Saturday, February 27, 2010

Fans Converge on NY for Tron Legacy Trailer

Those following my Twitter lunacy knew something was up. I'd alerted people to appear at certain times and places to look for people in "Flynn Lives" T shirts and say code words like "Coin Return" or "Game Over"...for what I had no idea. It just sounded like a good time if you were already in the area! The page hosting the info on this abrupt scavenger hunt features a large area that was being filled up with thumbnail sized pics from the original Tron film. Flipping these over with a click revealed a picture of a man in a Tron-like suit walking into a corridor of bright light. Below the image was an icon to click on which brought you to a page alerting you to a special event held in NY, LA, Toronto, London and Sydney below a large bit of text welcoming you to the "Pit Cell".

One day later, I'm in a theater full of twitchy geeklings at 10am with my friend Ted Geoghegan who seems equally excited. We've already got a "Flynn Lives" T shirt just for walking in the door, so anything more is just cake (especially for Ted who only walked 4 blocks or so to the screening.) We did our best to assure those around us we'd probably only see the trailer and MAYBE a few minutes of footage like the Dark Knight event held some years back. Spontaneously, random people in the audience began shouting where they had traveled from. Philadelphia...Boston...Toronto! Some girl laughed and said "There IS a screening in Toronto!!" Sadly, there was no answer to this challenge and we settled into our seats as the theater darkened and we slid on our large goofy IMAX 3D glasses (which are about 2 times the size of the Elvis Costello jobbies you get when you go to a normal 3D movie. I told Ted he looked like Captain Eo.)

Our theater crowd was so keyed up for gonzo eye candy that the green ratings card shown in 3D drew OOO's and AHHHH's from all around us. Then came the main attraction. A young boy is urged by a well dressed man to pursue his father's dreams. All roads lead back to Flynn's Arcade, which is exactly as he left it, including the hidden entrance to a secret room where Flynn's REAL toys are waiting for curious hands. A flash of light and we are in. MIND BLOWINGLY COOL!! Imagine all your dreams for what could be done with a movie as basic as Tron with effects that looked as if they were programmed on a Commodore 64. The light cycles..the monstrous red flying ships...now make it all 3D. The tone seems very tense as we flip past an array of quirky characters in glowing suits...one behaving like a mock rock star, one sexing up the screen like Miss November in a super hot Tron inspired calender and one stoic form gripping an Identity Disk with hate filled eyes.

This is going to be a MUST SEE on an IMAX 3D screen if you are able. The effects coupled with this technology is just too cool for words. I actually had chills the entire time, while Ted moaned, surely caught in the throws of continuous geekgasms as we watched. If you were already a fan of Tron, you are about to be blown out of your seat. If you just like going to the movies to be wowed by the pretty lights, you should leave this one grinning from ear to ear. You'll be able to share in our excitement soon enough!

No comments :

Post a Comment