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Review of the Tron: Legacy Preview
We saw 20+ minutes last night, and here what’s we thought
Photo: Disney
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Anyone who says they really like the original Tron is lying, no matter how nerdy. No one really likes Tron. Maybe in an ironic or nostalgic way, sure, but the film’s not good enough to be truly liked. So, who is Disney’s Tron: Legacy going to be marketed to? That’s what I kept thinking about before last night’s 23 minute sneak preview of the film, set to be released on December 17.
For those who haven’t seen Tron, here’s a brief plot of Tron: Legacy, which is largely similar to the original: 27-year-old Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) wonders what happened to his father, Kevin (Jeff Bridges), who has mysteriously vanished. After being visited by Kevin’s right hand man, Alan (Bruce Boxleitner), about a secret page, Sam goes to Flynn’s Arcade, owned by his father, and finds a secret room. Long story short: Sam is transported into Tron World (not its real name) to find his father and fight his way out. Disc Wars and motorcycle chases on a literal light grid ensue.
I saw the film in IMAX, which is—put it this way: when you’re watching a film that’s all about the visuals, you should see it in the biggest, loudest way possible, which is what IMAX is. Trust me, when you purchase tickets, purchase them for an IMAX theater, although I’d probably say that for any film.
As for whether you should purchase tickets at all, well, I was a little disappointed by the footage. I came in expecting something that looked cool with poor acting, but the opposite turned out to be true. The images didn’t wow me as much as I thought they would and the acting was better than I thought it would, especially from Hedlund.
Granted, Hedlund’s no Brando, but the look of Tron is so bleak—every scene is incredibly dark, and, with the exception of the glowing blue and orange of the costumes, there’s barely any bright light—that you need someone to lighten the mood. I thought Hedlund, who looks a lot like True Blood’s Ryan Kwanten, did just that, and his briefly seen chemistry with Olivia Munn seems genuine enough. We didn’t really see enough of the return of Bridges to know what’s going on him, other than he’s older and likes to meditate.
The fact that I’ve spent so much time on the acting in a $170 million blockbuster probably says something about the film itself. Of the scenes we saw, only Disc Wars looked truly beautiful. The others, including the racing grid scene, left me feeling a little underwhelmed, especially one segment where Svedka-esque androids change Sam into his Tron World suit. It felt like the world’s most disappointing Michel Gondry music video.
It’s tough getting into an action film when all you see is snippets; would the Hoth battle from Empire Strikes Back work if all you saw was five minutes of it? And to Tron’s credit, I did find myself more invested the longer the scene went on, to the point where I felt disappointed when the screen faded to black and went to another section of the film. But something still felt off. Ironically, for an anti-technology movie, it feels like computers had more to do with its creation than humans. Daft Punk’s score, on the other hand, was awe-some.
As for the original question: it’s too dark to be a kids movie, so, although I think it’ll do well, it won’t be the next Pirate of the Carribean. There’s no Captain Jack Sparrow here. I think we’re at the beginning of the False Nostalgia-era of films. No one really wanted another Tron movie, or an epic based on the board game Battleship, but we’re getting both of them, and they’ll both be incredibly successful. I’ll be there for both of them (although, in the case of Battleship, mainly for the duo of Tim Riggins and Eric Northman). I blame VH1 for this. Because of all those I Love the Decade specials, which were a major hit, adults remembered where they were when Tron came out, even if they didn’t care at the time, and youngsters like myself were essentially told, “Remember how cool this was!” even if we weren’t alive for it.
I’m getting way over my head here, especially for a review of a 23-minute preview of a Disney film, so I’ll recap: looks cool on IMAX, but not sure if cool enough that it’ll translate to smaller screens; surprisingly good acting; and Daft Punk’s awesome.