Last night some friends and I went to the Rave Theater in downtown Kalamazoo to see Tron: Legacy for the sneak-peak midnight showing. I have to say that I was filled with trepidation surrounding this movie, since I absolutely cherished the original Tron movie from 1982, I was utterly terrified that they would jump the shark and make this movie a wretched retread and try to drive it like Disney drove Tron back in 1982. I can say that I was happily surprised. The movie was very well done. The plot I can appreciate, it’s rather fluffy in places but does have some slight surprises embedded in it that make it a more complex story than the original beloved movie had.
The absolute best part of Tron: Legacy was the soundtrack/score. Daft Punk established the atmosphere of the film nearly pitch-perfectly with their soundtrack. Without the soundtrack the movie would be an utter mess. It’s a gestalt thing I think, the video and audio are passable on their own, but when together they make something that is way more than the sum of the parts. I did feel chills/tingles for many scenes and that’s what I use to gauge just how good a movie is. If it can affect me on that level then the storyteller did something right and I think they should be rewarded for it.
Now Tron: Legacy does have some negative aspects, at least for me. Chief amongst it was the CGI rejuvenation of the lead actor, Jeff Bridges in the few opening scenes of the movie. This is purely a “me” problem, as nobody else seemed to be as upset by it as I was, but when the camera swings around and you have to contend with a digital simulacrum of a well-known actor there was a part of my limbic system that wanted to scream, vomit, and flee. Thankfully the unbearably inhuman simulacrum only lasted for one short scene and after that I was much better. For some reason the same simulacrum which was used repeatedly in the movie for another character didn’t affect me as strongly as when I first saw it. I think, for me, when the scene with the father and son is playing out, the plastic-man-rubber-face’ness of the digital simulacrum hit me square on. I think it was a situation/context issue, that the intimate and tender scene in the beginning clashed so violently with my inner revulsion that the upsetness of the fakeness joined with the clash from the context just pushed my already jumpy limbic system nearly to the edge. It was an odd sensation. I had this distinct urge to stand up and do something, and the fact that I wasn’t just added to the overall discomfort. In no way would I expect this outcome to be true for anyone else, this apparently is just my very instinctual response.
In general I give Tron: Legacy a solid 8 out of 10 stars. What the digital simulacrum took out, the score and soundtrack made up for and then some. I can recommend it at 2D and 3D for full price and come away feeling good about the experience. They honored the original Tron, and for that I am very thankful.
