" hovered around years prior. I feel that Bruce Boxleitner should have been given a bigger part, especially considering that he portrayed the title character in both films. Do we really need a story revolving around Old Jeff Bridges fighting Young Jeff Bridges? No one asked if David Warner wanted a cameo?

It's definitely "TRON" for a new generation, which may have been Disney's goal in the first place, but sometimes stories operate better in simplicity, and that, for me, describes the original "TRON."

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