Tron: Legacy, the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 1982 cult science fiction classic Tron isn’t out for general release in UK cinemas until December 26th (surely the best Christmas present anyone could ask for this year), but tonight audiences were treated to a sneak preview, which was made up of five scenes from the film (four of which were in 3D), plus a final montage, all of which totalled 23 minutes of screen time.
The preview opened with a steady stream of computerised text appearing slowly onscreen, to the sound of key strokes, detailing how those present would be the first people in the world to see this amount of footage from the new film.
The first scene we were treated to centered on Sam Flynn meeting with Alan Bradley, who, as many have seen from the trailer, hands Sam the keys to his Dad’s disused arcade and suggests that he visits it, the scene culminating in those fantastic lingering lines: “Alan, you’re acting like I’m going to find him sitting there working; just: ‘Hey kiddo, lost track of time’,” and Bradley’s response of: “Wouldn’t that be something,” coupled with a wry smirk.
After the first scene, each following scene we were shown seemed only a small jump ahead of the previous one in terms of story time, leaving us with a sense of coherency and an unexpected lack of disjointedness. In the following scenes we witnessed such key moments as Sam’s battle outfit fitting by four creepy women; Sam’s first disc battle, where he wins by a clever manoeuvre; the first time Sam meets Olivia Wilde’s character, Quorra; and Sam’s reuniting with his father, Jeff Bridges’ character Kevin Flynn, for the first time in years. No light cycle action was present unfortunately, however, save for a couple of quick sequences shown in the final montage.
What strikes the most about this film, from the segments that we were treated to, is firstly the sublime effects; this is 3D used perhaps to its best effect yet – the computerised grid world is the perfect setting to explore and test the technology in new ways. As Sam is thrust into this computerised world, from the battles he fights to his simple detainment and transportation, the shots make a wonderful use of spacial awareness – there are often large voids of space and distance around and below the characters, and some dizzying and sweeping shots of such serve to give you a wonderful sense of vertigo, inducing those rare chills up your spine on quite a regular basis.
There is also a real sense of quality about this film, which might come as a surprise to some. There’s a (probably intentional) Abrams’ Star Trek-like feel about Tron: Legacy’s set up – and indeed there are some direct similarities between the films present; something much loved in geek SF fandom is being rebooted here, and with that comes its risks. But luckily, from the footage we’ve seen so far, it looks like this will also go the way of Abrams’ Star Trek in terms of quality and will end up being a lot better than both sceptical Tron devotees and first timers might assume.
Even from this short preview you can tell that the casting choices were excellent decisions; Garrett Hedlund has a coolness and sincere likability about him, Olivia Wilde is both seductive and cheeky here, and about Jeff Bridges’ virtues nothing needs to be said. The only main character that was hardly shown to us at all here (beyond a few shots in the final montage) was Michael Sheen’s villainous Castor. Add to all of this a hauntingly dramatic and powerful score, and you’ve got something quite special indeed.
Those who caught this preview likely came out far more excited about Tron: Legacy’s prospects (not to mention aggravated that they couldn’t watch the whole film there and then) than they were beforehand and those who missed it but who are eagerly awaiting the sequel, rest assured that, based on this footage, the film will certainly not disappoint come December.
No comments:
Post a Comment