There’s a 68.71 percent chance Tron Legacy will be awesome

Published on July 26, 2009

With events featuring the vocal cast of Spongebob Squarepants, spotlights on John Kricfalusi and Brian Lee O’Malley and a conversation between Henry Selick and Neil Gaiman, it’s an understatement to say I feel like a total idiot for missing this year’s San Diego Comicon. Thank goodness for the Internet, which allows gems like this trailer for Tron Legacy to escape from the sold-out convention center’s clutches.

The original Tron is as visually arresting as it is flawed. The look of the film pioneered computer-generated effects and captured the imagination of a young John Lasseter, thusly influencing the course of animation history forever. It occupies a space in the geek lexicon somewhere in proximity to Hackers, The Matrix and the original Star Wars trilogy, yet fails spectacularly in communicating the human element of all those films. Despite a wonderful cast (with Jeff Bridges and David Warner predictably stealing the show), the abundant computer metaphors are too abstract to lend nuance to a script filled with awkward dialog and methodical exposition.

We forgive it because it looks so darn cool.

If this footage is indicative of what Tron Legacy holds for viewers, I think we’re in for a treat. They’ve progressed the look of the first film without needlessly polishing all the edges. They’ve retained Jeff Bridges as the principal human character. Most importantly, they appear to have injected the plot with a greater sense of intrigue and acceleration.

I can’t wait!