12.28.10 - 8:56 am

friday i spent the whole day anticipating the exciting evening ahead.

tron.

i dont even know how long id waited for this. it wasnt even like i was a superfan of the original. every morning waking, hoping a sequel would one day satiate my unquenchable desire for answers to all the questions remaining after the first film. no. not like that at all. i saw the test footage teaser and was immediately interested in the amazing visuals. i was also reminded of my father raving about how cool the original was back when i was a child. when asked about it recently however, he denied his past enthusiasm adamantly.

so i watched the original and sat wide eyed in disbelief how crappy the special effects were and how silly the story was. but i still enjoyed it. i can imagine back in the mid eighties how incredible it must have looked. just like twenty years from now everyone will watch avatar and shake their heads with how archaic the special effects seem.

my father had offered to take me to dinner for the evening and i invited him to tron hoping it would spark some interest in a film he used to secretly enjoy. being completely unreliable, i didnt expect my father to want to stick around post dinner. but following our delicious meal at claim jumpers....he miraculously agreed to continue with julie and i for the remainder of the evening.

just before this, he even showed up for ashtons christmas play. driving all the way from jantzen beach to tigard for the hour long evening event. i was floored. but thrilled.

arriving at the theater, the entire lobby was filled with a mob of heavily clothed seat takers. julie and father immediately turned off their already waning enthusiasm. i was not swayed. my excitement swelled when i realized the horde crowding the warm lobby were all cattled together for the 3D imax...not the standard 3D i had purchased. this meant while their bloated line continued to fill, i was able to make it to the coveted third person position of the completely empty wall line. i had just secured some awesome seats.

the movie was great. highly entertaining. i love me some jeff bridges. both aged and electronically rendered in youth. i had listened to the daft punk composed soundtrack for a couple of weeks prior to this evening...and wasnt impressed. it was ok. clever techno stuff. there didnt seem to be a distinct and admirable theme though, like indiana jones or star wars. but watching the film layered with their music, it worked. it worked really well. i cant imagine john williams or hans zimmer being able to do a better job; although we all know they would. i guess my favorite elements of the movie were the elements repeated from the first film. everything was razzle dazzled up of course, but structurally there were so many recognizable images from the original: the tanks, the big blocky recognizers, the motorcycles and the solar sailer. i loved that.

where as in a significantly updated movie like transformers, most of the characters are unrecognizable from their original form. optimus for example, only had the red body and blue head as your indication he was optimus. they even had changed his vehicle type. in tron, the distinct shapes were still there, and only from those were they built upon.

the movie ended, people clapped and i was pleased. father took us home and the evening concluded.

when i see it again, i dont think ill see it in 3D however, there wasnt enough of it to wow me and i didnt think it added to the experience as it had in avatar. this is a movie i look forward to owning and watching at home in the dark with the volume turned way up.