Movie buffs should consider themselves lucky these days. They don't have just one choice for their movie-viewing experiences. They can watch the same movie over and over in a regular theater, 3-D, IMAX 3-D, home-theater 3-D, home projector, outdoor screening, online and on various illegal sites that may or may not download a virus to their computers.

Disney's new "TRON: Legacy" was made for 3-D. It's big, bold, colorful and flashy. It uses all sorts of new technologies and special effects to pick up where the story that only a few cult fans remember left off.

It's not only being shown in regular theaters, but it's also screened in 3-D and IMAX 3-D. We've watched two separate screenings of the film, which opened last week, and compared how these dual technologies helped or hindered the film, so you can decide if you just want to watch the film in regular old 3-D or "super-size" it to an IMAX theater near you.


Picture
IMAX really wins the brass ring for the picture. It's much clearer and more detailed, and the bigger screen allows for a more immersive experience. The ships are twice as tall, and in 3-D they felt as though they could more easily come out of the screen (assuming that you buy the story). The lightcycle scene was really the most impressive on the bigger screen in terms of color and style. For some reason, it felt flatter in normal 3-D because the screen didn't really allow for as big of a space as the IMAX screen provides. Modern 3-D isn't just about things coming toward you but also the things that are moving away, and it just isn't there in a boring, regular, old theater environment.


Sound
IMAX wins in this category, and it's not even a contest. It's like an ass-kicking contest between Blanka from "Street Fighter" and a one-legged Chun-Li. The powerful speakers in the theater don't just spit the sound at you. They literally rumble through the walls and the seats as these huge, awesome ships pound into the ground when they come in for a landing or zoom past the screen. "Tron" is a movie about the merging of technology with reality, and, in terms of sound, it really works best with IMAX because the booming bass serves as a great crutch to the 3-D experience. You don't just feel like you're seeing the movie jump out at you; you're only hearing it jump out at you.

Special Effects
 The earlier fight scenes with the light cycles and the disc duels are better in IMAX because they are so bright and contrast well with the blues and oranges against the cold black background of "The Grid." The colors are brighter and the scenes just jump better as the story moves through this strange world.

However, not all of the special effects look good on a bigger and brighter screen. Here is where having a bigger screen and speakers can actually hurt the experience. The face rendering technology used to create the young Jeff Bridges as Flynn's doppelganger villain really looks fake when its in such deeper detail. It almost felt like the young Flynn was wearing a mask with face muscle controls. It still wasn't believable in regular 3-D, but at least you couldn't see the flaws in more detail.


Story
It's sort of a tie. Having the digital parts of the movie in 3-D don't help or hurt the experience because the story has to stand on its own two legs. No amount of digital paint and motion capture can save or sink a script.

It's not a bad movie in terms of script or story. In fact, it's better than the original. It is, however, still steeped in hokey lines and flimsy characters. The villains are loud and conniving. The heroes are cool and a little cocky. The protagonist's aides are either naïve or wise beyond their years.

Still, it's a fun ride ... if you watch at the right theater.