Possibly the Zuse / Quorra relationship is another possible hook for a future movie. Nothing said that Zuse was destroyed . . .

Also from another perspective, perhaps Zuse was being watched by CLU and not summoned as is 'assumed' (or maybe watched by an even greater program/entity we know nothing about yet) and was forced to act like he did to preserve himself or even Sam and Flynn. That's pretty far-fetched, but it has been done before.

Just because you do not see an immediate explanation for something, does not mean that a meaning does not exist, nor does it mean that its inclusion is an irrelevant part of the tapestry. It could also mean nothing, just a flight of fancy to lighten or distract.

I personally thought that the light-cycles were a good upgrade, introducing a 3rd dimension without removing the limits of the two-dimension original, for the most part. As far as the battle being different, I didn't see it that way. What I saw were a group of programs that really weren't thinking of teaming up, until the last one at the end. In the original movie there were already bonds formed in the team, but these were total strangers. And I saw cycles being destroyed by being cut off, if not as two-dimensionally as before . . .

What I saw in CLU was the desire for perfection become absolute. He was designed to want and make perfection, but his idea of perfection could not evolve and he was unable to even conceive of acting any other way. In effect, he went (at least) slightly mad, as his creator ordered one thing, then totally went against that (and him) when the ISOs appeared (from CLU's perspective). Similar to HAL (2001 A Space Odyssey) if you think about it. His issues were likely also exacerbated by the length of time he had to think about it, and what he likely thought of as his 'cage' by the end, that being the Grid itself. There's a Matrix concept for you, as I'm sure you remember Mr Smith wanting 'out'. In some ways, Flynn is CLU's own MCP holding him from freedom.

I think both films are about oppression (from two different causes, greed and absolutism, possibly a third if you look at it from CLU's side), the fight against it, and how the characters react to such a situation.

And Flynn was right. ISOs would set the world on its head. All the programs you see, except the ISOs, are written by Flynn, or other users. The ISOs (presumably, if Flynn is right anyway) wrote themselves, even if they incorporated some of Flynn's code. Whether the ISOs made it to the outside world or not, that is a new form of life.

In conclusion, I think this film may be a lot deeper than a lot of people are willing to credit. But then, that's just my opinion. :)

The transfer may have failed for all but CLU and a few of his soldiers. Nothing says that he is right in his assumptions of being able to mass transport his army successfully.

There is very little sexual overtone in the Sam / Quorra relationship . . . they don't even kiss. Not really that surprising for Disney, but very surprising for Hollywood in general. Perhaps they regard each other as brother and sister (same father, hmmm?)

I also really don't know where you get the idea of 'powers' from either. Aside from being code, the main thing the programs ever really display is extreme gladitorial skills.

I'm not seeing anything particularly convenient here.

Alan sending Sam to his death? We have no idea what Alan knows about Flynn's activities, or what passed between them in the intervening time between the movies. Likely Alan just thought that Flynn been away and had now come back, likely just wanting the son the chance to be the first to see his father again. Or like-wise he may have known the sorts of stuff Flynn was up to and knew roughly what had occurred, assumed that Flynn had escaped and was back. And before you ask 'why didn't he help then?', Alan obviously knew nothing of the hidden lab.

In fact everyone seems to have overlooked one VERY big plot mechanic for a sequel. The page that starts it all turned up, yes, but all indications were that the Grid was totally isolated, making it extremely likely that a third party actually sent the page, possibly the younger Dillinger, in retaliation for his OS getting spammed to the net. Also (addressing your point further down, about the system seeming not quite up to speed with the world of today) if the grid is largely or totally isolated, and certainly the hardware had not been updated since Flynn's time, that would make the equipment and overall era of the world based on technology 20 years old at the time of the current film.

As far as Alan being made CEO? Even if you don't think he is qualified, he was previously in that position (or equivalent) and was appointed there by Sam, which is presumably within the powers granted by being the majority shareholder.

Kevin's disc appeared to hold the master control codes to the 'portal' without which, presumably, no-one who had not entered via the portal could exit it either, including Quorra.

Why not face down CLU earlier? At the very least, survival instinct, wanting to protect Quorra (who knows what would happen once Flynn was gone?) and the very real possibility that something may have gone wrong, giving CLU the disc and letting him free from the system. Flynn said that taking no action was a kind of action, and in this he held CLU from the possibility of escaping the confines of the Grid at all.

CLU saying to Sam that he was going to do the same thing as he did to his father? Make him run maybe? Or it could just have been something said to unnerve Sam.

Zuse was there as a potential way to slip past CLU and get out. A light of hope, as it were, and obviously Quorra knowing him was a way to push Flynn out of his litterally thousands of years of 'doing nothing' (human time for flynn; remember he stated that seconds were hours in conversion; can't remember the exact ratio but it may have been 1ms=8 hours). (cont)

Jeff Bridges is The Dude!

Yes, the plot did have some gaps in it. However, the film was set to be a little over 8 hours (until the portal closed). Realistically, I don't know how much plot you can squeeze into a movie that takes place within 8 hours, the condense it into a 2 hour movie. Any attempts explaining everything would have been sloppy and poorly done.

All in all, this is my favorite movie of the year! I've gone back and seen it three times already :X

1. CLU did NOT look creepy
2. The plot was great. No long monologues of technobabble.
3. The acting was awesome.
4. Wilde and Hedlund were both <insert positive adjective here>
5. Jeff Bridges is still awesome.

nuff said.

All in all, I thought this was a great movie. Seen at IMAX, the 3D was understated and immersive, visuals were stunning and action scenes very enjoyable. I did leave feeling like they missed an opportunity to make a truly great movie, though, with some of the important plot devices (C.L.U. invades real life… really?) under-developed and the important philosophical ideas under-explored.

8.5/10

Overall it sucked in my honest opinion. I could care less about visuals with CGI and 3D. I wish they'd go back to making movies about story lines instead of visuals. 3D is ruining movies!

Plus I loved the acting, Daft punk, the visual effects, although I don't have as keen an eye as many of the previous commenters display. Thank you, Mr. Fleming for such a great review, to say nothing of the great comments it sparked and that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Examples: the use of the Tron movie poster in Sam's room? The comment about the 'really big door that was also in the original? How about the former antagonists son being on the board? Alan returning as himself and also voice acting Tron? Flynn's arcade and apartment being mirror images of the original movie set (including the use of era specific music like Journey)? The returning grid elements from Tron above and beyond light cycles and identity discs? The fact that Flynn uses language that was specific to his character from the time of the previous movie (since he was missing since then) and his asking about things like what wifi is?

How about the metaphor of Clu? You'll notice he didn't wear good guy blue or brainwashed bad guy dark orange. He wore gold. Why? He isn't brainwashed. If you think about it, Clu uses the Master Control Program's original method of controlling the grid. Clu is Flynn corrupted by the pursuit of perfection becoming the very thing Flynn fought to destroy: The MCP. The story is a complete 'full circle' plot with Sam entering as his father did to overthrow the new MCP that is made in his father's image. The end chase between the transport and the destroyer finishes the full circle analogy with Old Flynn explaining that its his fault Clu became a tyrant: he could only give him the ambition he had then, not the wisdom he has now…. and the negation of old Flynn / Clu it leaves Sam in the exact same spot his father was in at the end of the original Tron: incharge of Encomm with the freedom to create a new world on the Grid with Corra by his side and as the only human to have ever actually been there.

Was the score epic? Yes. Visuals stunning? Yes. Plot as stretch? Sure but it was built on an 80's movie plot (remember The Never Ending Story or Labyrinth? lol). Was it a good movie? Hell yes. Was it better than original Tron? Absolutely. Did it showcase visual effects that are as impressive now as those in Tron were then? Sure did. Did it compliment Tron and interwind the original plot? With out a doubt. What the hell else do you want from a sequel? Its not a stand alone film. Its bound by the originals' framework.

I thought it rocked, especially considering the 28 year lapse between films.