I will start off by saying that, after a year of studios attempting to cash-in, this is by far the best 3D film to come out since Avatar. I guess it really shows what a difference filming in the format does. The film also has scenes shot in IMAX and it is definitely advised that the film be watched in that format to get the effect.
Anyways, on to the film itself. I still have yet to see the original TRON (something I hope to remedy soon), however I found that this film was made specifically for new and old fans alike, with most of the required story details being summarized at the start of the film.
Jeff Bridges returns from the first film, playing both hero and villain as Kevin Flynn and his digital double Clu. Clu is digitally deaged to look like Bridges did in in 30s, which looks subtlety creepy, but sort of works for this digital world. Rounding out the cast of the film is Garrett Hedlund as Flynn’s son Sam and Olivia Wilde as Quorra.
I do have to say that the visuals in the film are quite amazing. A clever thing that the film does is that it doesn’t start the 3D effects until after we enter the digital world of The Grid. As such, this really helps with the feeling that you are inside a computer.
As for the story of the film, I would have to admit that the film is probably not unique when compared to countless other science fiction films. While some people may hold this against the film, I was not at all bothered, since I still quite enjoyed the film.
All and all, this was definitely the most visually spectacular film I saw this year (which also featured a great score by Daft Punk). It’s definitely well worth checking out (in IMAX of course).
9/10
