Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: TRON: Legacy (2010)

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Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 12-14-2010, 01:30 PM:

This film is one that MUST be seen in a film based IMAX!!! Not in a LIEMax or a Megaplex Digital 3D house. This film was ment to be seen on the BIG screen. It's loud, its visceral, and it fills almost the entire screen for 40+ minutes. It looks great, the added darkness of the glasses and polarizer don't hinder this at all. The soundmix is great here. I didn't really understand everyone going nuts over Daft Punks score. I'm not a fan of theirs but they fit well into this.

Now on to the draw back. The story is horrible and paint by numbers. This is alot like AVATAR in the fact that it looks great and is trend setting, but the story was left on the back burner in place of some good effects. The big talking point for everyone I think is going to be the "Young Flyn/Clu" Sometimes this looks really good and then others your like WTF am I watching, a video game cut scene?

Cillian Murphy has a uncredited cameo, and when Sam goes to the bar. Check out the bartender, its TRON director and creator Steven Lisberger.

3.75/5 [thumbsup]

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 12-14-2010, 03:09 PM:

quote: Kurt Zupin
Check out the bartender, its TRON director and creator Steven Lisberger.

That's a nice touch. [thumbsup]

Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 12-14-2010, 03:13 PM:

That is one thing they did do, there are a bunch of things from the first movie that show up one way or another. One of my favorites was the huge security door of the ENCOM building.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 12-14-2010, 04:34 PM:

..and no Dillinger (David Warner) since he wasn't bumped off in the original as was with Sark?

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 12-15-2010, 12:02 AM:

It was only implied that Dillinger was fired and disgraced in the original 1982 film. Further, none of the human characters "back in the real world" were killed. Just digital people, like what we kill in video games all the time.
[Big Grin]

I guess if they wanted to bring up Dillinger in the TR2N plot line they could have said he died of old age in prison. Note: I haven't seen the new sequel yet.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-15-2010, 01:34 AM:

quote: Bobby Henderson
TR2N

Type it like that again and I will hit you.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 12-15-2010, 05:48 AM:

lol .. that "TR2N" was the original idea in doing this sequel title..

It's gonna do good for the holiday season!

Saw it tonite on a DCI build preview in 3D ... Gonna now have to drag out the original on DVD to see how corny the original was made (even though, in it's time was quite the feat in itself..and being shot in 65mm) and see why it flopped so bad that summer of 1982..

..and now, it has the potiental to be a cult classic!

Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 12-15-2010, 07:04 AM:

quote:
..and now, it has the potiental to be a cult classic!

Hate to break it to you but it already is one. Thats why we got Tron Legacy

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 12-15-2010, 12:08 PM:

I caught the original TRON in 70mm at the Royal Theatre in the Waikiki district of Honolulu in 1982. It was the final film showing at this wonderful theatre before it closed and and was demolished and I was there for it's final presentation. I must admit, the original film had a lot of dazzling visual effects but the movie itself was a total bore for me. I thought it was the lateness of the hour when I saw it and I could have been tired so I rented the video and gave it another chance and I was still bored with the film. Honolulu no longer has a film IMAX theatre but only a digital 3-D house at the Regal Dole Cannery and I am on the fence if I should spend almost fifteen dollars to see something I might not enjoy again.

-Claude

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 12-15-2010, 02:07 PM:

Take the plunge Claude ... what's 15 bucks?

With the original being only 3 years after Disney's first Sci-Fi "the Black Hole", one can understand that some of the clumsy acting and storywriting from that movie carried over into the original "Tron".

This one is a lot better, not close to perfect, but better.

..and do agree what Kurt mentions: It does belong on an IMAX screen...

Posted by Jeremy Weigel (Member # 4208) on 12-15-2010, 11:01 PM:

I barely remember watching the original when I was 5 and haven't yet tried to watch it again all these years, So I went in watching this one pretty much with a blank slate. Visually it was fun to watch, but nothing we haven't already seen done, though I was impressed with how well they did with the CGI'd young Jeff Bridges. The score is also very impressive. As to the story, meh.

**1/2 out of *****

35mm
Dolby Digital

Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 12-18-2010, 04:36 AM:

****

I really enjoyed this movie. The whole 3D experience and everything, the only thing I wish is that I saw it in IMAX. Tron Legacy really makes it clear that there is a place for for 2D and 3D in movies, a 3D movie like this works. I also really liked how they filmed parts of the movie in 2D and the rest in 3D. The message at the beginning telling the audience that some parts of the movie were filmed in 2D surprised me.

Jeff Bridges is good as usual, it really appears that he acts like he has an Oscar backing him up (which he does). He comes across well in this movie. I didn't really care all that much for the younger Bridges and it really would make no difference if he played that part or not.

Olivia Wilde is sexy as hell and G Hedlund is good. I liked the score by Daft Punk, well done. (look closly, they cameo in the movie).

The story is ok, but I didn't go to see this because of just the story, the 3D really intersted me. The conclusion worked and the director did not leave a wide open cliffhanger for a sequel which was a welcomed surprise.

The Wilde/Hedlund riding off into the sunrise really worked.

I saw a lot of influences in this movie, I saw some Blade Runner, Escape From New York, Tim Burton, Batman by Nolan, Star Wars and more. This is a very dark movie with very few daylight scenes.I never saw the original Tron.

I really liked this movie.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-18-2010, 05:05 AM:

What is a Daft Punk? I know it is a band, but up until this movie I had never heard of them. Are they supposed to be well known or something?

Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 12-18-2010, 05:07 AM:

quote: Kurt Zupin
This film was ment to be seen on the BIG screen

Yes I agree. I really wish I had seen it in IMAX 3D.

quote:
This film is one that MUST be seen in a film based IMAX!

Is it actually showing in film based IMAX?

Posted by Jake Spell (Member # 5294) on 12-18-2010, 11:14 AM:

Got to preview this movie in an IMAX gone 35mm, so no 3D for me yet. My best way to describe it is a good movie with a great soundtrack and awesome visual effects. They certainly didn't seem as groundbreaking as the original 1982 TRON. I thought the music was excellent and really helped put me right into the movie. I really enjoyed it overall and seeing on a 70ft screen really helped.

6/10

Posted by Stu Jamieson (Member # 4626) on 12-18-2010, 10:41 PM:

TRON was made in a time (1982) when the burgeoning personal computer industry was new and exciting and video games were just finding their feet. Humanising our digital alter egos as Roman-style combatants in a vast digital arena was a new idea and helped to over come the fact that game graphics at the time were really not very good. The film allowed us to visualise these simplistic games in a new and exciting unattainable dimension via a film making process that was equally ground-breaking and exciting. TRON: Legacy, by contrast, is bereft of any new ideas, and this is its central failing.

It's remarkable that in a film founded on video games that we don't actually see a video game in the 'real' world of TRON: Legacy with the exception of the old, obsolete coin-op machines in Flynn's arcade (which, remarkably, still exists and still has the power connected). This is a strange decision on the part of the film makers and is symptomatic of the film as a whole. It seems that in the realm of Tron, the world has stood still when the reality couldn't be more different.

30 years after the original film and the combatants are still tearing around the Grid on light cycles and flinging frisbees at each other, it's as if there's been no advances in gameplay for a generation. Cut to reality and nothing could be further from the truth. Video games such as Surround/Blockade and Pong have long been relegated to the electronic dark ages, to be replaced by FPS's, RTS's, RPG's and sims. The question left unanswered by TRON: Legacy is what must these games look like at the quantum level? If Surround is actually humanoid programs murdering each other on phosphorescent motorcyles what must World of Warcraft look like? I guess we'll never know.

What made TRON an interesting concept was that it re-rendered popular games of the time as epic struggles of life and death within the digital realm. Electronic life forms were laying their lives on the line for the purposes of our entertainment. The player as a god controlling the destinies of hapless minions played nicely to the overt theological overtones of the original film and, to it's credit, TRON v2.0 continues this legacy with the Cain and Abel story, represented by Clu and Tron respectively. It's not quite as elegant, however, with it's disingenuous mash-up of creation and evolution.

The film relies far to heavily on the digitally realised Flynn/Clu. The inability of the computer model to convey real human emotions isn't quite there yet. The facade holds up as long as he is limited to short takes, but when the camera lingers on Clu's face, the deceit is obvious. It's possible to explain away Clu's phoniness by the fact that he is, indeed, a phony but in the high tech world being presented here, we'd expect Clu to be photographically perfect.

Furthermore, Clu's very existence is not entirely satisfactorily explained considering the character was "de-rezzed" in the original film. The new "Clu" is some kind of digital clone of Flynn but that means that he's not Clu from the original film, so why make the inference? It seems that Clu, like Tron, is merely present as a means to link this film to the previous one.

The core sin of TRON: Legacy is that it lacks imagination; something which its predecessor had in spades. It's largely a rehash of the action sequences from original film with an updated graphics engine and a revised plot filling the slow moments in between. It falls into stereotypical mediocre sequel territory - it's entertaining enough to watch but the nostalgia trip gets old quickly in the absence of anything new. Considering the considerable advances that have been made in the games industry in the intervening years, the scope for innovation was huge but TRON: Legacy is a mighty opportunity lost.

END OF LINE.

6.5 out of 10.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 12-19-2010, 01:46 AM:

...when Bally/Midway released the coin-op "TRON" game later that year of 1982, it was rather a confusing game to figure out.

But as vidgame junkies go, it didn't take long to get the high score..and I loved playing this game in local video arcades..

..and it was a nifty treat to hear the '80's tunes of Journey and others ... along with seeing the classic video games..

..but agree with what Stu posted above ... "TRON:L" fell into the evil "sequel syndrome" of the lack of imagination and originality to match the original.

Technical note: TRON is a BASIC command (TRaceOn) when running a line program, the user presses F7 to run this command to see which line is doing the operation. He presses F8 to (TraceOFF)

Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 12-19-2010, 12:26 PM:

quote: Tom Petrov
Is it actually showing in film based IMAX?

Yes, unless what I built and saw and run every day is an illusian.

Posted by Sean Weitzel (Member # 244) on 12-19-2010, 02:10 PM:

We saw it yesterday at the Regal Hacienda Crossings 21 in Dublin, CA in 15/70mm. Not much else to say that hasn't already been said. The story was weak, but the visual and sound made up for it. The presentation was perfect. I quite enjoyed it and will probably see it again a few times more.

Posted by Paul Gordon (Member # 3320) on 12-19-2010, 02:14 PM:

Star City Hull, Real D 3d Show.

Total piece of crap.... weak 3d, no new ideas... with all the new computer terms, devices, Wi-fi, the INTERNET how could they not make a good film.

My 8 year old niece saw this with me... here is her review: Why were the boring parts so long, and what was with Flynn's out fit, baggy pants, cloaks etc.. all they did was talk.

sad.

Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 12-19-2010, 02:54 PM:

quote: Tom Petrov
Is it actually showing in film based IMAX?

IMAX is film based. I don't know what you call that digital crap, but it's not IMAX.

Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 12-20-2010, 08:58 PM:

ummmm.... the story was kind of blah, but as others have pointed out the visuals and the soundmix were great - Daft Punk's music integrated with the visual effects was alot better than just listening to the CD album.

I can't really make a concise opinion of the image since one of the projector's was on the fritz, the Uptown debutted it's new Christie dual projector 3D2P system - it looked much better than past 35mm prints, the white's didn't bloom, and the blacks were inky and dark - but the image was still on the dark side - once the projector is fixed the brightness and odd fish eye curving near the edges of the screens will be fixed.

Uptown Theater (Washington DC) - DLP (REAL-D 3D)

Posted by Kori Marvin (Member # 5763) on 12-22-2010, 11:35 PM:

Watched Tron Legacy in 2D and thought it was great! The plot was "ok" but the visuals and the score by Daft Punk was outstanding in my opinion. Everything was great...I felt like I was in the world of Tron. I really cant wait to see it in 3D though! Very Entertaining! Also I thought Zeus was a great character and the two songs in his club were majestic!

Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 12-23-2010, 04:45 AM:

quote:
I really cant wait to see it in 3D though!

How come you didn't just see in 3D from the get-go?

I saw it first day in the afternoon and loved it!

Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 12-23-2010, 10:32 AM:

My guess would be that the Cadillac 5 got Yogi in 3D instead of Tron and that is why Kori watched Tron in 2D. The closest 3D screen that was playing it was probably in Traverse City and thats an hour away.

Just my guess though..

Posted by Kori Marvin (Member # 5763) on 12-23-2010, 11:40 PM:

Kurt, you are close! Actually our theater doesn't have 3D yet and yes I would have to take a 45 min trip north to Traverse City to see it...which I intend on doing soon [Smile]

Posted by John Davey (Member # 4828) on 12-25-2010, 01:59 AM:

Joe Redifer said "What is a Daft Punk?"

Daft Punk is a seminal electronic/techno/house/dance music act. They came to prominence in the late 1990's with songs such as "Around The World" and "One More Time", both songs using heavy funk/disco influences. Their style is hihgly regarded by electronic/dance music enthusiasts.

Posted by Thomas Pitt (Member # 4322) on 12-25-2010, 06:25 PM:

I too was intrigued by the "Some scenes are 2D" message at the beginning. It also instructed viewers to put the 3D glasses on and leave them on for the full duration of the film.

However, from what I can see, the first 25 minutes is in 2D only with no 3D effects at all (except for the TRON Disney logo). It only goes into 3D when Flynn gets inside the computer system, and then drops back to 2D when he escapes back to the real world.

I'd have done it with "GLASSES ON" and "GLASSES OFF" cues (like Spy Kids 3D), rather than having to wear the glasses throughout all the 2D scenes. I also would have liked to see it in IMAX, but didn't fancy sitting through 2 hours of movie in the really uncomfortable seats they have at my nearest IMAX...

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 12-27-2010, 04:11 PM:

CINEMA: 21st St Warren, Wichita, KS
AUDITORIUM: Warren "World Class IMAX"
PRESENTATION: LiEmax Digital 3-D
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: I've seen better quality streaming video
RATING: Two and one half stars (out of four)

You know how Cinemark's original Tinseltowns had a huge main auditorium with a curved screen and stadium seating that was elevated from the front row back...you actually had to climb stairs to access the front row, and the handicap seating was on the floor looking straight up?

This new auditorium (a ground-up build) feels a lot like those rooms, save for the entrance being three rows up from the front (which is probably STILL too close for the handicap seating). And it has a Warren decor package. With leather seats.

The screen is curtained before the show, of course, and is lit in blue by a row of LED lamps across the top and bottom. In a display of showmanship bordering on the ridiculous, they play the 2001 theme just before they raise the curtain and alternate different color LED's against it to the tympani beat. Yes, it's every bit as silly as it sounds. Yes, it received a round of applause.

A manager came out before the dramatic curtain rising with a live microphone to brag a bit about his new cash cow. He claimed the screen was actually BIGGER than IMAX specifications (because the digital picture wouldn't look ridiculous enough, I guess), and that this room was the top grossing TRON auditorium nationally. I guess...$12 per ticket on a Monday afternoon and it was sold out.

The bathrooms on the new wing aren't even remotely close to adequate for this room.

I was in the third row in the lower tier. Parts of the screen were actually outside the borders of my 3-D glasses. Screen door effect was obvious through the feature and trailers when I was lucky. When I wasn't lucky, the image looked like an extremely digitally zoomed JPEG. The 3-D effect largely didn't work for anything I wasn't looking directly at...it just looked like a double image. This was just godawful bad.

The sound was good. Serious subwoofer.

THE PLOT: An open-source universe is corrupted. That THAT open-source hippies! Wackiness ensues.

I saw the original "Tron" in its theatrical release and can barely remember anything about it save for the existence of Flynn's Arcade, a Journey song, and the light cycles. I remember being sort of confused after watching it.

So here, Flynn's Arcade is back, a Journey song is playing, and there's light cycles. And discs. And a really silly fucking script. Yay.

I felt two things really needed to happen at the end of this movie for me to give it a better rating, and neither one did. Whatever.

Posted by William Del Valle (Member # 3569) on 01-02-2011, 08:16 PM:

Went to see It on opening midnight show. But first had to pull and view my print of Tron. Good thing, So much of LEGACY refers to the original. They never explain, Figuring you already know.

The story was weak, but like the original the CG is groundbreaking.

Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 01-03-2011, 03:17 AM:

I am really glad to see Tron Legacy has now hit $240 globally in sales. Should finish around $325 which is damn good IMO as a lot of people wanted this movie to fail.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 01-03-2011, 05:34 PM:

I made more than that in my last paycheck.

Oh... you meant $240 million. [Razz]

Posted by Eric Robinson (Member # 2966) on 01-06-2011, 12:38 AM:

Booooooring.
Actually anooooying.

Posted by Lionel Fouillen (Member # 1475) on 01-06-2011, 05:03 AM:

Extremely disappointed as well. Saw it in Dolby 3D two days ago. Boring script, if I may call this a script. Nothing new. Dark aesthetics getting even darker in the weak contrast/light of digital cinema. Poor exploitation of 3D.

Not even a bunch of Lemmings toasted in the game arena for a touch of fun. [evil]

It was interesting though, to see Dillinger's son as a member of the company's board. Did you notice how they even made him look like Bill Gates when he was young ?

It was such a delight to watch again the DVD of the 1982's TRON last night. I had loved the film when I saw it at the theater back then. I was 12. It was indeed the beginning of personal computing and I remember some adults after the projection, talking about the fact that they didn't even understand the film. [Smile]

Posted by Eric Robinson (Member # 2966) on 01-06-2011, 01:57 PM:

If "Tron Legacy" process ID = 100
then kill -9 100
END IF

In my opinion

Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 01-11-2011, 01:06 AM:

quote: Lionel Fouillen
It was such a delight to watch again the DVD of the 1982's TRON last night

TRON Legacy in 3D was much more entertaining than the original TRON which I found boring as hell. That's just my opinion.

Posted by Dwayne Caldwell (Member # 417) on 02-20-2011, 08:40 PM:

Man this movie was awesome!!! See you guys in a year or two. [Smile]