I chalk it up in part to really low expectations -- between the dullness of the original, the horrible reviews I'd been hearing, and just the general expectation I have for these kinds of movies thanks to the Bay/McG factor -- but I, too, found myself enjoying the film significantly more than I expected to.

I liked most of the ideas laid out in the film but I felt like there was too much and none of it was developed to its full potential. It wasn't a situation like TRANSFORMERS 2, where ideas were raised and dropped on a scene-by-scene basis because they were just trying to fill time -- I really had the feeling that the filmmakers were trying to bring them all together, that it probably made sense in their heads, and it just didn't quite gel in the final product.

At a full two hours, it's long for this kind of movie, and it had definite pacing issues. However, I don't think the movie was too long, just that they didn't use the time wisely.

I'd heard that the Pixar brain trust were called in during reshoots to advise on story problems. That could certainly explain why the story is kind of there but doesn't quite hang together. If they'd been brought in at the beginning instead of called in for triage I bet they would have made it work.

My biggest issue was with dialogue. The main character Sam spent 95% of the movie either narrating what was happening in front of him ("He's building an army!") or spouting off trailerspeak ("Whoa!" "Here we go!" "You gotta be kidding me!"), and they held a gun to Jeff Bridges' head and forced him to play The Dude instead of Flynn.

I think I've decided I love Michael Sheen though -- while I didn't really like his character in this film, any man who can chew the scenery so fearlessly, take roles in a wide range of kooky genre flicks with no hesitation, and then flip a switch and become David Frost or Tony Blair with total credibility...that's an actor, man.

I think my favorite comment about CLU was along the lines of "Not only did he fall into the bottom of the Uncanny Valley, he landed on his face." He just...didn't work. He came straight out of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. We're a post-Benjamin Button and -Avatar society, we can and have done better. On the other hand, he was consistently bad, as opposed to some hero shots working and others being of varying quality. And also he was supposed to be, literally, computer-generated. So you could rationalize it. But it never really worked for me.

The movie was actually quieter and less kinetic in the action than I've become accustomed to. On the one hand I think they could have kicked the sound design up a notch (BAM), but on the other hand I kind of appreciated an action spectacle that didn't feel like it was screaming "DUUURRRRRR!" in my face while it hit me with a spoon.

So I liked it well enough. I'll probably pick it up on Blu-Ray if there are decent special features, and I could see myself watching some sequences of it again (though probably not the whole film, aside from DIF-related occasions).

If anyone out there hasn't seen it and is on the fence, try to catch a matinee and hold the 3D. It wasn't really worth the $17 (yeah, you heard me) I paid to see it, but I'd say it's worth your $6 or $7.

Calling it now: if there's a sequel, I bet it's called TRON LIVES.

Like you guys, I was quite entertained by this movie. I don't get the bad rap it's getting. It's got some rough edges to be sure, but it's not nearly as clumsy or broken as the majority of big action/effects movies tend to be. I'm probably gonna see it again Sunday.

Too bad there's no IMAX screen within a reasonable distance from me.

I agree mostly with everything Dorkman says. Although, I enjoyed Jeff Bridges' "Dude" like acting/dialogue. Also CLU's poor CGI oddly worked for me since he is an imperfect older Flynn copy.

Last edited by dj_bakerman (2010-12-21 02:22:38)

I've been having a conversation about this movie with some people over the last couple of days, and after some reflection, I have to say that I think this film is a LOT smarter than I thought after initially watching it. This movie is like reverse fridge logic. You go to get a beer when something you thought was really trivial and pointless in the movie suddenly makes sense and thus feels more important to the scene / film.

Had dibs, I've been on about Olivia Wilde since four years ago. You're a Johnny Come Lately, bub, back of the line.

No spoilers in this post either:

Saw it at a midnight showing. Nothing short of tremendous in regards to the effects. Everything I had hoped Avatar would be in terms of visual content, Tron: Legacy delivered a year later. The soundtrack is without question my favorite of any film this year. Words don't do Daft Punk's perfect score justice. You have to experience it for yourself. The story could have been a bit more cohesive but it's not bad by any means. The religious parables are plentiful and intriguing. The performances varied between decent and good and a certain someone's cameo had the entire theater shit bricks. I won't ruin it for you but keep an eye out during the board room scene. Also, Jeff Bridges basically plays The Dude trapped in cyberspace. If that last bit isn't enough to make you see this movie, then you need to reconsider life on this planet.