main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Amph END OF LINE: TRON, TRON Uprising & TRON Legacy

Discussion in 'Archive: The Amphitheatre' started by The2ndQuest , Mar 8, 2010.

  1. Qui-Gon_Reborn

    Qui-Gon_Reborn Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Dec 11, 2008
    It's a cool idea, but Disney seems to be putting a lot of faith in something that might end up just like The Sorcerer's Apprentice. If the amount of views the trailer's had on YouTube is any indication, the movie isn't going to do fantastically. And yet they've got tons of merchandise on the official site; fiction books; non-fiction books; they pushed aside a Pirates video game that everybody was super excited about in favor of a movie game, and we're all familiar with the Movie Game Theorem; and now we're getting a TV series. I don't even know if there's that much potential in TRON as a sort of expanded universe. Why invest in a series based off a movie that may or may not be successful, rather than investing in a series based off a movie that's already been successful, like Pirates?

    Oh well. I suppose it's still a cool idea.
     
  2. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Supposedly it'll bridge Legacy and the second film of the new trilogy (should the film's success warrant a continuation).

    I guess even if Legacy underperforms, we at least will get this series giving us TRON that features more actual TRON ;).
     
  3. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
  4. Master_Jaina1011

    Master_Jaina1011 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 20, 2002
    Yes Tron thread!!!

    i already have my tickets bought for IMAX 3-D.

    My friends and i are immensely excited about this film. We saw the trailer before Alice in Wonderland, and proceeded from there.

    I just hope Disney does it justice...but the trailers so far look amazing!
     
  5. Merlin_Ambrosius69

    Merlin_Ambrosius69 Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 4, 2008
    Yeah, count me in. Trailer looks stunning.
     
  6. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
  7. Qui-Gon_Reborn

    Qui-Gon_Reborn Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Dec 11, 2008
    Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Can't wait.
     
  8. Ceillean

    Ceillean Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 13, 2001
    You know the really sad thing is that around here hardly anyone's even heard of Tron before. :(
    Growing up, I was such a Tron geek. :p

    I can hardly wait for Legacy. [face_dancing]

    And the OST is :cool:
     
  9. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Yeah, the preview clips of every track that Daft Punk put up online sound amazing, I can't wait to grab that CD on the 7th.

    There's been a few killer commercials airing on TV the past week or so, also. One focuses more of the "find the father" pager/aracde setup, another jumps right into The Grid/Flynn vs CLU stuff without any setup.

    There's alsoa TRON app out now that has some trailers, soundtrack previews and games in it (including a lightcycle game, naturally). There's also a podcast out with some preview clips (the Sirens stripping/fitting Sam, Olivia's character driving that lightbuggy while talking to Sam (she seems to be having a lot of fun, looks like she'll be bringing a lot of energy to things) and the Sam/Flynn meeting.

    Damn, this film just looks amazing. I'm trying hard not to raise my expectations to an unreasonable level, but it's been a very long time since I've gotten this excited over a film.

    Also, I can't help but constantly quote "Kevin Flynn! Where are you now!?" :D
     
  10. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Soundtrack is out now- it's really, really good =P~
     
  11. The_Four_Dot_Elipsis

    The_Four_Dot_Elipsis Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2005
    Word seems to be that the visuals are impressive, but the script kinda sucks.

    Yep, that's Tron to a T.
     
  12. Qui-Gon_Reborn

    Qui-Gon_Reborn Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Dec 11, 2008
    I have a hunch it'll be pretty enjoyable. If nothing else, the soundtrack is drooltastic. I haven't stopped listening to it since yesterday.
     
  13. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Only some advanced comments have been negative about the script- I suspect there's a few character moments punched up by the Pixar braintrust, but that the story overall is simplistic and the latter may be what people are commenting on in those reviews.
     
  14. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    Only review I've read so far says the films looks wonderful on all levels but lacks much in story and characters. But as the reviewer said and as others have said here, so did the original TRON. The movie can still be highly enjoyable even if it is just a long stream of fancy visuals.

    Plus Olivia Wilde is hot =P~
     
  15. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Well, the film is finally out. I caught it earlier this evening and I thought it was a really fun flick. Amazing visuals and music were a given, but while the script is nothing special, the story itself is just fine, and the actors make the characters quite fun (Olivia as Quorra brings a giddiness/innocoence to things that is refreshing, as is Flynn's "zen thing")- or at least do justice to their archetypes (Tron may have a dissapointing amount of "actual" screen time (more Bruce!) but he definitely IS what the character represents/is meant to be).

    Actually rewatched the first film right before seeing the new one, to catch my brother-in-law up for the showing- and there are definite;ly some great little details, touches and connections made that add a nice texture to things (the shelf cameo of the Bit, for instance) and actually counters some of the critical complaints about the film.

    (for example, some suggest the film has turned Flynn into The Dude- but it you watch the original, he does use the word "man" in the same context a few times, and has that laid-back attitude often; so it's not an alteration to the character, it's consistency- though they do take that facet of the character and take it towards the zen route in his older, burdened state).

    (though I've seen other complaints in reviews that make thems eem almost Ebert-esque in the "did you actually watch the movie because they explained that/actually did that? (one example being "in the first movie there was actually a real world threat/stakes to the events on the Grid with the MCP" which just makes me want to go "Did you not pay attention to the last 15-20 minutes of the movie that included the big 3D takes-up-the-whole-screen map that litterally illustrates the real world threat with narration from a 'man' yelling it out to a crowd of thousands?")

    I would have liked a little more real world endcap with the board members (especially ), but I suppose that will wait for the sequels/spin-offs.

    I was also a bit dissapointed that the computer 3D disclaimer about there intentionally being both 2D & 3D scenes didn't conclude with an "End of Line". MISSED. OPPORTUNITY.


    But, ultimately, I think what makes the film work is that the characters are actually having fun. They get that, on some level, it is a game, despite the more dire circumstances. They all get to have their Luke Skywalker "I got him! I got him!" exuberance- even Flynn, on occasion, remembers how to enjoy his creation.

    Sure, there's no one to go "Don't get cocky!", but I think that's rather refreshing- especially in an age of so many doom-and-gloom genre trends and heroes.
     
  16. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    I felt Tron was wasted in the film. He was present at the flashback about how Flynn Sr got trapped and Clu rebelled, but after that he only had about 10minutes of screen time and didn't live up to what I thought he should represent.

    Jeff Bridges did very well considering he had to play two halves of himself. It can't have been easy doing all that motion-capture stuff to play young-looking Clu (which wasn't that convincing IMO, especially when he spoke) but he pulled it off.
    The world does look spectacular indeed, but I did feel at times like in the original the plot was overly-complex and I hink casual viewers with little or no understanding of the franchise may struggle to follow it all.
    Also Michael Sheen had an over-long, hammed up and not very needed cameo.

    It didn't have the same problem I thought Tron had first time I saw it which was getting confused as to who was a program and who was a user since in the system world and in reality parts were played by the same actors.
     
  17. The_Four_Dot_Elipsis

    The_Four_Dot_Elipsis Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2005
    Well, there kinda is. There's basically that scene lifted wholesale, when Hedlund takes to the turret on that plane-thing.

    There's a lot of Star Wars-borrowing going on. Which is a shame, because that's a fertile Sci-Fi environment. The last thing we needed was another hero's journey rehash, especially one as inept and dull as this.

    I've already reviewed the film in the "Last Movie You Watched?" thread, but the more distance I get from it the more I dislike it. It has very little to recommend it. Not to mention the fact that this is the first time I've outright disliked performances from Jeff Bridges and Michael Sheen. Actually, everyone's terrible in this, apart from Cillian Murphy.

    I half hope that there is a sequel, just as long as those writers are kept away, and someone with a little more experience is brought into direct. Just because Lisberger's world is such an interesting one, filled with potential, but no one's been able to actually exploit it yet. Probably because it's a Disney property.

     
  18. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Well, what I mean is there's no cynic in the plane telling not to bring them down- they all get their "I got him!" moment of enjoying their actions.


    Clu, i thought, was surprisingly convincing (at least in the 3D screening- maybe 2D screens make him more obvious) except for the opening scene when he's talking to the kid and at the end when he's coming right at the camera into the portal light, as he looked very fakle in both scenes. The rest was surprisingly good, though.


    Ebert's review also mentioned thinking the plot was overly-complex (while others say it's too simple or full of too much exposition/backstory). I really can't see how that many people could get confused, so long as their paying attention to the movie- everything is pretty well explained in a blatant and simple manner.
     
  19. Merlin_Ambrosius69

    Merlin_Ambrosius69 Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 4, 2008
    Saw it last night in 3D. Liked it a lot, but didn't love it. Sam's entrance into the Grid and his assimilation into the computer world are breath-taking and immersive. The finale and climax are perfect, IMO, and all of the action sequences in between are exciting and visually beautiful, as well they should be. Also, the score is phenomenal.

    But the dialogue tends toward the dumb and contrived, and none of Sam's action-hero one-liners are particularly clever or amusing. The actors make it work, however; there's a great deal of nuance and character-driven emotion that goes into their delivery of those dumb lines. Tron, unfortunately, is under-used and his turn to evil and back again are not well-explained or given any kind of emotional heft.

    I think it's a good film, but not a great film. 3 stars. Subsequent viewings will modify that rating up or down.
     
  20. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2002
    I am trying to figure out why a story with no more depth than god/devil symbology is said to be weak or makes the movie bad. It was entertaining and had great eye candy. I call that a success.
     
  21. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    Transformers 2 was entertaining and had great eye candy, but it still sucked.

    Fancy effects, pretty girls and witty one-liners do not make a great movie, it's the way they are done and held together. Bond works with those things because it has substance, Tron Legacy is good but it lacks enough substance to make the story as sufficiently weighty as the director obviously wanted it to be.
     
  22. madman007

    madman007 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 22, 2007
    I saw it in IMAX 3D the other day and was impressed. It was just fun and thrilling to see the eye-popping (literally) effects. I don't go to 3D movies often. A lesson I learned from seeing Clash of the Titans this year. But if there was one movie franchise that was made for 3D, it's Tron. Another plus is the killer soundtrack, which I've already downloaded and am jamming to in my car.

    By the way, did anyone notice the name on the side of Sam's home/garage, Dumont? It was an homage to the late Bernard Hughes who played Dumont in the original Tron.

    For those who say the story is weak, go see The Fighter or some other Oscar bait movie. I'm all for a well-written story in a movie, but that's not why I go see Tron (or the last Indiana Jones movie).
     
  23. JediTrilobite

    JediTrilobite Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 17, 1999
    I really liked the film. Not perfect, but fun. My review: https://andrewliptak.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/tron-legacy/
     
    Jedi Knight Fett likes this.
  24. Mastadge

    Mastadge Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 1999
  25. Vaderize03

    Vaderize03 Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Oct 25, 1999
    Not only that, but it was a homage to the line delivered by Dumont to Dillinger in the original film, when he tells Dillinger that he "swore he was happier living on that old garage", to which Dillinger sinisterly replies "That can be arranged".

    Did anybody else feel like the club-owner program and his surroundings were a rip-off of the Merovingian and his pad from the second Matrix film?

    Another very subtle '80s reference: the pale lady who led Flynn and Corra to the club was named Gem. Anybody else remember the '80s cartoon of the same name, about a blond rockstar who wore earrings connected to a supercomputer which, upon being touched, would transform her using holographic technology into a super crime fighter?

    "Showtime, Synergy!".

    Peace,

    V-03