TRON Legacy (2010)

[Dead & Messed Up]

Tron Legacy falls into the same trap as Superman Returns. It's so busy being reverent and thoughtful that its pace slackens and its humor dampens and all that remains is cold beauty. Granted, its beauty is genuine. Joseph Kosinski and his effects team transmute the original film's ungainly look into a smooth, crisp universe of ominous shadow and fog and fluorescent beams, and the score by Daft Punk deftly weaves techno patterns into strings. But along the way, the film discards ideas pregnant with possibility. Its theological leanings are trapped in a simulated world of incomprehensible logic, and villain C.L.U. has late-film ambitions of fascism mostly because he's programmed to. There's no perspective to his villainy, only machination.

C+

[MadMan]

Superman Returns-81
Tron: Legacy-90

Huh. Must have loved Tron partly due to it having been scored by Daft Punk. Plus it had Jeff Bridges. And Oliva Wilde. Plus the guy who played Bridges' son wasn't that bad of an actor. The visuals sure were pretty. It held up pretty well on a second viewing. I'm glad I viewed it in theaters, but unfortunately I saw it in 3D-what a waste of money in that regard, as the 3D was spotty.

As for Superman, I was surprised I liked it so much, and that I still gave it the same rating on a second viewing. Way too long, but Spacey chewing scenery, Parker Posey being funny, and Brandon Roth actually doing a good job as Supes/Clark Kent made up for some of the movie's weaker moments.

[Skitch]

Tron Legacy's score seems to go up with each viewing, for me.

[EyesWideOpen]

Tron Legacy's score seems to go up with each viewing, for me.

I actually like the Tron Legacy "Reconfigured" album more than the regular album.

[[ETM]]

I think he meant the rating he gave it, not the music?

[EyesWideOpen]

Yep, I just realized that. That's what I get for posting in a rush before work.

[Skitch]

I actually like the Tron Legacy "Reconfigured" album more than the regular album.

Yes I did mean my rating of the movie, but there's another version of the musical score? Sweet!

[Henry Gale]

I thought Reconfigured was really bad. Even if there were a couple of decent reworkings of the original score in the bunch, I thought it was such a disjointed and lifeless compilation of paint-by-numbers house remixes (not to mention the whole thing goes on for 77 minutes) that those few inspired moments weren't enough to make it feel like anything but a colossal waste of time, both for me and everyone involved in its creation. You have tracks like the Avicii "remix" of Derezzed which is basically just a platform for him to throw together some of his usual over-the-top, synth-drenched wankery in a way that bears no resemblance to the original piece whatsoever.

The remix album just felt like a rushed cash-in set on ruining the potential legacy (sorry) of its inspiration. I'm not surprised Daft Punk wanted no part of it.

[Ivan Drago]

Aside from the Moby remix of The Son of Flynn, I don't really care for Reconfigured. And this is coming from a guy who has trance/house music as a guilty pleasure.

[max314]

I'm going to step into the short line of people who actually like this movie.

Embedded into a narrative that's always swiftly paced, albeit never to the detriment of character development, was a genuinely affecting father-son story, as well as an intriguing exploration of deeper philosophical ideas regarding the nature of the universe, how perfection is the natural state of things, and how said state it is not an egoistic goal that must be imposed upon the system but rather a selfless act of allowing oneself to integrate with it. As a fan of The Matrix Revolutions, it's nice to see that theme echoed in TRON: Legacy; the crucial difference being that the latter actually makes the theme far more accessible to a general audience.

In addition to being both emotionally and intellectually engaging, the whole adventure takes place in a world that feels finely detailed and looks utterly orgasmic. The action scenes are visceral and lucid, and the performances — while feeling a little stilted in the hands of first-timer Joseph Kosinski — are elevated by the actors who are able to do so much with even the thinnest of material.

A solid adventure flick. And this from someone who was never a massive fan of the original.

Oh, and dat score.

★★★★★

[max314]

Superman Returns-81

[...]

As for Superman, I was surprised I liked it so much, and that I still gave it the same rating on a second viewing. Way too long, but Spacey chewing scenery, Parker Posey being funny, and Brandon Roth actually doing a good job as Supes/Clark Kent made up for some of the movie's weaker moments.

Without wanting to derail the thread, I'm actually a big fan of Superman Returns.

I missed it at the cinema because, despite being a fan of The Usual Suspects, I had found Bryan Singer's excursions into the superhero genre — the first two X-Men films — to be somewhat underwhelming (that said, I thought Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class was top notch).

Imagine my surprise when I caught Superman Returns on Sky Movies one day and found myself falling in love with it. "Finally," I thought, "someone's actually made me relate to the most flawless character in the pantheon of popular fiction!"

Yes, Bryan Singer had made a flat out, sincere, honest to God character study of Superman. Like that other oft hated superhero flick, Ang Lee's Hulk, Superman Returns is a lyrical meditation on what it's like to be a God among men. One of the greatest shots in recent cinema has to be that of Superman hovering between the Earth and the stars — a most poignant metaphor of a man who belongs to no-one, but is destined to protect everyone.

While it may grate on Kevin Smith that Superman didn't punch anything in Superman Returns, it grates on me even more when superhero movies think that all they have to do is punch shit to make them work.

The end.

[Qrazy]

I'm going to step into the short line of people who actually like this movie.

Embedded into a narrative that's always swiftly paced, albeit never to the detriment of character development, was a genuinely affecting father-son story, as well as an intriguing exploration of deeper philosophical ideas regarding the nature of the universe, how perfection is the natural state of things, and how said state it is not an egoistic goal that must be imposed upon the system but rather a selfless act of allowing oneself to integrate with it.

Wut?

[max314]

Wut?

That's what Flynn says. That he was searching for perfection, but it was right in front of him the whole time.

In other words, the universe is perfect. It's just us who see flaws in it.

[Dead & Messed Up]

While it may grate on Kevin Smith that Superman didn't punch anything in Superman Returns, it grates on me even more when superhero movies think that all they have to do is punch shit to make them work.

The end.

Ohhhh. There was this thing on RT where somebody claimed fanboys disliked Superman Returns for not having enough scenes of him punching stuff, and I was just flabbergasted. I was led to believe it was a widespread criticism, but if it's Kevin Smith, I can just prudently ignore it and go about my day.

I could do that in either case, but you know what I mean.

[max314]

Yeah, Kevin Smith is the generator of that particular meme.

CLICK HERE to see where it started.

[Qrazy]

That's what Flynn says. That he was searching for perfection, but it was right in front of him the whole time.

In other words, the universe is perfect. It's just us who see flaws in it.

I haven't seen the film, I'm only responding to your philosophical statement. I still don't know what you mean by this.

It sounds vaguely like the Panglossian/Leibnizian 'best of all possible worlds' concept.

[Dukefrukem]

Without wanting to derail the thread, I'm actually a big fan of Superman Returns.

I missed it at the cinema because, despite being a fan of The Usual Suspects, I had found Bryan Singer's excursions into the superhero genre — the first two X-Men films — to be somewhat underwhelming (that said, I thought Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class was top notch).

Imagine my surprise when I caught Superman Returns on Sky Movies one day and found myself falling in love with it. "Finally," I thought, "someone's actually made me relate to the most flawless character in the pantheon of popular fiction!"

Yes, Bryan Singer had made a flat out, sincere, honest to God character study of Superman. Like that other oft hated superhero flick, Ang Lee's Hulk, Superman Returns is a lyrical meditation on what it's like to be a God among men. One of the greatest shots in recent cinema has to be that of Superman hovering between the Earth and the stars — a most poignant metaphor of a man who belongs to no-one, but is destined to protect everyone.

While it may grate on Kevin Smith that Superman didn't punch anything in Superman Returns, it grates on me even more when superhero movies think that all they have to do is punch shit to make them work.

The end.

Wow. We are night and day on this movie; I found Superman Returns to be the exact opposite of everything you just mentioned including one of the most poorly written villain plots in any superhero movie ever.

[Melville]

I haven't seen the film, I'm only responding to your philosophical statement. I still don't know what you mean by this.

It sounds vaguely like the Panglossian/Leibnizian 'best of all possible worlds' concept.

"how said state is not an egoistic goal that must be imposed upon the system but rather a selfless act of allowing oneself to integrate with it" makes it sound much more like Mahayana Buddhism. Samsara is Nirvana.

[max314]

Wow. We are night and day on this movie; I found Superman Returns to be the exact opposite of everything you just mentioned including one of the most poorly written villain plots in any superhero movie ever.

I believe there is some overlap in our opinions of Lex Luthor's depiction in Superman Returns.

I would have preferred if Spacey hadn't attempted to mirror Gene Hackman's performance, but had instead created a more reserved, more cerebral incarnation of the character. Something more akin to Michael Rosenbaum's rendition in the Smallville TV show or the Lex Luthor we see in Superman: Doomsday; I absolutely love that shot of Lex standing still as a statue inside his skyscraper overlooking the city as his eyes quietly track the cataclysmic battle unfolding between Doomsday and Superman across Metropolis.

That said, I understand that Superman Returns was paying homage to the style of Donner's films. So I tolerate it.

"how said state is not an egoistic goal that must be imposed upon the system but rather a selfless act of allowing oneself to integrate with it" makes it sound much more like Mahayana Buddhism. Samsara is Nirvana.

"You're messing with my Zen thing, man."

[Dukefrukem]

Even if he didn't try and emulate Hackman, the whole plot of creating the new continent is asinine. He wants to kill billions of people (at some point he says this) so they will come crawling back to him because he will control all the available land to live on? It's not like that giant crystal can harbor any life whatsoever. There's no natural resources, no food, no way to building homes... he'd essentially destroy the whole planet and then become unable to sustain his own life. Stupid.

[max314]

They never do explain precisely how Lex plans to make the new Kryptonian continent into a fruitful landmass. I always assumed the other crystals had something to do with it.

But, yes, it is a bit of a hole.

Happily, I find the character stuff outweighs these logic flaws.

[megladon8]

Definitely with max on this one. It's not without flaws, but Superman Returns is pretty great.

[Scar]

Definitely with max on this one. It's not without flaws, but Superman Returns is pretty great.

Loves me some Superman Returns.

[Morris Schæffer]

Perhaps my memory is hazy, but wasn't that almost the exact same plan that Hackman had in the 1978 film? given that it's a sequel of sorts, I can understand wanting to stick with what you know although spacey wouldn't know since he used to be Hackman. It was a bit odd to have a sequel to a movie that came out 28 years ago and have all new characters playing the leads while continuing the story. Perhaps they should have started over completely, like they should have with Tron Legacy too.

[[ETM]]

Perhaps they should have started over completely, like they should have with Tron Legacy too.

Didn't they? It's basically the same plot, with similar characters, only different motivations.