My thoughts on seeing this last night;
Turned out it was in 3D not 2D as I thought, although I'm sure the difference is negligible. Seriously, with the potential this film had to make full use of the technology for the purposes of breathtaking visuals enhanced by 3D, I couldn't help but be hugely underwhelmed.
Couple points already picked up on here.
The soundtrack:
There was way too much of it, in fact to the point that by half way through the film you got the feeling that they were trying to shoehorn it in at any opportunity and it became annoying, 'oh listen more industrial/techno incidental music'...
On an up note, good to see Daft Punk themselves make an appearance, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if they inhabit a world like 'the grid' for real.
The Visuals:
First off 'The Grid', as you would expect the world inside the system was visually striking and certainly a lot more sinister that the original. But to be honest, it all felt a bit samey (yes I understand its a computer system where uniformity and repetition are a given) and it just seemed to lack originality. Perhaps naively I was expecting it to impact me with its visuals much the same way the original did, I don't know.
The already mentioned CGI Flynn, or Clu to give the character his proper name, you just kind of got used too. Ok so it wasn't breathtaking imagery but it certainly wasn't the worst I've seen.
However, the possible reason for my readily acceptance of the visuals was the fact that the script was so shockingly bad. I'm sat in the cinema watching the film anticipating lines and saying to myself 'please don't say that, please don't say that' only for them to utter some cliche scriptwriting 101 drivel.
I'd better stop.
Being a child of the 80's and a fan of the original, (I know, it's not actually that good a film) I even had the duvet cover set, my excitement and anticipation for this film were palpable. Was it wrong for me to think that with 28 years to imagine and create a sequel this film was going to be, at least, a work of visual excellence showcasing the possibilities of 3D cinema?
Well for me, it wasn't.
Bit gutted - but I will make my own judgement when I see it soon