As we reach the final stretch of the filmgoing year (try not to think about the passage of time, try not to think of the passage of time...), the buzz machine will begin on what is, arguably, the final genre blockbuster of the year: Tron: Legacy.

Oh, I know Gulliver's Travels will probably make a boatload of money, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will make a brave show of it. But both are decidedly holiday movies -- safe for grandma, grandpa, and the kids! -- whereas Tron: Legacy is the kind of film that comes with 7-Eleven cups and a lot of articles in mainstream periodicals talking about how geeks rule the multiplex and this Tron resurrection is proof. No one writes that about Jack Black.

I digress in my justifications. The point is, Film.com has decided to get a jump on the publicity machine and discuss the pros and cons of Tron: Legacy and whether or not it will be awesome. We're doing this because the Internet is all about arbitrarily judging a cinematic product on its trailers and stills alone, and also because you'll probably be sick of all things Tron by December. This is our best chance to talk about Tron: Legacy and not be drowned out in a million newsfeeds, retweets, and blog posts.

Now, let's hack our way through the code...

The Cons of Tron: Legacy

1. Well ... it's Tron

Let's be brutally honest -- has anyone truly cared about Tron for at least 20 years? Yes, it's often referenced as a landmark of CGI and a startling predictor of modern computer gaming. (Still waiting for an XBOX game that's immersive 3-D, though.) But let's be honest -- it didn't spawn the fandom of Star Wars or Star Trek. It was a one-shot deal. Even those late night Disney Channel showings failed to spark the kind of cult fandom that would later find mainstream expression in collectibles and conventions. Your average moviegoer knows who Darth Vader is, but I doubt they remember Tron was a character and not just the world everyone was sucked into. I'm willing to bet few can recite the plot. It feels like a hard cheese of a sell any way you look at it. For older audiences, it's going to provoke groans of "Tron? Really? Where's the original ideas, Hollywood?" For younger audiences, it will cause confusion. "What's Tron? Why does it have a Legacy? Wait, is that The Dude?"

2. The new (old) Tron fans

I was born in 1982, the year Tron came out. This was also the same year E.T. came out. It was a year before The Return of the Jedi. It was a year after Raiders of the Lost Ark. These films were all formative parts of my childhood though I was but an infant when they hit theaters. Tron wasn't. The first I knew of a movie called Tron was when I went to Disneyland and rode the People Mover. I was thrilled to see R2D2 and C3PO -- Star Tours was full of references for me -- but what was this Tron thing? My interest died when I saw it. I thought it was boring. I may have fallen asleep. I may have confused it with Starman later on.

Obviously, my own perspective and taste is showing. But I know what films were referenced among a wide range of geeky friends, and our formative sci-fi experiences were very similar. Movies like Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Terminator, and Predator loomed large. We referenced Tron whenever we played laser tag under a black light, but it was a relic. We laughed at poor Tron Guy for holding onto that relic. We wondered when the hell they would update the People Mover.

There's even merchandising! Nothing so crass as Hot Topic, you understand, just cool underground places selling Tron t-shirts gently riffing on this beloved film. I'm sure someone out there will claim these products (and this intense fandom) existed long before Tron: Legacy debuted at ComicCon 2008. I'm cynical. I suspect they're all a retcon that launched just early enough so that they could lord it over those who discover Tron by way of its Legacy. The t-shirts will even be suitably faded.

I don't deny there were always fans of Tron, or that they occasionally and privately longed for a sequel. But ask the next geek you overhear chattering about the coolness of Clu when he or she was born. If it was after 1989, smack them.

3. Tron: Legacy has been marketing itself before there was even a film

I was there in San Diego in 2008, shivering inside the nearly empty Hall H when the first Tron: Legacy footage debuted. Now everyone (see above) was there on that fateful day when their Tron dreams were realized -- but I can only say that hall was basically empty. The footage debuted to a lot of excitement, though (especially thanks to Bridges' cameo), and was a puzzle for months until it was revealed to be a teaser that director Joseph Kosinski cooked up to warm Disney on a sequel. Since July 2008, Tron: Legacy has been a persistent feature of movie sites (Rumors! New Stills! Footage! Set Visits!) and has been a presence at no less than three ComicCons (including 2008).

Now, tracking this stuff is my job. I live in a myopic online universe where 2008 might as well be in hieroglyphics. I'm jolted out of this mindset when my dentist will say "Did they make an Iron Man 2?" when Iron Man 2 has been in theaters for three weeks. Chances are, someone like my dentist is still unaware Tron: Legacy exists. But the trailer has been playing pretty incessantly at the multiplex, and ComicCon coverage has been seeping into mainstream news for several years now. It may be that even my dentist will say "I'm sick of Tron Legacy!" and it will only be November.

There is a season for everything, and those seasons pass. Sometimes, it's better to leave stuff in the 1980s -- stuff like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Rambo, Die Hard, and Rocky. The last time fandom was wound up about the return of a classic was Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. We'll just stop there.

5. The technology-consumes-our-humanity angle has been done and often

It's a pro and a con of the movie. While Tron: Legacy might speak to our iAccessory times, it's also a brittle plot point. The Terminator series did it. The Matrix did it. Hell, even I, Robot and Avatar hammered on those themes like they were Ewya's tree tentacles. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not really asking Tron: Legacy to deliver some poignant whimpers on what we lose when we first begin to Facebook. But the very nature of the story suggests we might essentially be revisiting the Matrix -- and where's the excitement in that?

The Pros of Tron: Legacy

1. Jeff Bridges!

Jeff Bridges is awesome, a fact established long ago, but certainly cemented last year when everyone remembered they really, really liked Jeff Bridges and gave him an Oscar. (No disrespect to The Dude. It was long overdue.) One might have expected he'd stick to serious fare and keep hanging out with the Coens, but no way. He's doing Tron: Legacy, and it's just plain cool that he's reprising the role of Kevin Flynn. It's hard not to get a little shiver when he says "Sam? Been a long time." with such gravelly sadness. And the rumors (and trailer evidence) that they actually went back in time to 1982, fetched baby Bridges, and are having him reprise the role of Flynn's avatar, Clu, make it even more exciting.

Tron: Legacy really has a good cast. Michael Sheen is a wonderful actor when he's not slumming it in werewolf or vampire flicks. James Frain has done fine character work in his career, most recently (and recognizably) on True Blood and The Tudors. Rumor has it that Garrett Hedlund is a talented young guy just waiting to break into the big time. Oh and Olivia Wilde ... well, I haven't seen anything she's done, but she sure is pretty, isn't she? Honestly, there's going to be someone interesting to watch no matter where you look. Bridges isn't carrying this alone.

3. As sequels go, Tron: Legacy has good story sense

The plot has been kept as secret as J.J. Abrams' grocery list, but what we know is this: Kevin Flynn has vanished, leaving behind an arcade, a software empire, and a troubled son named Sam. A signal kicks on at the old Flynn's Arcade, a signal that Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) recognizes could only come from Kevin. Sam investigates and is sucked into the world of the Master Control Panel, where he must fight to save his father, and try to bring down the MCP.

What's cool about this is that it acknowledges the original Tron, and makes the original characters a key part of the story. But, it doesn't go forward with the corny idea of them as major action heroes. (Insert a reference to any creaky action series here.) Nor does the movie abandon them entirely in favor of a new generation of computer programmers who read about Flynn and Bradley on Wikipedia, re-create their work, and get sucked into the MCP. It's the best kind of passing-the-torch story, and I suspect it packs a few surprises as to what it actually does with those original characters.

4. It seems alarmingly relevant in a world governed by iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, XBOX, Playstation, and all that goes with them

SkyNet jokes are apparently passe now, and we all laugh shamefacedly about the Y2K scare. But all that nervous giggling comes from knowledge that we're completely controlled by technology. We spend our spare time squaring off in Fruit Ninja and HALO. We socially network with our family, friends, and colleagues instead of meeting them in person. We have Roombas. We are plugged in to something all the time. The idea of living in the MCP and squaring off in gladiatorial combat is more believable than ever. (Prediction: By February 2011, MCP jokes will be as passe as SkyNet ones are now.)

Haven't you heard? Last year was the revival of sci-fi, and the nerds rejoiced. While we may all be hungry for original and thought-provoking stories such as Moon and District 9, we know it takes baby steps. Besides, who ever said the big popcorn installments weren't just as much fun? They too can offer insight into the human condition (see #4) and say something about the current zeitgeist. Plus, there's light cycles. From 1982 to now, light cycles are just good futuristic eye candy.