Most certainly not Oscar material… but I’m reviewing it anyway.
I recently saw the original TRON, and respected it for what it was: a film not made to showcase a strong plot or performances, but to showcase visual effects. Now, sure, computer generated special effects in 1982 are laughable to those of us in 2010, but if you put yourself in the right mindset, the TRON is simply stunning, visually. Not the best film by any means, but most certainly special, visually speaking.
I more or less expected TRON: LEGACY to be more of the same: eye candy all over the place, but not much by way of plot. For the most part, that expectation was met. I don’t think any of the visual effect employed in this TRON could be described as revolutionary, but there is certainly much to look at. The plot of the sequel more or less matches that of the original film (as is the case with most Disney sequels, incidentally), though certainly updated to modern times. The direction and performances by the cast are the standard sci-fi fare: certainly capable, though obviously not the draw of such films (though the choice to film the “real life” scenes in 2D and the Grid scenes in 3D is a fantastic choice by director Joseph Kosinski).
The star of this film, I would have to say, is the incredible score by the French duo Daft Punk. Electronic music is most certainly not my thing, but the overall sound is far more appropriate to the world of the Grid than any composer could make. The score is simply thrilling, the perfect compliment to the action packed light cycle and light jet battles, and all the other action sequences (of which there were many). Fantastic stuff.
In all, TRON: LEGACY was certainly an enjoyable movie, very typical of the popcorn-fare you’d find in the summertime. I would definitely recommend it to the sci-fi, geeky types. Just don’t expect an Oscar-worthy experience.
