The TRON: LEGACY Conundrum...

I've got one huge honking dilemma on my hands right now, and it's about a movie I know I probably shouldn't go out and see for reasons of my own, but damn it - the more I see of it, the more I WANT to.

See, I was there in the beginning, waaay back in the magical year of 1982 when movies were still good and Disney had yet to be a channel. TRON came out that summer and wowed everybody's digital socks off with its look at the inside world of a computer. Pretty cool arcade game, too.

And then there was my favorite part of TRON, besides the look...Jeff Bridges. He was funny, sharp, had good one-liners and bounced around like a 10 year-old kid on jumping beans. In fact, I think he was a lot of people's favorite thing about TRON.

Then after its success, everyone started whining, "Ooh, when's the sequel coming out?" Or "Ooh, aren't they going to continue the story? Ooh...." I, however, was not one of those clamboring for another TRON movie.

Why? Because even as a callow youth I knew that some stories just needed one movie to be told. For some films, sometimes one movie to tell your story is one movie too much (right, Friday the 13th?). I would be content catching it on TV, getting it on VHS, upgrading to the 2-disc DVD and reliving my youth.

Then it happened; this trailer was released:

Damn it, they got my attention. Love TRON or hate it, you gotta admit that's some impressive CGI. And then there was the sight of Jeff Bridges - which would make any fan of the 1982 original do a "whoop-whoop". Still, even though the sight of those light cycles made my heart race with their sleek beauty, I didn't feel the same kind of rush I did way back when.

Disney then had to go and release THIS trailer:

Interesting - and there was a Recognizer! It's always good to see Bruce Boxleitner, even though I figure we'll never see HIM back in the computer mainframe, sadly. But only a fleeting glimpse of Jeff this time. Lots of teens, too. Of course, I am getting older while the world gets younger, so.... Lots of interesting revving engines, racing light cycles and noise and light, but still, not the same kind of heart as what I had felt when we were all younger and more foolish. I could still walk away from this one without any ill effects.

And it probably would have ended there, if I hadn't just caught THIS trailer today.

Young AND old Jeff Bridges??! More amazing special effects and action all over the place. Whoa, says my inner Keanu.

Now, this is turning out to become a movie that will appeal to the old TRON fans and the new up-and-coming tech-heads. Sometimes these kinds of movies work out and not only make legions of fans on both side of the microchip but make the accounting department at the studio happy too. Other times, though, they fall down with a thud and people ignore them in droves.

This one, though, may be a different story. Or it may not. Who knows?

As I said, I'm still on the fence. I don't want to ruin any of my old memories by having them replaced with new images that immediately ruin what I used to know. Then again, what if TRON: LEGACY is the sequel that bucks the odds and is just every bit as enjoyable as the original...and I miss it because of my own stubborn sticking to my beloved childhood memories?

I've still got a few months to mull it over. I'll have to watch the trailers again and think about it.

Looks like I'll be thinking about it a few dozen more times, at least.

END OF LINE.

DOPE OUT.

- TGWD