I had low expectations for Tron: Legacy (2010), so I was very happily surprised when I found the film to be both a strong bit of visual storytelling and a wholly engaging entertainment. It's a darker film, both in mise-en-scene and in plot, with its muted blacks and blues and its central saw of Clu building a mindless army of cyber drones to take over the world. Kudos to Disney for doing a good job with a sequel that, twenty-eight years down the road, did justice to a 1982 original that was so much fun when it was first released.
Jeff Bridges is so danged good in just about everything he does. The same holds true in this story. He plays a few roles here, with the help of digital enhancements to show age differences, and he does a fine job in carrying them out.
Garrett Hedlund was really good as Sam Flynn. He shows passion when he needs to and he always comes across as believable. He also makes the fight scenes fun, bringing athleticism to his performance.
I was wondering when Olivia Wilde would break into films in a major way, and her portrayal of Quorra here certainly shows she can do it with style. Her IMDB profile shows a lot of work coming down the pipeline, which is good. She's been excellent on FOX's House series, and I'm excited to see where this second career takes her.
The score, done by Daft Punk, was nominated for an Oscar. It deserved it, fitting the digital universe of this film really well. I loved the ambush sequence in Castor's nightclub, and the faceless deejays spinning (what else?) electronica up there in the booth.
The visuals are stunning, the stadium of "GAMES" really nicely rendered. I give this film a B+. I know it hung around theaters for only about a month last year and most mainstream critics panned it, but it's fun and it's true to the original film in style and substance (which is to say that both are unabashedly far-fetched sci-fi yarns; Roger Ebert really struggled with the logistics of the film, but I think he was looking too far into it).
The original was a cult classic that failed to attract a large audience. The same holds true for this film, although it's well worth your time and attention. Recommended...
5 comments:
I have such fond memories of watching Tron on VHS back in the '80s. I need to give this one a try.
Cheers!
Yeah, it's pretty good. I have those same fond memories. You know, Aaron, we now fall into the "of a certain age" category a little bit!
Oh, hush! You say "of a certain age" like it's a dark revelation of sorts. Hahah! I may not have been born when it was released in theatres, but I remember being a kid, sitting with my uncle and watching Tron for movie night at our house. Don't you be saying anything about age! :)
I liked Legacy. My boyfriend thought of it as a complete rehash of the plot. I think, though, he felt like that because I dragged him to a movie that he wasn't too much of a sci-fi nerd in which to be interested.
I guess I'm not too old yet (haven't yelled at the kids to get off the lawn, or pasted bumper stickers with my political leanings all over my truck yet)..:)
Love movie night with the family. Ours is usually Friday night. I'm taking Lyla to Blockbuster when the rain lets up here in a few minutes!
No, you're not old. This may be influenced by my growing up around people at least 13 years older than me, but old starts around 65-70. Just don't start with the political bumper stickers! Hahah!
Ah, I miss movie night! My boyfriend and I haven't done many movie nights because our difference in tastes. Go figure, he's a romantic comedy, chic flick guy. I do action movies, sci-fi, and period movies. It's very difficult trying to agree on something! :)
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