Okay, so let me be frank. Rather, let me be myself. I think that TRON: Legacy is far and away the best movie I've seen in a while. I like it much better than the 1982 original. Some would stone me for blasphemy because of this. Due to the fact that cyber-stoning is not a current practice, as far as I'm aware, I'm going to take the opportunity to explain myself here. If after reading this, any of you still want to stone me, you may feel free to do so in person at any time. My address is currently 126 Butts Wynd Rd, St. Andrews, Scotland.
So, lets talk about the original TRON first. TRON is a widely accepted cult classic in the sci-fi world. It was also a major hit when it came out. Why is this? Well, for the time, the thought of a completely computer generated world was beyond most people's ability to imagine, let alone create. Yet create one they did. They even went so far as to generate lighting effects on the unstable background of PEOPLE'S ACTUAL BODIES!!! Amazing! So, technologically, it was revolutionary. Groundbreaking. Eye-popping. Corn-popping, even.
Of course, it didn't end up with the fame and fortune of epics like Star Wars and Star Trek and while most fans of those two have seen and enjoyed TRON, there weren't nearly the number of fanatics that the space saga's gathered. Why? The graphics (relative to time) were better, weren't they? Wull, yeah... but nothing else was. The original was plagued by three major flaws. Bad story, bad scripting, and bad music. All three were sub par. So while I can slide back to 1982 mode and watch the movie and drool over the effects, the music, script, and story still leave me... wanting. And if I'm not in 1982 mode, I can't watch the movie at all. It's downright boring.
So, TRON: Legacy. Disney makes another sequel. Bizarrely enough, and for the first time (let me think, let me think... let me Google a few things...) ever, it's better than the original. Let's take a look at why, starting with the graphics. Amazing? Heck yeah. By todays standards, Legacy does the original proud. Eye-popping? Yeah. Loved the light cycle scene the best. Totally blew me away. That ten minute sequence would have completely justified watching the rest of the movie even if the rest had been produced on the budget of Manos: The Hands of Fate. Of course, it wasn't, and as a whole, the movie is simply beautiful to look at (Even if you can't get used to looking at Jeff Bridges cyber-makeup).
Groundbreaking, though? Revolutionary? Well, not really. At least, not in the way that the original TRON was. Sure, it took place mostly in a computer generated world, they did much better with the lighting on the outfits (motion-capture is an amazing thing), and as much as you may not like it, Jeff Bridges makeup looks much better than the joke of a production they used in Beowulf a few years back. But get real... Avatar. Nuff said. So on a generational level, TRON: Legacy doesn't quite live up to the legacy of TRON. But then look at the storyline. Oh my gosh. Character development that makes sense? A plot you can actually follow (gulp) the first time? And a script that doesn't make you retch periodically throughout the movie? Where people actually say things people would actually say? Yep. All true. That in and of itself puts it above the original.
And then the music, which for me is a pretty stinking big deal. I'm a music guy. I love music. Traditionally, I don't like Techno music, but Daft Punk did something amazing with the score for that movie. They threw back to the original, set their own new standard for awesomeness, and used technology and an orchestra which were blended together seamlessly. All in all, amazing. Not my favorite soundtrack, of course. But it's done well when compared to other movies I've seen in the past six months, stuff like Star Trek by Michael Giacchino, and Avatar by James Horner.
As a result of these three solved problems, TRON: Legacy far outshines the original TRON. Does not eclipse it, I still believe the original TRON is a movie that everyone should watch... once. And then they can enjoy TRON: Legacy for years to come. Just as a side note, I must explain what really sealed this all for me. I'm a nerd, and so of course I'd find TRON: Legacy highly entertaining. I mean, let's be honest here, the makeup of the TRON world is a very basic recipe for your standard nerd Mecca. But just a few weeks ago, I took my wife to see it just before it left the theatres. She loved the cheap (but tasty) popcorn, which was the only way I was expecting to be able to get her to sit through the whole thing.
But even after the popcorn was gone, she stayed glued to the screen for the duration of the film, even turning to me at times with her eyes wide to say something like "That was so cool!" or "That looked amazing!". Then, after remaining glued to the production through to the end (which, for a sci-fi movie, is actually pretty effectively touching), she leaned over to inform me that she'd almost cried. Yes, my wife, not a nerd, TEARED UP at TRON: Legacy! I was thrilled. She even says she's going to let my buy it when it comes out on DVD. So I figure that any movie as nerdy as TRON: Legacy is that can be enjoyed by your average human has GOT to be good. As such, I've added it to my list of sci-fi classics that everyone must see. Including you, so if you haven't seen it, well... do it. Do it now.
-END OF LINE-
So, lets talk about the original TRON first. TRON is a widely accepted cult classic in the sci-fi world. It was also a major hit when it came out. Why is this? Well, for the time, the thought of a completely computer generated world was beyond most people's ability to imagine, let alone create. Yet create one they did. They even went so far as to generate lighting effects on the unstable background of PEOPLE'S ACTUAL BODIES!!! Amazing! So, technologically, it was revolutionary. Groundbreaking. Eye-popping. Corn-popping, even.
Of course, it didn't end up with the fame and fortune of epics like Star Wars and Star Trek and while most fans of those two have seen and enjoyed TRON, there weren't nearly the number of fanatics that the space saga's gathered. Why? The graphics (relative to time) were better, weren't they? Wull, yeah... but nothing else was. The original was plagued by three major flaws. Bad story, bad scripting, and bad music. All three were sub par. So while I can slide back to 1982 mode and watch the movie and drool over the effects, the music, script, and story still leave me... wanting. And if I'm not in 1982 mode, I can't watch the movie at all. It's downright boring.
So, TRON: Legacy. Disney makes another sequel. Bizarrely enough, and for the first time (let me think, let me think... let me Google a few things...) ever, it's better than the original. Let's take a look at why, starting with the graphics. Amazing? Heck yeah. By todays standards, Legacy does the original proud. Eye-popping? Yeah. Loved the light cycle scene the best. Totally blew me away. That ten minute sequence would have completely justified watching the rest of the movie even if the rest had been produced on the budget of Manos: The Hands of Fate. Of course, it wasn't, and as a whole, the movie is simply beautiful to look at (Even if you can't get used to looking at Jeff Bridges cyber-makeup).
Groundbreaking, though? Revolutionary? Well, not really. At least, not in the way that the original TRON was. Sure, it took place mostly in a computer generated world, they did much better with the lighting on the outfits (motion-capture is an amazing thing), and as much as you may not like it, Jeff Bridges makeup looks much better than the joke of a production they used in Beowulf a few years back. But get real... Avatar. Nuff said. So on a generational level, TRON: Legacy doesn't quite live up to the legacy of TRON. But then look at the storyline. Oh my gosh. Character development that makes sense? A plot you can actually follow (gulp) the first time? And a script that doesn't make you retch periodically throughout the movie? Where people actually say things people would actually say? Yep. All true. That in and of itself puts it above the original.
And then the music, which for me is a pretty stinking big deal. I'm a music guy. I love music. Traditionally, I don't like Techno music, but Daft Punk did something amazing with the score for that movie. They threw back to the original, set their own new standard for awesomeness, and used technology and an orchestra which were blended together seamlessly. All in all, amazing. Not my favorite soundtrack, of course. But it's done well when compared to other movies I've seen in the past six months, stuff like Star Trek by Michael Giacchino, and Avatar by James Horner.
As a result of these three solved problems, TRON: Legacy far outshines the original TRON. Does not eclipse it, I still believe the original TRON is a movie that everyone should watch... once. And then they can enjoy TRON: Legacy for years to come. Just as a side note, I must explain what really sealed this all for me. I'm a nerd, and so of course I'd find TRON: Legacy highly entertaining. I mean, let's be honest here, the makeup of the TRON world is a very basic recipe for your standard nerd Mecca. But just a few weeks ago, I took my wife to see it just before it left the theatres. She loved the cheap (but tasty) popcorn, which was the only way I was expecting to be able to get her to sit through the whole thing.
But even after the popcorn was gone, she stayed glued to the screen for the duration of the film, even turning to me at times with her eyes wide to say something like "That was so cool!" or "That looked amazing!". Then, after remaining glued to the production through to the end (which, for a sci-fi movie, is actually pretty effectively touching), she leaned over to inform me that she'd almost cried. Yes, my wife, not a nerd, TEARED UP at TRON: Legacy! I was thrilled. She even says she's going to let my buy it when it comes out on DVD. So I figure that any movie as nerdy as TRON: Legacy is that can be enjoyed by your average human has GOT to be good. As such, I've added it to my list of sci-fi classics that everyone must see. Including you, so if you haven't seen it, well... do it. Do it now.
-END OF LINE-
And just to throw this out there as well, could somebody who knows something about programming please explain to me what the significance of the -END OF LINE- thing is? Or was that just some thing that Disney though sounded techy that they threw into the original? Or is it actually related to historical computer interfacing before Apple invented the desktop?
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen the movie. Don't know what you're talking about with EOL. But here's a random bit of useless nerd knowledge:
ReplyDeleteIn olden times, there were two ways to designate the end of a line in a text file. One was with a Carriage Return (CR) character, which was one of the 256 ASCII standard characters. The other way was with both a CR and a Line Feed (LF). At the risk of remembering wrong and losing my Master Nerd status, Unix and its variants used the CR, and DOS used CR/LF. Importing text files from one to the other OS caused screwiness if the text editor didn't convert properly.
Oh, and Star Trek made my wife tear up--IN THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES! But, uh, she's even more of a Trekkie than I am, so maybe that doesn't count.
After such enthusiasm, maybe I'll have to look into watching TRON. I'll borrow it from you.
First of all, "board"? It leaves you a slab of wood? It is "bored."
ReplyDeleteNow, end of line is a command equating a return or hitting the entry key, but for computer output to a screen, no input. In c++ the command is "endl". The way they use it doesn't really make sense, but it does have some basis in fact.
Yeah, typo. All the great writers have them. (Nephi and Mormon, to mention a few)
ReplyDeleteAnd some basis in fact it better than, say, wormhole mechanics as explained by Samantha Carter. Good to know.
Oh, come on Kam. It was a play on words. He meant to write 'board', as in a little stiff. Get it? It was great fun to read, along with the comments. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWormhole mechanics fix wormholes, right? Are you saying there's no such thing as people who fix wormholes?
ReplyDeleteNo, Ben, I'm saying that when Samantha Carter explains wormhole mechanics, it's not based in fact.
ReplyDeleteOh, and we watched the new Tron last night. It went from slow to frenetic and back many times. And we had to turn the bass down to keep it from turning our innards to mush. But it was fun. Well worth watching.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! It's like real time chat!
ReplyDelete(And yes, I knew what you were saying. I'm just being silly.)
Wait... Since when do you have a bass system capable of turning your innards to mush? I want to see it!
ReplyDelete