YBMW Recaps Tron Night 2010

Unless this is your very first time reading Youbentmywookie, you know we have been excited about “Tron Legacy” for quite some time now. We got our first big taste at Comic Con, but last night we were treated to over twenty five minutes of 3D IMAX footage from the film at the sold out Tron Night 2010 screenings around the country.

The event both made me excited and a little bit nervous about the movie’s pending release. On the one hand, the footage was great. The movie really is coming together well. the effects are ridiculous and the CGI actually feels natural, not like it is a forced gimmick… Ya, I’m talking to you Avatar.

Along with some footage that we’ve seen before, here are some of the things that we got a chance to see for the first time:

– The complete scene leading up Sam being transported to the grid
The scene picks up with Sam arriving home on his Ducati after apparently getting arrested for a big stunt. When he enters, he finds Allen Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) waiting for him. They discuss Sam’s seeming lack of interest in taking over the company and then Bradley tells him about the page he got from the arcade after 20 years of silence.

Next we see Sam pulling up to Flynn’s arcade. He enters, turns on the power and the place comes alive with the sounds of old school gaming. In the center of the room is the old Tron arcade game. He pops in a quarter and it falls through to the ground. This is how he discovers the secret lab of his father and accidentally trips the laser that sends him to the grid.

– A complete Disc Wars Battle
Sam is one of several programs who are paired up for Disc Wars in the arena. The program that he is paired up with is actually the same character that he he had a statue of in his bedroom as a child. Without spoiling too many details, this is where Sam realizes just how high the stakes are. It is also where he (clumsily) learns to use his Disc, and where he wins his first battle.

– The full scene introducing Quora (Olivia Wilde) to Sam
There is a lot of mystery in this scene. We found out later in this scene that Quora actual has rescued Sam from the light cycle arena in her light runner. In the first part of the scene she fends off the attacking light cycles and takes the vehicle off the grid where cycles can’t follow. After a bit of mysterious tension she takes off her helmet to reveal her identity. A shortened version of this scene can be found below.

– Sam’s reunion with his father.
In this scene we get a sense that time is not exactly what it seems on the grid. Sam’s father is old, but he acts like a man who has been imprisoned for a lifetime. While his reunion with his son is definitely heart felt, there is a distance between the two. This is also the scene where it is alluded to that the pager call that set all these actions in motion might not have actually come from Flynn, but from CLU.

– And last but not least… LIGHT JETS!
Not much to say here… the good guys were being chased by light jets for a couple seconds and then the title came up and the lights came on.

I had three people with me. My mother, Our good Wookie friend, @TravelBlggr and her man. The two guys were pretty much instantly sold on the 20+ minutes of geeky goodness, but it was surprising to see That both of the ladies, neither of whom really had any major feelings before hand, were both hooked by the end of the footage.

So, with all this great news, why am I worried? Well, something isn’t quite right here. Disney has put their heart and soul into marketing this film in a way that I’ve never seen with any other film in my life. The multiple years of coverage and special events at Comic Con and Wondercon. The massive online viral marketing program that has spanned dozens of websites and yielded millions of pieces of swag for loyal fans ranging from pins to badges to… whatever is supposed to come in the mail now that I beat the new Arcaid Aid game.

So, with all that effort… why was I sitting in a half empty movie theater last night? the theater was sold out… but people didn’t show and there was no one waiting for seats in case there were any extra spots.

Disney is taking a huge gamble by making such a direct sequel of a movie from so long ago. Yes, Tron is an Iconic Film, but its fan base is a pretty tight niche of geeks.

So, I guess my concern is… does this movie have what it takes to break through to the mass market? I think that if people give it a chance then the answer is yes, but if people just dismiss it as the sequel to an old Disney Sci Fi movie, Disney is in for one serious butt kicking at the box office.

Now, here’s a shortened version of the scene where Sam meets Quora for the very first time: