Movie Review: The Cine-Sib and MM Take On "Tron" and "Tron: Legacy"

I had initially reviewed "Tron: Legacy" here.  I had gone to see it opening weekend without the Cine-Sib, but over the holidays he really wanted to see it, so I went with him.  There was one big difference the second time around: he and I went to see it in 3D IMAX on a proper (i.e., 70-foot-high) IMAX movie screen (not a fake IMAX -- as the Cine-Sib and I call it, a "faux-MAX").  I liked the flick a lot better on the massive screen since then it really was the triumph of style over substance, but I'm thinking that I liked it better too for the company -- the Cine-Sib and our friends!  I'll give it a C+ the second time around while knowing full well this is a function of the IMAX.  Anyway, on to the Cinema-Mad Sibling's review!

Tron: Legacy 3D IMAX is the epitome of sensory overload, ushering viewers into a frenzied, hyper-realistic digital world with the most mind-blowing special effects ever seen, a game-changer in CGI, coupled with a rocking soundtrack from Daft Punk that assaults the audience with an audio-visual adrenaline rush; superficially slick but equally effective on a thematic level with familiar memes: creator makes life in his own image & encharges to him a given system; creation rebels; central is the father-son relationship amidst the prolonged conflict of diversity/anomaly vs. perceived perfection/uniformity, The Grid a cautionary tale of a totalitarian regime echoing our own human history where a misguided quest for the perfect system resulted in the genocide of millions. While the script/acting could have used refining & some CGI was uncanny valley, Tron is overall a rewarding experience, truly a proper legacy for a classic years before its time, raising the bar for the next quantum leap. (I wish I didn't spill my ICEE, though, 5 minutes before the show ... They did give me another one for free, LOL).  Grade: B+

OK, so the Cine-Sib and I argued about the grade.  Initially he had thought about giving it an A, and I was like, "Are you freaking kidding me?"  Come on, "Inception" is without doubt an A ... no, an A+.  Are you really saying that "Tron: Legacy" is a flick of that kind of caliber of craftsmanship?  Uh ... NO.  The sheer visual awesomeness of the lightcycle racing isn't enough.  Then we argued because I said he was too easy with movie grades.  "Have you ever NOT given an A?"  I demanded, and he said that he had, actually.  He gave the Johnny Depp/Angelina Jolie flick "The Tourist" a C.  Well, whaddyaknow?

Afterwards, we watched the original "Tron" at home.  Which brings me to ...

Nerdstalgia.

I have to say that the movie looks rather silly now, but you have to remember that it was made in 1982.  Back then, nobody had a personal computer; email for everyone, social media, blogging, and the Internet/digital revolution were all years away.  The movie really was ahead of its time, and it anticipated a number of fascinating technological developments.  The Cine-Sib and I were particularly taken with its anticipation of touchscreen technology.  The special effects were impressive for its day, and today they hold a certain kind of dorky, geeky retro charm.  

Watching it in 2011 is also a good bit of nerdy nostalgia and a look back at our childhood and the 1980s (just look at the clothes and the hairstyles, *giggle*).  I for one had actually forgotten that Jeff Bridges was young once; I didn't recognize him at first when he appeared on screen as Kevin Flynn (Bridges was 33 at the time). This Flynn had an energy and a sparkle that was entirely missing from the "Tron: Legacy" version that kept spouting bizarre psycho-technobabble ("bio-digital jazz"?  What?).  I was more taken with Bruce Boxleitner, who also looks impossibly young here as Tron and Alan Bradley; I remember him vaguely from "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" and fondly from "Babylon 5."  Boxleitner's pretty much assured himself a place in geekdom forever.

As for "Tron" itself ... Is it a "good" movie?  I suppose that depends on what you mean and what you're looking for.  I'd say that it's worth a look if only for its place in the history and evolution of the modern geeky moviemaking from ideas to special effects.  And because, be it 1982 or 2011, lightcycles are cool.