So apparently prior to TRON coming out, there was a whole bunch of media exposure that I just missed out on. I don't watch TV too much and I'm not a big follower on YouTube. Roughly a month or two before TRON was released, there was a massive amount of media exposure on TV in theaters and online. A big chunk of it had to do with the fact that international techno sensations Daft and Punk were writing the soundtrack for the movie, or at least a good portion of said soundtrack.
So I missed all the hype. Which for me seems great because I didn't get over-exposed to the film like a lot of other people and was able to see the movie with dewy fresh fan eyes and not cold jaded reviewer eyes.
Ok so enough crap lets get down to the review: a good number of critics have put the spurs to the old girl and I think that's honestly a bit unfair. To be completely honest, having been based on a movie that's just 2 years shy of being 2 decades old, I think the movie is pretty damn good. It took a concept that wasn't terribly well fleshed out in other movies, books, or even games, except for the one back in 2003. So there is not a lot of source material for this franchise and while I will admit that this fact is evident within the film, I do not believe it to be a true impediment to the work as a whole.
The film is visually breathtaking, every element within the grid is beautifully rendered and it has managed to do what is probably the most important thing for a franchise like this: it took an old but well loved concept and managed to make it current with today's influences. All the visuals look right, there is the appropriate amount of cyberpunk influence, and there was no heavy handed approach to the fact that this story takes place INSIDE A COMPUTER. Now pardon the last bit of shouting, but if this movie was unrepentantly honest, the characters would be speaking in C++, or most likely Python at this point in time. Now I don't know about you, but I put English as my default language on all my digital devices, so all the coding nerds that might have actually understood complicated coding references can go.....vacuum something unpleasant with whatever orifice you find least pleasant for the task.
What this movie has done is truly noteworthy when you look at it as a work of art and cinema combined, rather than just on the face of it. As a work of art, it's beautiful, as a work of cinema, it is excellent. TRON has done something excellent in combining both of those things, which is impressive when starting small and trying to build an entire franchise. I'm not entirely convinced there will be sequels, but hey who knows.
Alright, time to kick this pig: as much as I've belabored the point, this is a good movie. You should go see it. Don't listen to all the critics that can't get past the fact that this isn't Citizen Kane inside a computer. That would make a pretty awful movie anyway. Go to see this movie because it's pretty and fun and full of excitement. Yes the story line is not intricate or complicated, but to be sincere, does it need to be? The answer is no. This is TRON, it looks pretty and it's enjoyable to watch. Also, don't see this in IMAX unless you really want to, but you SHOULD see it in 3D. I was not exactly thrilled with how much I had to shell out to see it in IMAX, but I would be perfectly willing to pay the extra $3.00 (depending on where you live) to see it in 3D.
Go see this movie: END OF LINE
NOW GET BACK IN HERE DILLINGER, THE MCP NEEDS A REBOOT ^_^
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