So, non-spoiler analysis:
Great film, and much better paced than the original (which I've yet to watch in its entirety, but took a *long* time, relatively speaking, out of its runtime to get to the point of the flick).
Sam is rather nice in that, as people have noted, he's much *nicer* than the average "I was abandoned by my parents before I was old enough to drive" archetype. Plus, he can emote pretty well. The reunion in the chalet was actually heartwarming between both his and Jeff Bridges' performances really coming off perfectly and not forced.
Quora was just damn exceptional. Her actress pulled off the Action Girl role well, but more importantly, she can act. All sorts of little touches in every scene she was active in make her performance believable and like someone reacting to actual events, especially during the dinner (The "Ooooh, awkwaaaaard." expression was just priceless). Her wide eyed naivete and awe at most "normal" things when outside life and death situations was refreshing compared to how she could've been done as a hardened badass. I want to see a sequel just to see more of her (the fact she's not hard on the eyes being a minor side note in this case). The fact that the actress herself in interviews has expressed an interest in a sequel involving her reactions to the real world (and equated it to Splash's fish out of water theme, of all things) just really impresses me.
Clu was just excellent, and I find it interesting that everything about him is a development from Flynn in the original. Flynn in the present has had a while to think on his mistakes and mature, but Clu is the result of his older personality: brash, cocky, and self-assured, always taking risks without thinking about them. Naturally, not stopping to double-check himself led to the most infamously worded command to a program ever, which results in the inevitable Programmer's Bane: "A computer will do exactly what you tell it to."
Also, one moment that, despite not having seen the entirety of the original, still managed to get pulled off with panache and feeling, which gets slotted in here above the spoiler block: "I fight for the Users."
Finally, the acting was just...wonderfully done. Body language and everything being as important as dialogue, perfect deliveries in a number of places, and motivations that make sense for everyone involved at every step of the way...just wonderful.
Okay, now. Spoilers and sequel speculation below:
- Besides the obvious spoiler hook at the end of the film, one earlier is much more obvious: a programmer named Dillinger, very heavily involved in the development of Encom OS 12, the "most secure OS ever", which has been broadcast worldwide, for free, because of Sam. Ties back to the original, a known actor that only got one scene, and gross nostalgia suggest to me that he may end up causing the return of the MCP, and possibly Sark, if Dillinger Sr. had a backup copy...
- Clu's reintegration into Flynn and Rinzler/Tron's apparent drifting death are by no means permanent, assuming that Disney can get Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner back for the sequel. Given their obvious establishment of badass cred in Legacy, the possibility of adding them to the good guys side against the theoretical antagonist listing mentioned above allows for the possibility of a good old Five Man Band featuring Sam, Quorra, Tron, Clu 3.0, and Flynn (or Yori, if they REALLY want to re-use everyone, and to explain her absence in Legacy).
- The comparison between Sam and Flynn was well done, with Sam being very impetuous like his old man's younger years, while Flynn has learned patience after an apparent 1000 years inside the Grid. But in the end, it's not one or the other that's right, but balance between the two, all done without having to hammer it into our skulls with an anvil and crowbar.
- I have my theories regarding Castor/Zuse being yet another ISO that survived Flynn's purges by making himself useful. This explains his aforementioned history with Quorra, and why he becomes uncomfortable when it's mentioned around him, while she trusts him implicitly. Naturally, when Clu has no further use for him, he finishes what he started by blowing up the club. Also interesting is that Zuse features something no one else does, in personal ranged weaponry(his machine gun staff from the fight scene), implying that *someone* made the thing from scratch...which ISOs are capable of, given their unique nature. Though it's also possible that it was a gift from Quorra, tying into her history with him, I find the odd mark on his forehead suspicious.
- The bit with Rinzler/Tron refraining from finishing off Sam when he had the chance in the arena is a clever bit, as it initially appears he does so out of loyalty to Clu (who wants Sam for his own purposes), but actually ends up being also a case of Rinzler's Heel Face Turn starting, in that he refuses to kill a User, as his initial program was to protect them. While Clu can repurpose him into slaughtering hordes of resisting programs as his personal champion, killing Sam is so against Tron's original purpose that he can't do it. Notably, almost every time Rinzler attacks Flynn and Sam later, he's holding back ever so subtly, but Quorra has no such immunity. This trumps itself when Clu essentially forces him into an impossible decision: obey his Rectified objective or his original purpose...and his base code wins out, complete with the aforementioned shout out. It was all quite cleverly done as a way to prevent Tron from overbalancing the good guys against Clu, while simultaneously limiting Clu's final assistants to mindless Rectified drones and a traitor waiting to happen...and also lets Tron be badass...just for the wrong side.
In finishing, great movie, would watch again, will buy, and want a sequel now, thank you, yes.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
Great film, and much better paced than the original (which I've yet to watch in its entirety, but took a *long* time, relatively speaking, out of its runtime to get to the point of the flick).
Sam is rather nice in that, as people have noted, he's much *nicer* than the average "I was abandoned by my parents before I was old enough to drive" archetype. Plus, he can emote pretty well. The reunion in the chalet was actually heartwarming between both his and Jeff Bridges' performances really coming off perfectly and not forced.
Quora was just damn exceptional. Her actress pulled off the Action Girl role well, but more importantly, she can act. All sorts of little touches in every scene she was active in make her performance believable and like someone reacting to actual events, especially during the dinner (The "Ooooh, awkwaaaaard." expression was just priceless). Her wide eyed naivete and awe at most "normal" things when outside life and death situations was refreshing compared to how she could've been done as a hardened badass. I want to see a sequel just to see more of her (the fact she's not hard on the eyes being a minor side note in this case). The fact that the actress herself in interviews has expressed an interest in a sequel involving her reactions to the real world (and equated it to Splash's fish out of water theme, of all things) just really impresses me.
Clu was just excellent, and I find it interesting that everything about him is a development from Flynn in the original. Flynn in the present has had a while to think on his mistakes and mature, but Clu is the result of his older personality: brash, cocky, and self-assured, always taking risks without thinking about them. Naturally, not stopping to double-check himself led to the most infamously worded command to a program ever, which results in the inevitable Programmer's Bane: "A computer will do exactly what you tell it to."
Also, one moment that, despite not having seen the entirety of the original, still managed to get pulled off with panache and feeling, which gets slotted in here above the spoiler block: "I fight for the Users."
Finally, the acting was just...wonderfully done. Body language and everything being as important as dialogue, perfect deliveries in a number of places, and motivations that make sense for everyone involved at every step of the way...just wonderful.
Okay, now. Spoilers and sequel speculation below:
- Besides the obvious spoiler hook at the end of the film, one earlier is much more obvious: a programmer named Dillinger, very heavily involved in the development of Encom OS 12, the "most secure OS ever", which has been broadcast worldwide, for free, because of Sam. Ties back to the original, a known actor that only got one scene, and gross nostalgia suggest to me that he may end up causing the return of the MCP, and possibly Sark, if Dillinger Sr. had a backup copy...
- Clu's reintegration into Flynn and Rinzler/Tron's apparent drifting death are by no means permanent, assuming that Disney can get Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner back for the sequel. Given their obvious establishment of badass cred in Legacy, the possibility of adding them to the good guys side against the theoretical antagonist listing mentioned above allows for the possibility of a good old Five Man Band featuring Sam, Quorra, Tron, Clu 3.0, and Flynn (or Yori, if they REALLY want to re-use everyone, and to explain her absence in Legacy).
- The comparison between Sam and Flynn was well done, with Sam being very impetuous like his old man's younger years, while Flynn has learned patience after an apparent 1000 years inside the Grid. But in the end, it's not one or the other that's right, but balance between the two, all done without having to hammer it into our skulls with an anvil and crowbar.
- I have my theories regarding Castor/Zuse being yet another ISO that survived Flynn's purges by making himself useful. This explains his aforementioned history with Quorra, and why he becomes uncomfortable when it's mentioned around him, while she trusts him implicitly. Naturally, when Clu has no further use for him, he finishes what he started by blowing up the club. Also interesting is that Zuse features something no one else does, in personal ranged weaponry(his machine gun staff from the fight scene), implying that *someone* made the thing from scratch...which ISOs are capable of, given their unique nature. Though it's also possible that it was a gift from Quorra, tying into her history with him, I find the odd mark on his forehead suspicious.
- The bit with Rinzler/Tron refraining from finishing off Sam when he had the chance in the arena is a clever bit, as it initially appears he does so out of loyalty to Clu (who wants Sam for his own purposes), but actually ends up being also a case of Rinzler's Heel Face Turn starting, in that he refuses to kill a User, as his initial program was to protect them. While Clu can repurpose him into slaughtering hordes of resisting programs as his personal champion, killing Sam is so against Tron's original purpose that he can't do it. Notably, almost every time Rinzler attacks Flynn and Sam later, he's holding back ever so subtly, but Quorra has no such immunity. This trumps itself when Clu essentially forces him into an impossible decision: obey his Rectified objective or his original purpose...and his base code wins out, complete with the aforementioned shout out. It was all quite cleverly done as a way to prevent Tron from overbalancing the good guys against Clu, while simultaneously limiting Clu's final assistants to mindless Rectified drones and a traitor waiting to happen...and also lets Tron be badass...just for the wrong side.
In finishing, great movie, would watch again, will buy, and want a sequel now, thank you, yes.
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."