You know, it’s funny…
It’s funny how your opinion on something, changes, evolves, and establishes itself. Point in case, sequel to the old cult favorite Tron, Tron Legacy.
I just rewatched this movie, and it has brought about 2 reviews. One, this review of the film itself. The other on the soundtrack, which you will see in my other article.
When I first saw this movie, I was on IMAX in 3D. I have faith in Disney, I like Jeff Bridges, and I felt Garrett Hedlund was a good up and coming actor (and still hope to see him in more) – and let us not forget the beautiful Olivia Wilde. Considering I had high expectations for it (as I was hyped up from the trailers), I have to say I thought it was pretty good. That is to say, when I usually get hyped up, it fails to meet its expectations. I enjoyed the visuals, the story wasn’t horrible, it kid in me enjoyed a sequel to a childhood classic (Tron), the music was obviously awesome and the 3D was the best of its time since Avatar.
At the time, I would give it probably 6.5-7 out of ten (which is pretty high, considering I leave 10 for my exclusive top 10 movies).
Excited as I was, I purchased the Blu-ray as soon as it came out. I invited some of my close friends over to watch. I was proud of my 46″ Panasonic, and my Onkyo reciever (at the time), and always enjoyed “showings” at my house. And as much as I loved watching it again, the movie felt a little slower. The lack of 3d clearly had an influence on the movie as a whole, and well… it just wasn’t the same. During the second viewing, I think I would give it a 5.5… something a little better then mediocre.
Now, almost two years later, here I am watching it again. Why? Cause lets just say my “entertainment” center has advanced to a whole new level. I now own the best rated 3D HDTV (Panasonic PVT, 65″) and one of Pioneer’s high end 7.1 surround sound receivers. And with the new 3D television, I’ve been buying/re-watching some of what I considered the better of 3D movies.
So… 3rd time a charm? Yes. Yes it was. Let me just say that my television ROCKS! And the 3D quality is absolutely amazing. And I wont even get into the awesomeness of my sound system. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed Tron Legacy. This time around, I got to notice some of the things that actually made this movie great.
Story-wise, it may not have been anything mind-blowing, but it was still great. And the “spiritual” connotations of a God/creationist story actually give the movie a bigger importance then your average good guy – bad guy action film.
Garrett Hedlund’s performance was actually impressive, and Jeff Bridges is always a pleasure to see. And even simple things, like Olivia Wilde’s “innocent” character, fit in to the bigger picture. The costume design, set decoration and effects (not to mention the girls) make this movie feel… Sexy. In a cool way.
But what makes this movie great, isn’t the story itself… its a “artistic” view. By this I mean that the movie felt like I was doing 2 things – watching a painting and listening to a concert.
You see, visually, as I noticed in the 2nd viewing, the 3D does indeed make the movie. The cinematography, beautifully orchestrated to take advantage of the 3D quality, makes the entire film spectacular. In addition, the soundtrack is provided by the one and only Daft Punk. This might be biased on my side, as I consider them one of my top five bands… and their ability to change their “form” and create a soundtrack is absolutely commendable and outstanding (something I talk about in my other article).
All in all, watching the movie in 3D, sound blasting, was a super great experience – I think this time around I enjoyed it even more then the first and am giving it a 7.5.
If you haven’t seen it, watch… more importantly, try and watch it in 3D.
~mozeus
