TRON: Legacy

Kosinski will (probably) remain a one-film filmmaker. Whoever watches his commercials on YouTube and then Tron Legacy will understand that this director is a design genius with a unique sense of visuals, which is perfectly emphasized by Daft Punk's music, but he is also an absolutely bland storyteller. The attempts to create something epic are very funny, whereas the rest of it is kind of dysfunctional. And yet, unless you might want a serious cinematic adventure, it doesn't let up because the primitive plot actually doesn't hurt the film at all. Regardless, there are two ways in which the film can be seen. Either just "watch" it (perhaps in HD over time), or "experience" it in 3D (and I say that whilst having quite an aversion to this technology as a cheap decoy from clueless filmmakers). (05/01/2011)

Can you imagine what this technological and design gem would be like if it met the usual requirements we have for movies? It would be as great as a film with a well-developed, deep story equaling TRON in imagination, design inventiveness and a futuristic vision. Notice the details (the dashboards of the flying ships, motorcycle designs, the glowing lining of the costumes and the way the characters dissolve into pixels after being hit with a disc), seamless integration of these details into rides, flying and balletic fights, and the synchronization of this elegant visual dance with the majestic electronic music. Just ignore the dumb catchphrases along the lines of “You gotta be kidding me” and enjoy the answer “Fasten your seatbelt!” to the question “What is your name?” Whether you think TRON: Legacy is stupid or not, it is a filmmaking event, the only movie of its kind. (17/12/2010)

The bearded Jeff can be nice. Computer Jeff is Guignol (almost like the Nordic model from the luxury perfume commercial in the lead role). To his detriment, Tron has a lot more Guignol in it than bearded men. As a visual story full of reflections and light contrasts, it is watchable, but unfortunately, in terms of the technical design there is only a pile of boring copies of real masters of imagination. Tron doesn't have one of his own, just the one on loan. And also not very luxuriant. But in this year's competition "pass", not "fail". P.S. Compared to the original film a fail in all categories, except the technical ones, of course. (10/12/2010)

I still haven't seen the original TRON movie, but I quite enjoyed this. It's nothing demanding, just flashy sci-fi where they play on the assumption that you know the characters. However, it must be admitted that you can watch it without really knowing the first film. The de-aging of Bridges here is odd, the plot isn't entirely original, but there's still a sense of nostalgia about it that I find appealing. Plus, Olivia Wilde is beautiful here. (19/02/2014)

An old world in a new perspective, a carefree charmer in the lead role, and Jeff Bridges in one of his career-defining roles. And on top of that, a perfect soundtrack by Daft Punk and Joseph Kosinski's otherworldly visuals from beginning to end. From an outdated classic that only a handful of enthusiasts appreciated we get a saga thirty years later that could have boldly headed towards further sequels, despite fate and Disney ultimately opting otherwise. And I don't mind at all that the script borrows from a variety of classic films, because the result, in the best sense of the word, was chewed up, spat out, and left me astonished. It immediately leaves you wanting to keep an eye out for any suspicious-looking computer. (24/04/2011)