Minneapolis TRON Night 2010

Greetings, Programs!

Last night I lined up with my sons, my brother and his family and a legion of fellow TRON nerds at the Southdale AMC in Minnesota to take part in “TRON night 2010” where they showed selected scenes (about 20 minutes worth) from the upcoming film TRON: Legacy.

First off, it was interesting to note that they really showed nothing that would be considered a “spoiler” to the plot.

They scenes they showed were mostly extended clips from what they show in the current trailers and the Daft Punk music video. Haven’t seen the video? Well here it is right here!

Secondly, what I liked about what I have seen so far is that this feels like both a direct sequel AND a re-make.

The story and characters are directly in line with the previous TRON movie. Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Kevin Flynn, Bruce Boxleitner reprises his role as Alan Bradley and the movie takes place in the same world that was established in TRON. But the world “inside the computer” is completely re-imagined. Basic elements are the same, but the look and physics have been completely upgraded and made contemporary. There are new vehicles, new weapons, new outfits, new locations, and new rules.

It’s the difference between say… DOS to Windows 7 as an operating system.

But the Recognizers are still here, the Lightcycles, the identity discs, the game grid, the fact that characters “de-rezz”, etc.  The things that captured our imaginations nearly 30 years ago still resonate.

As for the clips they showed themselves, there is not a whole lot to report on.

You probably don’t want me to write down every little detail second hand. I know you would just rather see them yourselves.  They told us that the clips shown are only from the first half of the movie, and as I said before, most of it was stuff we have already seen in the trailers, just expanded.

  • They started off with Sam at home talking to Alan with the reveal that Alan received a page from Kevin’s old arcade.
  • The next clip they show was Sam checking out the arcade, and finding his Dad’s old office ending with him activating the digitizing  lazer by “accident”.

These two scenes were NOT in 3D, and it was pointed out that this was not a mistake and that they were meant to be viewed with the 3D glasses still on. Back when I heard that they were going to do this movie in 3D, I speculated on how cool it would be if they pulled a “Wizard of Oz” and didn’t go 3D until we were in the computer world. This may be an indication that I was right!

  • Next we See Sam captured by a Recognizer and brought to receive a “games” uniform and identity disc.
  • We then see Sam get into the games arena and struggle through a disc battle.
  • Next they showed us Sam being rescued by Quorra and brought off the grid into the wasteland. Disney has already released part of this one online:

  • Next we get the reunion between Kevin and Sam at Kevin’s house in the wasteland. TRON as a character is mentioned in this scene as well. Kevin comments to Quorra that he dreamed about TRON again last night, before he realizes that Sam is there with her. Part of this one has been released now as well:

  • They then showed us a montage of clips and action some of which have been in the trailers and a lot of which has not. One great shot was Sam in a lightcycle battle where we see Rinzler’s bike get destroyed by a lightwall and before he hits the game floor forms another cycle around himself to continue the match.

My reaction to all of this?

The 3D was SOLID. I think 3D is a gimmick for the most part, but it really worked here. There are things going on that I wonder about how they will translate to 2D. Layering and lighting effects that may not look quite right in two dimensions.

All in all, I am very excited for the full movie, and my sons were bouncing off the walls they were so happy and pumped after seeing this. Bring on TRON on December 17th!

END OF LINE.

About Dug (Wugmanmax) 241 Articles
(AKA – Wug, Dug, Foug) Hailing from the Twin Cities, Wugmanmax is an avid toy collector, graphic designer, video producer, firefighter, and podcast co-host.

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