Finally saw the new Tron movie last week … and it was worth the wait! We actually made a day out of it; Jim Bob came over and we watched the original again as preparation with my four kiddos and a disinterested Heather. They loved it (of course), and then Jim Bob and I took off to watch it in 3D. Sweeeet. Here are my thoughts …
Definitely a fun ride. I loved all of the subtle and obvious ties to the first film. I got chills seeing the old arcade. Hearing all the old games sent me back to when I was 12 at the nickel arcade. Loved that place! I also love that they brought back the original Tron actor and Jeff Bridges to reprise their roles. I thought it was a little cheesy having Dilinger’s grandson in the beginning, but whatever. It was great that they used the original actors – it would have been a lot easier to reboot the movie with a new cast, but this made it a true sequel. How often does that happen after almost 30 years?
In all honesty, the plot in many ways paralleled the original. Same basic course, even down to Tron saving the day at the end (his name is in the title, after all). I was a little weirded out by the Isotopes lifeform deal, but whatever. I kind of wished they had said just how long Flynn had been trapped on the grid – I got the impression it was centuries. The technology they used to make the young Flynn was awesome – loved seeing the two versions of Jeff Bridges facing off. And it added some depth to the character of Clu in the end when he seemed to be asking for that approval or place in the creator’s life that he felt he had been denied.
It’s supposed to be the first part in a new trilogy … but I doubt that will happen. It hasn’t made enough money, which is disappointing. The movie is definitely worth seeing, whether you’re a Tron fan or not – it was a lot of fun. I hate to say it, but part of me wonders if it would have drawn more of a crowd if they had gone for a PG-13 rating instead of the PG it ended up with; not that I’m complaining, though. I’m looking forward to letting my kids see it when the DVD comes out!
Matthew McNutt 
Saw it this weekend and came away – meh. Visually stunning yet again but it left huge holes in the story. For someone like my daughter (23) she had no idea who a lot of these people were, why what they were doing was important or who or what Tron was. Which made his sacrifice at the end utterly meaningless. To be honest I didn't get much of a rush of emotion either. The movie made way too much of a gamble that everyone walking through the door was a die hard fan which sacrifices any new viewers. The idea to pull the original because it might damage the new one I think backfired. We would have watched the original and might have come away with a better impression.
Enjoyed it but they screwed themselves as far as the next sequel.
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