Jason KingTron: Legacy (10/10)
January 3rd 2011 08:16
:
Just LOVE IT!!
Category: Reviews
Tron: Legacy (10/10)
Woot - I think this was my fourth film to award a perfect score this year and this means good things - less shit that I have watched, obviously, but also a raising of standards for a lot of films. Sure there has been a lot of crap but at least it has been interspersed with a lot of good film. This is my 4th favourite film of the year and thank god it was good, I was holding my breath for the first 15mins knowing this film could be disaster judging by the release of a lot of other sequels over the years but for me this film completely improved on the original, made 28yrs ago.
It is easily the most visually spectacular film of the year with Inception not far behind it but this year I have been starving for a good sci fi and this was it. It did what the original film did when I was 10yrs old and took a leap and a bound in presenting sci fi.
Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn, looks into his father's disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 20 years. Along with Kevin's loyal confidant, father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.
Not only is this film so visual it is also probably the most stylized film released in years. There is so much attention to detail in all the scenes to create the universe and the costumes are just mind blowing, and they ought to be at the mere $13MIL spent on them. One rider's costume alone was worth $60000-. I think though that they have definitely had the desired effect. Olivia Wilde (13 from HOUSE) who plays Quorra has become an instant sexual object for straight men all over the world and Garrett Hedlund brings on a sweat when I watch him hahahaha. I think he is so hot I have even redesigned the Salty Popcorn banner to include him in it
. Another thing about the costumes - those light strips are actually built into them so they could save money on the post production and not have to digitally install them.
Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner are the only two original cast members to return for the sequel and it is great to see Jeff Bridges trying to maintain his character with his occasional "yeah Man" or "dude" calls. Jeff is amazing playing the designer of the universe who has been trapped in the Grid for over 20yrs. He has become monklike and the opposite of his digital mirror opposite Clu, also played by a digitally enhanced Jeff Bridges.
Garrett Hedlund is the perfect Sam Flynn, his character does not require any Oscar winning performances but he has to be a rebel and he has to look good and he has to be believable in the grid and this he is. I have watched Hedlund in a few films over the years, most notably a film much loathed which ruined a book, Eragon. Hedlund reminded me of a young Christian Slater in that film and he does the same in this one again. I think this will bring him to the A list attention and his offers are going to grow from here. Next we will see him in Country Strong with Gwyneth Paltrow and then headlining in the Jack Kerouac story On The Road with Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams, Steve Buscemi, Kirsten Dunst and Viggo Mortensen. Can't wait for more of him. I should also mention that little Owen Best who plays the Young Sam Flynn is only in the film briefly but sets the film up beautifully. Owen is best known as Bryce from The Diary of a Wimpy Kid and it's in production sequel.
Olivia Wilde is just sex on tap in this film - she just looks mind blowing in her costumes - think of the first time you saw Trinity in the Matrix - well Olivia looks way hotter. She plays this slightly goofy, naive to the outside world, character who can pack a punch. She is physically and mentally a cross between Trinity and Leeloo from The Fifth Element and looks better. Those eyes and that costume will make many a man go weak at the knees.
Another character who steals the show is Michael Sheen, a chameleon of the screen. From playing Tony Blair in The Queen and The Special Relationship to Lucian in The Underworld movies and then a vampire in the Twilight films to now playing a cyber David Bowie in Tron is outstanding - the guy is a character acting genius. His performance explodes from the screen and while it is only brief he does clearly steal the acting scenes in this film.
A funny thing about Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund - neither of them were even born when the first film was released and first time director, Joseph Kosinski was only 8yrs old. He is younger than me - here I shake my head at what I have achieved. You may notice a small reference to The Black Hole movie in young Sam's bedroom - this is because Kosinski's next project is remaking The Black Hole - I am very excited for that one!! Kosinski must have had an amazing vision and huge gonads to know he could pull this one off. For a film so effects laden that only took 64 days to shoot and then 69 weeks in post production is an amazing accomplishment for a directorial debut. For a film of this magnitude I am surprised Disney gave this project to Kosinski but boy am I glad they did - he now has a HUGE fan of his work.
I have read a lot of reviews slamming this film for lacking in story. My response - you're idiots! It has a greater story than the original and has so much story it envelopes the audience to not being able to take your eyes off the screen - of course this is mostly visuals but clearly you must have a good story to accompany any visuals or you fall asleep. The film does slow about an hour in for about 15mins, but this is intentional to a) allow you to catch your breath and b) to give the backstory to people that are a little lost as to what is happening. I loved this film and my mum loved this story and the first time I saw it I took my 9yr old neighbour/ buddy Finn to watch it. He leans to me about 30mins before the end "Jason, how long do you think this film has to go?" he asks. "About 20mins I think Finn, why, are you bored and want to leave?" I reply. "No, I never want it to end" he finishes. This made me elated, I had been sitting there going through bouts of the excitement I get when watching something spectacular. This is something quite rare these days, it is like the feeling I got as a young boy watching Star Wars or Superman, or rewatching the original Tron so much on Betamax that you could hardly make out the image on the TV and I was very much against having to smother Finn in a large popcorn bucket so I could watch the end of the film. Finn now has a Tron poster on his wall and even thinks driving through the Eastern Distributor tunnel in Sydney is like driving into Tron. Love you littleman!
Even though I gave this film a perfect score there is something that I thought could have been improved upon. The large scale fights looked too slow and rehearsed. I am mainly talking about the fight in the nightclub while the amazing Daft Punk have their scene DJing. This is inside a computer, and inside a computer everything can operate at its peak - these scenes should have been more Matrix like and even better than the Matrix fighting scenes but they were a slight letdown. Minimal annoyance, but every time I see that scene I think "tut tut, that should be better". But it's all made good when Flynn arrives and touches the floor.
And let's then talk about Daft Punk - I LOVE THEM AND THEY MAKE THIS FILM EVEN MORE AWESOME!! They suit the entire film and their musical score is sensational and gives a retro 80s electronic disco feel to the entire film. They even wore their own costumes they use when performing live and they didn't need to be altered to suit the film. Sensational. That and their combination of utilising the original music mixed with their new music is one powerful combo - music has been legally purchased and is now happy on mine and Finn's Ipods
It would help watching the original film before seeing this one but if you haven't or can't I do not think it will effect you terribly. There are a few references to the original film. "That is a big door" for example but they explain enough of the back story to make this film accessible to everyone. It is well worth paying the extra to see this film in 3D and while the 3D is not throughout the entire film, mainly once they enter the Grid, it is more than enough to get you screaming a little in excitement. It is filmed in proper 3D, even using the next generation cameras designed by James Cameron for Avatar, so the 3D in this one compares beautifully with Avatar, some scenes are just mouth gasping.
Tron Legacy is out now and I suggest you get there stat or I will derez you. Worth 10/10.
Woot - I think this was my fourth film to award a perfect score this year and this means good things - less shit that I have watched, obviously, but also a raising of standards for a lot of films. Sure there has been a lot of crap but at least it has been interspersed with a lot of good film. This is my 4th favourite film of the year and thank god it was good, I was holding my breath for the first 15mins knowing this film could be disaster judging by the release of a lot of other sequels over the years but for me this film completely improved on the original, made 28yrs ago.
It is easily the most visually spectacular film of the year with Inception not far behind it but this year I have been starving for a good sci fi and this was it. It did what the original film did when I was 10yrs old and took a leap and a bound in presenting sci fi.
Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn, looks into his father's disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 20 years. Along with Kevin's loyal confidant, father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.
Not only is this film so visual it is also probably the most stylized film released in years. There is so much attention to detail in all the scenes to create the universe and the costumes are just mind blowing, and they ought to be at the mere $13MIL spent on them. One rider's costume alone was worth $60000-. I think though that they have definitely had the desired effect. Olivia Wilde (13 from HOUSE) who plays Quorra has become an instant sexual object for straight men all over the world and Garrett Hedlund brings on a sweat when I watch him hahahaha. I think he is so hot I have even redesigned the Salty Popcorn banner to include him in it
. Another thing about the costumes - those light strips are actually built into them so they could save money on the post production and not have to digitally install them.
Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner are the only two original cast members to return for the sequel and it is great to see Jeff Bridges trying to maintain his character with his occasional "yeah Man" or "dude" calls
. Jeff is amazing playing the designer of the universe who has been trapped in the Grid for over 20yrs. He has become monklike and the opposite of his digital mirror opposite Clu, also played by a digitally enhanced Jeff Bridges.
Garrett Hedlund is the perfect Sam Flynn, his character does not require any Oscar winning performances but he has to be a rebel and he has to look good and he has to be believable in the grid and this he is. I have watched Hedlund in a few films over the years, most notably a film much loathed which ruined a book, Eragon. Hedlund reminded me of a young Christian Slater in that film and he does the same in this one again. I think this will bring him to the A list attention and his offers are going to grow from here. Next we will see him in Country Strong with Gwyneth Paltrow and then headlining in the Jack Kerouac story On The Road with Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams, Steve Buscemi, Kirsten Dunst and Viggo Mortensen. Can't wait for more of him
. I should also mention that little Owen Best who plays the Young Sam Flynn is only in the film briefly but sets the film up beautifully. Owen is best known as Bryce from The Diary of a Wimpy Kid and it's in production sequel.
Olivia Wilde is just sex on tap in this film - she just looks mind blowing in her costumes - think of the first time you saw Trinity in the Matrix - well Olivia looks way hotter
. She plays this slightly goofy, naive to the outside world, character who can pack a punch. She is physically and mentally a cross between Trinity and Leeloo from The Fifth Element and looks better. Those eyes and that costume will make many a man go weak at the knees.
Another character who steals the show is Michael Sheen, a chameleon of the screen. From playing Tony Blair in The Queen and The Special Relationship to Lucian in The Underworld movies and then a vampire in the Twilight films to now playing a cyber David Bowie in Tron is outstanding - the guy is a character acting genius. His performance explodes from the screen and while it is only brief he does clearly steal the acting scenes in this film.
A funny thing about Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund - neither of them were even born when the first film was released and first time director, Joseph Kosinski was only 8yrs old. He is younger than me - here I shake my head at what I have achieved
. You may notice a small reference to The Black Hole movie in young Sam's bedroom - this is because Kosinski's next project is remaking The Black Hole - I am very excited for that one!! Kosinski must have had an amazing vision and huge gonads to know he could pull this one off. For a film so effects laden that only took 64 days to shoot and then 69 weeks in post production is an amazing accomplishment for a directorial debut. For a film of this magnitude I am surprised Disney gave this project to Kosinski but boy am I glad they did - he now has a HUGE fan of his work.
I have read a lot of reviews slamming this film for lacking in story. My response - you're idiots! It has a greater story than the original and has so much story it envelopes the audience to not being able to take your eyes off the screen - of course this is mostly visuals but clearly you must have a good story to accompany any visuals or you fall asleep. The film does slow about an hour in for about 15mins, but this is intentional to a) allow you to catch your breath and b) to give the backstory to people that are a little lost as to what is happening. I loved this film and my mum loved this story and the first time I saw it I took my 9yr old neighbour/ buddy Finn to watch it. He leans to me about 30mins before the end "Jason, how long do you think this film has to go?" he asks. "About 20mins I think Finn, why, are you bored and want to leave?" I reply. "No, I never want it to end" he finishes. This made me elated, I had been sitting there going through bouts of the excitement I get when watching something spectacular. This is something quite rare these days, it is like the feeling I got as a young boy watching Star Wars or Superman, or rewatching the original Tron so much on Betamax that you could hardly make out the image on the TV and I was very much against having to smother Finn in a large popcorn bucket so I could watch the end of the film
. Finn now has a Tron poster on his wall and even thinks driving through the Eastern Distributor tunnel in Sydney is like driving into Tron. Love you littleman!
Even though I gave this film a perfect score there is something that I thought could have been improved upon. The large scale fights looked too slow and rehearsed. I am mainly talking about the fight in the nightclub while the amazing Daft Punk have their scene DJing. This is inside a computer, and inside a computer everything can operate at its peak - these scenes should have been more Matrix like and even better than the Matrix fighting scenes but they were a slight letdown. Minimal annoyance, but every time I see that scene I think "tut tut, that should be better". But it's all made good when Flynn arrives and touches the floor
.
And let's then talk about Daft Punk - I LOVE THEM AND THEY MAKE THIS FILM EVEN MORE AWESOME!! They suit the entire film and their musical score is sensational and gives a retro 80s electronic disco feel to the entire film. They even wore their own costumes they use when performing live and they didn't need to be altered to suit the film. Sensational. That and their combination of utilising the original music mixed with their new music is one powerful combo - music has been legally purchased and is now happy on mine and Finn's Ipods
It would help watching the original film before seeing this one but if you haven't or can't I do not think it will effect you terribly. There are a few references to the original film. "That is a big door" for example but they explain enough of the back story to make this film accessible to everyone. It is well worth paying the extra to see this film in 3D and while the 3D is not throughout the entire film, mainly once they enter the Grid, it is more than enough to get you screaming a little in excitement. It is filmed in proper 3D, even using the next generation cameras designed by James Cameron for Avatar, so the 3D in this one compares beautifully with Avatar, some scenes are just mouth gasping.
Tron Legacy is out now and I suggest you get there stat or I will derez you. Worth 10/10.
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