Tron is on it's way to become the most over-rated movie of 2010. It's a candy-wrapped insult to intelligence, as well as to the original.
First, the visual effects. Although they look stunning in their all-black-and-neon style, there's not much original about them. It's chases and fights like we've seen a zillion times before. The worst thing is that most original idea from the original Tron is dropped. In the 1982 version, the light bikes were making sharp 90º turns without losing any of their phenomenal speed, really like electrons moving over the grid of a computer chip. It gave them an unpredictable and dangerous feel, and the impression of an eerie universe where normal laws of physics don't apply. In the new Tron, however, everything looks much more realistic. The bikes ride like normal bikes, planes fly like normal planes, and people die like normal people. Except for the fact that they disintegrate into little square pieces... Whoo, surprise! What is supposed to be a world of competing digital programs, is just a dark street with people walking around in funny dresses and plastic umbrellas. Yes, it even rains, and there's bums with (how modern!) plastic bottles. The good guys are white, the bad guys are red. Except for that eccentric (read; gay) disco owner who turns out to be a traitor... No, I can't say I've been visually surprised once.
Then the story. It's the kind of script that does away with reason. Facts are stated in sentences like "My disk is the key!" or "The portal is only open for 8 hours!" or "It will change the world! Science, quantum mechanics, religion, everything!" without explanation. The most ridiculous are the "ISO's", some tribe of digital people who 'just appeared out of nowhere', whose last surviving chick becomes of major importance because daddy says she must -at all costs- become human. All for no apparent reason, other then filling a void script. But our adolescent hero doesn't need reasons or explanations, because all solutions to his problems are handed to him on a silver platter anyhow. When the going gets rough, there's always a car or a train or some pretty girl appearing out of nowhere to take him exactly where he has to go. All he has to do is comply. It's no adventure, it's plain boring.
But sometimes it looks nice. And the abundance of little stupidities in this film, like the paper pig they're having for digital dinner, make it funny. So I guess you could say it provides an enjoyable evening!
First, the visual effects. Although they look stunning in their all-black-and-neon style, there's not much original about them. It's chases and fights like we've seen a zillion times before. The worst thing is that most original idea from the original Tron is dropped. In the 1982 version, the light bikes were making sharp 90º turns without losing any of their phenomenal speed, really like electrons moving over the grid of a computer chip. It gave them an unpredictable and dangerous feel, and the impression of an eerie universe where normal laws of physics don't apply. In the new Tron, however, everything looks much more realistic. The bikes ride like normal bikes, planes fly like normal planes, and people die like normal people. Except for the fact that they disintegrate into little square pieces... Whoo, surprise! What is supposed to be a world of competing digital programs, is just a dark street with people walking around in funny dresses and plastic umbrellas. Yes, it even rains, and there's bums with (how modern!) plastic bottles. The good guys are white, the bad guys are red. Except for that eccentric (read; gay) disco owner who turns out to be a traitor... No, I can't say I've been visually surprised once.
Then the story. It's the kind of script that does away with reason. Facts are stated in sentences like "My disk is the key!" or "The portal is only open for 8 hours!" or "It will change the world! Science, quantum mechanics, religion, everything!" without explanation. The most ridiculous are the "ISO's", some tribe of digital people who 'just appeared out of nowhere', whose last surviving chick becomes of major importance because daddy says she must -at all costs- become human. All for no apparent reason, other then filling a void script. But our adolescent hero doesn't need reasons or explanations, because all solutions to his problems are handed to him on a silver platter anyhow. When the going gets rough, there's always a car or a train or some pretty girl appearing out of nowhere to take him exactly where he has to go. All he has to do is comply. It's no adventure, it's plain boring.
But sometimes it looks nice. And the abundance of little stupidities in this film, like the paper pig they're having for digital dinner, make it funny. So I guess you could say it provides an enjoyable evening!