Movie Review: TRON - Legacy

TRON - Legacy was not on my list of must see movies. But, then my wife and I were invited to our first ever movie birthday party. Since we wanted to help the "birthday boy" (he's been 29 for 19 years now) celebrate, we went.

WOW! Were we impressed. And although we had not seen the original TRON (1982), TRON - Legacy gave us more than enough background to get into the sequel.

I won't offer the classical review here. That's available everywhere on the web! Rather, I'll highlight what's going on at several different game levels.

First, there's the video game concept itself. The movie is one long (124 minute) video arcade game. Except here, you are IN the game, not just enjoying it from a console. This is the level from which most kids will see the movie.

Then, there are the graphics. And these are awesome, especially in 3-D. In some scenes events literally jump off the screen. But in others, that effect was not as dramatic. Still, my wife noted that whoever made the movie clearly had fun! It was also another first for us; we had not yet been to a 3-D movie, although we had done 3-D at the Spiderman ride (Universal Studios in Orlando).

Of course, the ongoing battle between good and evil jumps off the screen. And, in true Disney style, good triumphs and love blossoms.

But, at the adult level, there's a very significant message embedded into the TRON - Legacy gameboard. It's akin to themes raised throughout the StarTrek TV series and movies, the movie 2001 - A Space Odyssey (1968) and other sci-fi thrillers. What happens when our computer technology becomes smarter than we are and starts to control the human experience?

In TRON Legacy, we actually get to see how things in computer space (from purges to militaristic ventures) could evolve from a creationist human component.

Although issues are satisfactorily resolved in two hours and four minutes, one has to wonder when this scenario will play itself out for real.

I have to give the movie an A rating, even though Yahoo reviewers only saw fit to award a B+ and critics only gave it a B- (as of early on 12/18/11). Clearly the critics need some additional time embedded in the TRON - Legacy video game.