TRON: Legacy

My hand hurts. I don't know why, it just does. And it's my good hand. My typing hand. When I lean too far on either elbow (I have a laptop and, therefore, type in bed), that is the hand I use to type. So...I don't know how long this is going to go on for (this particular entry, not the hand pain).

Yesterday, I saw TRON: Legacy at a local theater in super ultra 3DXD with 9.5 Surround Sound. I've never been a huge fan of the original film. I was born in '85, three years after its release, so I didn't grow up with it like others have. And I honestly didn't take the time to sit down and watch it from start to finish until about three weeks ago. So, unlike, say, Star Wars, I don't have any particularly fond memories of watching it with my dad on WGN (a station based out of Chicago, IL) or with friends or anything like that. If I had done any of that, maybe my perception of TRON would be different. But, to me, TRON was/is a film that tried to shoehorn in a crapload of inaccurate or made up techno-babble as a way to make a story for what was essentially the world's first video game film (the film heavily featured those new-fangled game machines all the yunguns crowd around in those dark, loud arcade places to waste their quarters on). That said, I didn't hate it. I try to enjoy it for what it is: a mostly cheesy film used to pioneer special effects produced by computers.

So how was TRON: Legacy? Pretty damn good. The special effects were well done. The acting wasn't terrible (something of a rarity in a lot of movies, it seems). And the story was good enough to keep the viewer involved throughout showing off the new lightcycles and jets and whatnot. My two biggest problems: 3D and the de-aging of Jeff Bridges.

The cost of the ticket was $16.50. This was for being at an upscale movie theater (there's a piano player in the ze lobby), the particular screen it was on (one of the larger in the Midwest, if one is to believe the hype) and the fact it was in 3D. And did 3D add anything to the movie? Not really. Most of the time I didn't even notice if a particular scene was meant to be "Three-Dimensional." There is a disclaimer stating that not all of the film is in 3D, but to keep the glasses on anyway, because, yeah...glasses. 3D. It was kind of awkward, that message. I dunno, just didn't sit right with me. It's like the filmmakers knew they could get way with not even having a 3D movie if they just told everyone that it was in 3D. That, and a lot of 3D films tend to be darker (I mean, come on, it's like wearing sunglasses in a darkened room most of the time), so it was kind of hard to see some of the finer details (like costumes, which overall were pretty damn cool).

Why do filmmakerss keep trying to de-age characters for films? I hear it was used to great success in Benjamin Button. I never saw the film (as I recall it was a horror film), so I can't really say whether it looked good, but here, it didn't. There was something off about the way the lips moved, and at times the face even looked off-kilter. Now, this could be explained away in the digital world, but they also used the de-aged Bridges in the opening, a scene that takes place in the real world (yeah, I know, spoiler alert and whatever).

Still, very minor flaws in an otherwise very enjoyable movie. I will definitely purchase it when it comes to a home release and might even see it again in theaters, though probably not in 3D.

Once again, I can't have an enjoyable theater-going experience. I can see why many are opting to wait for Blu-Ray/DVD releases of films, even if it is partially financially motivated. The last couple of movies I've seen there have been babies in the theater (including TRON, which led to a new 'in-joke' amongst my group), kids/teens texting and/or talking for the duration of the film (seriously, you paid $10+ to tap away at your phone for two hours?) and I can't remember the third point I was going to make (it's late, I'm tired, and my wrist still hurts), but I'm sure it involved the decline of society's values and morals. This time, though, it takes a bit to set up.

You see, the theater I went to has a "VIP" section, where you can purchase the tickets and can choose where in the VIP section to sit, barring anyone else already having taken it. I went with a group of friends, the inviter being the one who purchased the tickets. So we (my girlfriend and I) get into the theater, only to find the only two seats left in the reserved row (I know, fancy and whatnot) are on opposite sides of a food table/stand/thing (about the width of a seat and has cup holders, but can be used to hold popcorn, pizza, whatever), so that sucked. Then, throughout the entirety of the movie, the guy to my right kicked me. Was he an antisocial weirdo who was annoyed that somebody dared to sit next to him? Probably. But still, he kept crossing his legs, and whenever he did that, he kicked me. Not wanting a repeat of The Expendables Incident, I let it go. Then, there was the baby. Who brings a baby to a theater of that magnitude (the theater actually has 7.1 SurroundSound and the screen is very, very large)? Still, the baby, not a huge problem, since the movie is pretty loud and the sound drowned out the child. No, the problem was the guy who kept reacting to the baby. Whenever there was a rare lull in the film, this man (I did not know this man) would yell for the baby to be taken to the lobby.

Our new joke is "take the baby to the lobby." It has a variety of uses. Sexual? Sure. Getting the job done (in a nonsexual way)? You betcha.

So, overall. Fantastic movie. Shitty movie-going experience. Now I'm going to go hope my hand doesn't fall off in my sleep.