Nerding Out: Tron Legacy Trailer

You've gotten the breakdown on the latest trailer for Tron Legacy, but the big quesiton remains: what does it all mean!?

Jordan Hoffman (@JHoffman6) and myself (@misterpatches) closed our eyes, took a deep breath, and spitfired.  Here's out nerd out on what we saw, what we liked, and why the twenty-eight year wait might have been worth it.

@JHoffman6: I think we can both agree that the coolest thing either of us will see this weekend is the GIANT Recognizer facing off against a puny man/program inside the world of Tron Legacy

@misterpatches: With a digital lightning storm raging in the background.

@misterpatches: Did the trailer satisfy your Tron fanboy needs?

@JHoffman6: Almost. 93% yes. I'd've like to've seen one extra vista of the world, or one more explosive action image from a lightcycle race. But what's the first rule of show business, @misterpatches?

@misterpatches: Always leave them wanting more, if I remember correctly.

@JHoffman6: Correct. That and sexy dames means box office. To which I may say, That Olivia Wilde costume is none too shabby.

@misterpatches: Mark my words: Olivia Wilde will convince everyone that 3D is the right direction for cinema.

@misterpatches: She may have what it takes to outsex Cindy Morgan.

@JHoffman6: The teaser zipped by so quickly, what were the aspects you remember best?

@misterpatches: Well I'm glad they gave us an extended look at the pre-computer world, that we aren't just diving into a CG imagery fest.

@JHoffman6: Yes. Story is important. I heard that somewhere.

@misterpatches: The opening scene between Garrett Hedlund as Sam Flynn and Alan One was a great little snippet of acting.

@misterpatches: I did not realize that the star of Tron Legacy is the heir to the throne of Christian Slater.

@misterpatches: or Jack Nicholson, depending.

@JHoffman6: Yes, Brian Helgeland, or whatever his name is, does a better Christian Slater than Jay Baruchel does, absolutely.

@JHoffman6: I loved the opening shot of the ENCOM building with the helicopter. WIth the music that went with it, it had a Dark Knight feel.

@JHoffman6: However, I don't think we heard anything specifically Daft Punk in the score, did we?

@misterpatches: I don't think so.  Nothing that stood out as a "Tron" theme.

@JHoffman6: Did you catch that Flynn the Younger was adept at motorcycles, hence motivating his eventual dominance in the world of lightcycles?

@misterpatches: Ha! No, I did not put two and two together.

@misterpatches: I guess his Daddy issues made him into a rebel type.

@JHoffman6: Clearly I am better than you for picking up on that.

@misterpatches: Let me ask you this: did we see Elder Flynn other than his eyes that were in the original teaser?

@misterpatches: I thought I saw him (or Clu?) as one of the players coming on to the gaming grid.

@misterpatches: The younger program version of himself.

@JHoffman6: Yes. He was in yellow and was flanked by others - the younger version, correct.

@misterpatches: That made my inner nerd giddy, I won't lie.

@JHoffman6: Question: if Flynn is so smart, why would he keep a laser *just* like the one the MCP used in the original to zap him onto the game grid in his office. And put it behind his chair, kinda hidden away.

@JHoffman6: Seems like the *worst* place to put one of those. . .

@misterpatches: Wasn't it strategically placed there so Flynn could bring people into the computer?  I don't think Sam is accidently zapped.

@JHoffman6: How could a man intentionally zap his only begotten son?

@misterpatches: Maybe all those rumors of this being the Tron version of Heart of Darkness is true, and he's either gone crazy OR he's being held captive, and needs Sam to come in and save him.

@misterpatches: I bet it gets pretty lonely in Tron City.  Being a User, that is.

@JHoffman6: Cool. One bit of metatextuality was seeing the actual TRON videogame in the beat up Flynn's Arcade. I talked about this with the comic-con coverage, but after looking at the new ENCOM viral site, it looks like in the between-films story, Flynn creates the game "Tron" that we all loved in the 1980s. Kinda bizarre.

@JHoffman6: And, egotistical, at that.

@misterpatches: I hope Alan One gets residuals.

@JHoffman6: Indeed. Okay, we should sum up. A) was it worth getting up early on a Saturday to see a two minute trailer?

@misterpatches: For me, yes. For everyone else in the theater, no. People will be perturbed, and I can see a lot of negative reactions based not on the content, but on the experience.

@misterpatches: Disney kind of dropped the ball on this one, but the important thing is: the footage looked great.

@JHoffman6: They dropped the ball because it was *only* a trailer? Not more footage like Avatar Day?

@JHoffman6: The flick doesn't come out til Dec.

@misterpatches: It would have been OK if we didn't know a trailer was coming out this week.

@JHoffman6: Agreed.

@misterpatches: I was happy to come out just to see two seconds of Michael Sheen as Ziggy Stardust.

@JHoffman6: Wait - was that Michael Sheen playing air guitar with the white hair?!?!?!

@misterpatches: I think so!

@JHoffman6: Holy crap!  That's awesome!

@misterpatches: I think he plays a club owner, and I'm pretty sure that was him.  Either way, a David Bowie look-a-like is in Tron Legacy.

@JHoffman6: I heard a rumor that it is called the "End of Line" club. Maybe I'm not supposed to say, but, well, there it is.

@misterpatches: I'm hoping there aren't a lot of nods to the original like that.

@JHoffman6: Really? Why not?

@misterpatches: Even as a big, big, BIG Tron fan, I don't need fan service.

@misterpatches: The fan service is the fact that they even MADE this movie.

@JHoffman6: Then you are a better man than I. I need the servicing. That's why I didn't put hit out on J.J. Abrams.

@misterpatches: "End of Line" club is corny.  Although, I might retract that statement when I hear "FINISH THE GAME".

@JHoffman6: Yeah - if you hear FINISH THE GAME you'll have both arms up shouting YES!!!

Tron Legacy hits theaters December 17th, and the trailer should debut with Alice in Wonderland!