After news that TRON 3 is greenlit and will be shot in Vancouver by director Joseph Kosinski, we now have word that both Garrett Hedlund (Sam Flynn) and Olivia Wilde (Quorra) will be returning to the fantasy world. TRON: LEGACY made $400 million worldwide so it's little wonder why Disney is revisiting again.
It would make sense that if Quorra (an ISO - a computer program) can leave the grid as she did at the end of LEGACY, then perhaps others may follow her out into our "world". That premise makes for a very fascinating storyline and it's rumored that the movie will be exploring it and perhaps will be entitled TRON: ASCENSION.
More information when I get it! TRON 3 starts shooting in October.
Vancouver's VanCity Buzz (reliable news source) is saying that the sequel to Disney's 2010 TRON: LEGACY will begin lensing in the city October 5.
From VanCity: A majority of Tron: Legacy was shot at Canadian Motion Picture Park in Burnaby while some ‘real world’ scenes were filmed at the Shangri-La Vancouver Hotel (ENCOM headquarters), the Lions Gate Bridge (final escape scene) and neighbourhoods in East Vancouver.
It appears that lead Garrett Hedlund and director Joseph Kosinski WILL return according to rumors.
I've lived in Vancouver and LOVE it. I'll update you on locations for TRON 3 as soon as I have them. No word on whether TRON 3 will continue in the fine tradition of TRON: LEGACY's native 3D, which in my mind absolutely demands it.
Music to my ears! I loved TRON: LEGACY and so without reservation I have been looking forward to a sequel especially because the principals are still there: Joseph Kosinski is directing and it looks like the top line actors are returning.
Here is what Bruce Boxleitner had to say on the subject: "It’s in the works. Anything could happen, but all I can say is, it’s in its formative stages. [Joseph] Kosinski, who is slated for it, he’s shooting another movie now, and then they’ll get around to doing that. I think somewhere around 2014, maybe. I’m talking way out of school here, but they can’t shoot me because I’m Tron."
He added further: "The last movie didn’t end. It actually started the next movie and then went to black."
Boxleitner has been the only one from the LEGACY production to let us know about a potential sequel and continues to do so. Though the first time he told us he was thinking a release in 2013, which obviously isn't going to happen.
There are no spoilers in this review, but you are open to discuss anything you wish in the comments section.
Click on the images to enlarge.
I just revamped my Star Analysis movie review categories to include stereoscopic 3D and some other minor tweaks and here is the final result that I will be using to review future S3D movies.
TRON: LEGACY delivered on my "Most Anticipated Movie of 2010" from my list of last February. If you haven't seen this movie, do it. If AVATAR was the first bleep on the live action 3D radar screen (quite a massive blip!), then TRON: LEGACY would be the second. Massive tent poles like these will ensure the continued growth of 3D until ubiquity.
Fine 3D conversions and animations certainly play a key role in the success that S3D has been enjoying, especially ALICE IN WONDERLAND, TOY STORY 3 and HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. But live action 3D is the crown. We need these projects and we have been getting them steadily. TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON, THE HOBBIT, TINTIN, the Marvel and DC comic universes all are apart of the future.
Stereoscopic 3D (10 stars): TRON: LEGACY proudly joins this list with the best S3D visuals since AVATAR. In many ways it is superior to AVATAR - next generation technology was used and the geometry of The Grid allowed for outrageously wonderful 3D shots. I have the same urge to go back to see LEGACY many times, just as I did for AVATAR. When that happens, its magic. The Vince Pace / James Cameron FUSION 3D camera system was used with some small additional post production work done by Prime Focus as is customary in most live action 3D productions.
Story (7 stars): It could have been much better thought out. Right from the moment that I heard (in the trailers) Bruce Boxleitner say that he got paged from a number that was disconnected 20 years ago I had issues. Phone companies reuse phone numbers after a small waiting period. This little fact bothered me quite a bit. The story itself was not fully fleshed out and is more skeletal than anything else. It picks you up and delivers you, but not in the ride that you would have expected with such a tentpole. The story has ties to past atrocities and some will say even STAR WARS. It may cause some cringing because of those similarities. I cringed. Still, in the end I was smiling.
Acting (7.5 Stars): Sub par. We all know Bridges can deliver the goods with true grit, but something was missing. Hedlund was ok. Not great. Olivia Wilde carried the movie for the most part - she was an amazing casting choice. I will say I enjoyed Michael Sheen channeling Ziggy Stardust tremendously, unfortunately it was too brief.
Character Development (6 Stars): Almost absent. The most disappointing element to the movie for me. Not enough visual storytelling as the director seemed to be taking the easy way out of telling the audience what to believe rather than showing them. TRON: LEGACY is a visual masterpiece but it could have been even better had they worked in visual character development WITH the spectacle. A wasted opportunity.
Suspension of Disbelief (9 Stars): Well done! It all felt very authentic because of the wonderful level of CGI and stereoscopic work that was achieved. That is a not a trivial thing to accomplish either as you have to get audiences to forget the fact that these characters are inside a virtual game world. My hat is tipped.
Directing (7 Stars): For a first directorial effort, Joseph Kosinski hit a home run I believe. It could have been a spectacular flame out but in true Disney magic all is good. Again, there are flaws but this is a massive production - items slipped through the cracks. I believe Disney should have hired someone with a little more tentpole pedigree than Kosinski but it certainly was not a failure. I will say that he needs to focus more on his character development for future projects.
Sound / Score (9.5 Stars): Wow. Stunning score wasn't it? Daft Punk smacked us in the head over and over again with riveting audio moments that truly matched perfectly with LEGACY's taste and tempo. Well done.
Cinematography (8.5 Stars): Claudio Miranda (THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON) did a wonderful job. Of course many of the shots were green screened and the work must have been staggering. Again, my hat is tipped.
Special Effects / Stunts (9 Stars): Digital Domain, Mr. X, Prime Focus and Quantum Creation FX (specialty costumes and lighting effects) all worked on the movie with the lions share going to Digital Domain. What can I say? Go see the movie and you will see the magic that was achieved. In my opinion you NEED to see this in the theater at least once. Home theater will then trigger awe inspiring memories for you later :-)
**The system I used to derive my star ratings is not all that complex but should cover the bases. Essentially I assigned a weight to each classification that I deem important for a GOOD movie. So I am saying that a good story is over 3 times more important than good 3D. Of course bad 3D can ruin a movie and for that reason I will allow NEGATIVE scores (ratings that will reflect unprofessional finished work - like the 3D CLASH OF THE TITANS).
Note that each category gains its star rating via the success factor column: A success score of 100% earns a 10 star nod. The Stars Rating is merely used to generate the total star rating (after weight considerations) for the entire movie.
Like to see some other categories included in future reviews? Let me know what you think is important to you in the comments!
Special thanks to Empire Theatres for the IMAX screening.
Got the new Disney featurette on TRON: LEGACY's vehicles - very cool to see the director Joseph Kosinski, Jeff Bridges and Olivia Wilde talking about the various modes of movement in the film.
The light cycle for me is my most anticipated - obviously very perilous on the grid!
Here's the featurette:
Are you primed yet? December 17 can't come soon enough!!
