(ree:watch review) - Tron: Legacy

I started writing reviews a little while back, and there was a time when I was not as consistent as I try to be now. I only wrote about movies to start off with and had no intention of writing about anything else. Around 6 years ago, I decided to add trailers and TV shows to the mix, and I am glad that I did because not only do I enjoy watching TV shows as much as Movies, but the world fell into a pandemic, and at least I were able to remain busy. As Tron: Ares is due out soon, and in fact, is out now from the publishing of this post, I thought I'd go through my archives to see if I had previously reviewed the movie, considering I had seen it before and, I am ashamed to say, this movie review has been sat in limbo since 2011 and I am actually very disappointed in myself because of this. These limbo reviews of mine sit there until I find the time to start and/or finish a review so I can publish it. Of recent I have tried to stay on top of this so I do not have many movie reviews sitting in the void space I have created, but sometimes, with all that is coming out, I am watching, LIFE is also getting interwoven with the time I can use to review, thus delays, however, I am going to try and keep on top of it.

I wanted to knock out a review when I saw it and retroactively post the review, but 2011 was a very long time ago and my memory of then and now having just rewatched the movie, my thoughts would be skewed, so...why not just do my reewatch review as I was going to anyway, whether I had previously reviewed it and published it or not. So here it is.

This movie picks up some time after the events of the first movie, and Kevin is famous, runs the company and has a child named Sam. Kevin is telling Sam, as a boy, about 'The Grid' and Tron, his creation and what the grid is like. Kevin rides off and is never heard of again, and is speculated to be lost within the grid. Rebellious Sam, now older, receives a message to go to his dad's old office, only to go there and be digitised and pulled into the very same computer system his father had been rumoured to go missing in, and Sam must now fight for survival just like his father did all them years ago.

So what I do remember about this moving back in 2011, was that it was a huge upgrade from the first movie, everything looked slick and stylish, the special effects were top-notch, but I hated the Clu and the process they do to make an actor look younger. I do not remember if they gave it a term back then, but it was creepy, but maybe that is due to not having the capabilities they have now. The uncanny valley of it all just made it creepy, and I remember leaving the cinema thinking, kinda enjoyable but also very creepy and weird. It just felt forced, so I did not like the movie, although I found elements of it enjoyable, such as the look of it. I may have even said it was rubbish and felt that it was more style than substance. This time around, I enjoyed it.

Watching the second movie after the first, pretty much back-to-back, was great. And although I thought the film was very stylish and slick back then, and still very stylish and slick, how they made the computer world look very modern and that Kevin's programme, Clu still looked creepy, maybe I have seen worst since, gave it a pass or simply got used to it as it did not bother me as much this time around.

I came to realise the limitations of the 80's meant that there always was a Clu in the original film and the deaging technique was not used, but this time around, whilst not upto the standard of film in 2025, I got used to it and for all intents and purposes, fed into the story, so it wasnt as forced as I thought it was all them years ago.

The music is great! Scored by Daft Punk, and they are also in the movie, as essentially, they fit right in. Their scene is shot alongside Michael Sheen and Olivia Wilde before Jeff Bridges turns up. It is essentially a "club" scene that now reminds me of a John Wick club scene. The music laced throughout this movie hits hard and back then, was the unique selling point of the movie, but this time around, still is along with the digital upgrade, but the story isn't as bad upon the rewatch and it is likely the film was given a hard time because of the deaging and the "forced" storyling and Clu element to it, but for me, I've come to realise that the story is about creativity and perfection as sometimes as a creative person, you strive for perfection, but you may not ever know what perfect is, and that was the downfall of Kevin as he wanted perfection, Clu was assisting him with that at any cost and stuck to his programming without evolving.

In the end, Tron: Legacy is a good film. There is a decent story to it, but the film does indeed lack a little depth. The special effects are great and very well stylised and visualised. The new vehicles are excellent, and the way people break down as shattered glass is wonderful to see. The shots are beautiful too. The Grid is a dark yet beautiful place. I just hope that if we do revisit the Grid in Tron: Ares, we get to spend more time there and see what that world has now become. Seeing the first movie isn't necessary to watch this one.

(ree:watch review) - Tron

If you are around my age, Tron was THAT film! It came out in the 80s, it was about computers and if you were a child like most of us around that time (especially with home computers not being a household item at that point or computer consoles, and the only computer type experience we had were arcade machines, work desktops and maybe a couple handhelds), all we knew were computer graphics, special effects and digital stuff to do with computers that we couldn't quite possibly understand very well, but we understood what we thought was cool, like the Light Cycles. The Recogniser looked menacing, and the way everything seemed to operate and move as if in a video game, the thought of that as a child, being in a world like that, was amazing, exciting and cool. Plus, we were young with a childlike wonder to it all. So, while Tron remains a staple favourite in our hearts since our childhood, how many times have you personally gone back to it, and does it actually hold up? I hadn't and no. No, it really doesn't.

Kevin Flynn is a talented computer programmer who works for a company called Encom. Having created some games for them, Kevin goes looking for his stolen work in the company's computer program, a computer world called The Grid, but when Kevin is digitised and transported to the Grid itself, Kevin must fight for survival, defeat the Master Computer Program with the assistance of a security program named Tron.

It is not trash; it is dated and does not hold up very well at all, but with all that said, very much ahead of its time. When I was younger, I couldn't quite understand anything beyond a man being pulled into a computer game world and fighting for survival to get out. Upon the rewatch, I couldn't help but to think of all the other films and projects that have been influenced by this film, from 'Wreck It Ralph' to 'Reboot', and I loved Reboot. It is very possible that this film was made because of the cool concept that it had, and a decent story than them knowing exactly what they were talking about or maybe the computer jargon was the understanding of that time considering a lot of time has passed, and when we talk about computers now, the jargon used is very different, especially as computers have evolved greatly since. I understood there were people living in the machine, but not necessarily as Artificial Intelligence. However, this time around, rather than thinking the MCP was just an evil or a bad program developed for the system, the program developed intelligence to manipulate real people outside of the computer world and eventually became SkyNet, (I kid). And chances are, they knew exactly what they were doing, making this film, and as computers evolved over time, our understanding of computers grew, too.

The special effects are dated, but the concepts are sound. The special effects were also great for that time, as with the light cycles being the standout back then, and the standout now. I mean, it all looks dated with the right-angled turns as if you were playing 'Snake' on the Nokia phone, but even now, it is still cool on the rewatch. The recogniser is cool and menacing. We are only limited by our imagination, so when you do see the sequel, you realise how far they have come to imagine what they can do with computers, technology, graphics and vehicles.

The music is definitely trash! I will not skip a beat in stating that, and it is a product of its time. Strangely enough, trying to watch The Running Man lately, and that sound is stuck in my head, and the sound is very similar to the sound in Tron. That was the sound of the future, of technology. The film has a slight vibe of Star Wars hinted in the movie, but Star Wars had a score; this is just laser-type synth sounds that are definitely a product of the time, where future sounds now in 2025 is nothing of the sort, there is a variety of "future" sounds.

I do not believe you necessarily need to watch this movie to understand future films such as Tron: Legacy, and I have not seen Tron: Ares yet, but this movie is a nice to know, before going into Legacy, rather than a need to know, and the same might just be for Tron: Ares. It's entertaining, a touch boring because it is dated, the story is decent, but it is a good watch nonetheless.