I was an 8 year old kid learning to program my Apple II when my dad took me to see TRON in 1983. The film has probably been a bigger deal in my life than I would consciously reckon.
I was made aware of this tonight after seeing TRON Legacy. I saw it in 3d at IMAX and it was spectacular, no doubt about that. But the story didn't feel like it had much depth, and there was no sense of wonder.
Aesthetically, the feat of the original film is only reproducible by doing something that nobody understands or has imagined yet, and doing it with new technology. The aesthetic of the new TRON is beautiful, but it runs along with my feelings about the diminishing returns of photorealism in gaming - the world of the original TRON didn't look like anything we knew. This new one looks like plenty we know. The world inside the computer has become a concrete looking environment painted with photorealistic CGI. It looks like it's all really there, like it's built out of matter. You can see the real latex wads on people's hands. To me this felt all wrong, somehow.
Is this the point? That graphics are going this way? It seems logical, but in a way, I don't even understand the aesthetic of the new film. It didn't seem to bother anyone I saw it with.
I enjoyed the film when it was in front of me, but afterwards I felt oddly down about it. I didn't think I went in with manic expectations, but I suppose deep down, I did want more, because the original film has been a part of my consciousness all this time, and it's a film which invoked pure creativity. The new film doesn't touch anything so inspiring, even if it has many good qualities.
I was made aware of this tonight after seeing TRON Legacy. I saw it in 3d at IMAX and it was spectacular, no doubt about that. But the story didn't feel like it had much depth, and there was no sense of wonder.
Aesthetically, the feat of the original film is only reproducible by doing something that nobody understands or has imagined yet, and doing it with new technology. The aesthetic of the new TRON is beautiful, but it runs along with my feelings about the diminishing returns of photorealism in gaming - the world of the original TRON didn't look like anything we knew. This new one looks like plenty we know. The world inside the computer has become a concrete looking environment painted with photorealistic CGI. It looks like it's all really there, like it's built out of matter. You can see the real latex wads on people's hands. To me this felt all wrong, somehow.
Is this the point? That graphics are going this way? It seems logical, but in a way, I don't even understand the aesthetic of the new film. It didn't seem to bother anyone I saw it with.
I enjoyed the film when it was in front of me, but afterwards I felt oddly down about it. I didn't think I went in with manic expectations, but I suppose deep down, I did want more, because the original film has been a part of my consciousness all this time, and it's a film which invoked pure creativity. The new film doesn't touch anything so inspiring, even if it has many good qualities.